This beautiful picture book is the story of a grandmother, a mother and a young daughter who live in the rural south during World War II. As the fathers went off to fight in the war, it was left to the women to leave the home and take the jobs the men had left behind. In this case, mother is going to go to Chicago to clean the trains. For both the grandmother and the daughter it is painful and lonely to see mother go. But, there is always hope and if you watch the E.B. Lewis illustrations, you'll see the light he introduces into each picture. There is also a kitten! Grandmother seems more guarded than her resilient granddaughter. The sense of the strong connection in the family is powerful and the waiting for mother to return is difficult even for the reader. What a wonderful reflection of the history of African American women during this part of American history.