The Table
by Winsome Bingham and Wiley Blevins; illus. by Jason Griffin
Primary, Intermediate    Porter/Holiday    56 pp.
9/24    9780823456420    $19.99
e-book ed.  9780823461530    $11.99

This moving narrative centers on a simple wooden table and its role in the lives of two families whose members are shown in the powerful illustrations only by their hands. A child narrator introduces readers to the table, the heart of a rural white family’s home, a gathering place for meals, holiday celebrations, and life’s challenges. When Papa loses his coal mining job, the family is compelled to move, leaving the table by the roadside, a poignant symbol of their loss. The narrative is then picked up by a new unnamed child after their family comes across the abandoned table. This African American family welcomes it into their home, where it is again at the center of moments of connection and celebration, this time inspiring hope and renewal. Griffin’s (illustrator of Ain’t Burned All the Bright, rev. 3/22) illustrations, with their vivid colors and rich textures of acrylic on wood-grain paintings, breathe additional life into the story. The brief text skillfully weaves these parallel narratives, emphasizing love and tradition.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.