Rhodes Parker, Jewell. Will’s Race for Home. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025, 978-0-316-29933-6. $18.99. 196 p. Grades 4-8.Will and his family are tired of working on land that they do not own. In 1889, almost twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they know they have to go and try to claim some land for their family. Will and his father set out to travel from Texas to Oklahoma racing to find new, free land for their family. But along the way, they are faced with difficult terrain, bandits, and danger.
THOUGHTS: This novel did a wonderful job bringing to light a time in history that is not often written about or discussed. It is great for upper elementary and middle level readers and will add a voice to history that many have not yet heard.
Historical Fiction
Will Samuels is the obedient son of Black sharecroppers, former slaves, who now toil the fields in Texas. Will’s dad is hardworking but seemingly in a constant state of frustration. He and his father left Louisiana to find a better life, but he yearns to own his own land. When Will’s dad hears of the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, he is determined to stake a claim. Time is of the essence. Will’s elderly grandfather is unable to make the journey, so Will’s mother persuades her husband to take Will, who can read and write. Thus begins the pair’s journey into unfamiliar territory full of physical and emotional dangers: poisonous snakes as well as prejudiced town folk. On the way, they meet up with a former Black Civil War officer, Caesar. Caesar offers expert advice and protection, while Will and his father extend warmth and acceptance to the rugged soldier. Each chapter sets down another layer of this unusual adventure that focuses on a different lens to staking claims in the American West. Besides the historical view, the readers experience the growing bond between father and son. As the date for the land rush approaches, Caesar is shot when he confronts the white racist crew who have been troubling the traveling party. Unwilling to let go of their dream, Will volunteers to stake the claim. Though others try to thwart his efforts, Will proves what lessons he has learned on this pivotal trip with his father. This coming-of-age historical novel has all the marks of a winning book: a strong, likeable protagonist; lots of action; interesting information; skilled prose; and it is not too long.
THOUGHTS: This book is already on my Newbery contenders list. Since the Samuels stake a claim in Oklahoma, students can examine the history of African Americans in that state, particularly in Greenwood, and its tragic aftermath, in Carole Boston Weatherfod’s Unspeakable or Brandy Colbert’s Blackbird. Our eighth grade social studies curriculum is American History. This novel would be an ideal supplement to a unit on the American West.
Historical Fiction
