At the Crossroads

By Rachel Isadora

Book Overview

The children of a South African village eagerly gather at the crossroads to welcome their fathers, who have been away for months working in the mines. The children wait, but the men don't come. So the children keep waiting. And waiting. They wait all through the night, until the dawn brings both the day and the longed-for loved ones.A lively portrayal of young children in a South African village eagerly awaiting their fathers' homecoming after ten months of working in the mines....A unique glimpse...and one that deserves a place in all collections.--School Library Journal

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688131034
• ISBN13: 9780688131036
• Release Date: February 1994
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 10.9"
• Age Range: 4 years and up
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

Story of longing, happiness and joy

This book is beautiful touching story of childhood longing. Six children wait for their fathers to come home after ten months away working in the mines. We start their day with them as they wake in anxious anticipation. We follow them through their day with descriptive prose and amazing illustrations as they dress, go to school, make music and celebrate and wait and wait and wait. They will not go home until their fathers arrive. The wait is longer than expected but the excitement remains high throughout this book until the beautiful end.

I just found this book

Wow! My family is from South Africa and we were thrilled when we found this book at our local bookstore. It is sooo true to life and so uplifting. It brought back all the memories we have of our home and even the colors brought back memories. I am sorry we had to leave S. Africa and I am happy that Rachel Isadora could bring back the sights, sounds and smells. I hope that by understanding the terrible situation of apartheid the country will become a better place and all the people can live together. I hope my children will understand all this someday! Thank you for such a wonderful book.....

A Good Story

At the Crossroads by Rachel Isadora is a made-up story. It is about kids waiting for their fathers to come home. They waited a long time. I think that this story is really cool and that other kids will like it. I liked the pictures a lot, except the one where the moon was orange.

"At the Crossroads"

A wonderful book telling of the warmth and love, not only in a family, but in a whole community. Eagerly awaiting the return of their fathers the children prepare a joyous welcome. Filled with rich, beautiful colors "At the Crossroads" tells a story of the love children have for their fathers, even though they may seldom see them. I felt that this really spoke of how those still at home kept the fathers 'alive' for the children. This is a wonderful book for children to see how other children live and how happy they can be with, what we would consider, so little. I use this book every year with our unit on Families.