Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom by Tim Tingle

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tingle, Tim. 2006. Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom. Illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.  ISBN 978-0-938317-77-7

SUMMARY
"Set in the old South, Crossing Bok Chitto is an Indian book, written by Indian voices and painted by an Indian artist" (author's note). 

Bok Chitto is a river in Mississippi that divides the Choctaw Indians on one side and the plantation owners and their slaves on the other side. Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl, helps a slave family gain freedom by crossing the Bok Chitto. This is a touching story about friendship and faith. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Tim Tingle's, Crossing Bok Chitto is a story about the interaction and empathy between the Choctaws and black slaves in Mississippi before the Civil War and the Trail of Tears. Within this touching story are the themes of faith, friendship, and freedom.  Tingle, a Choctaw himself, shares some aspects of Choctaw life, including a wedding ceremony and Choctaw songs, as well as describing the lives of the plantation black slaves with forbidden church services and being sold to another owner. 

Tingle's text is often lyrical. When Martha Tom comes across the slaves forbidden church service, she hears them sing a call/response of "We are bound for the promised land" and its rely, "We will come with you."  He also offers the Choctaw wedding song "Way, hey ya hey ya / You a hey you ay / A hey ya a hey ya!"   Readers must suspend disbelief when Tingle has Martha Tom and the slave, Little Mo, walk in front of the plantation owners and not be seen, as if invisible.  Invisibility also allows the slaves to walk past slavers in their bid for freedom. This magical element adds to a spiritual feel of the Choctaw's helping the slaves. 

In the back of the book, there is a brief account stating that the Choctaw's are the third largest Native American population in the United States, with 160,000 of the Choctaw's in Oklahoma, and approximately 9,000 remaining in Mississippi and of which 85% speak Choctaw as their first language and English as their second.  With such a strong population, having a story written about an important part of their history is keeping their history alive. 

The illustrations are by Jeanne Rorex Bridges, who is of Cherokee descent.  Using acrylics and the Native American style called Oklahoma Flat style, the strong lines and rich earth tones compliment the story.  

Recommended for ages 8+. 

REVIEW EXCERPTS
"In a picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage, a noted Choctaw storyteller and Cherokee artist join forces with stirring results… the story [has a] powerful impact on young readers." —Booklist, starred review

"Crossing Bok Chitto… tells a tale with a happier ending, but its journey is no less a departure from the narrative of American uplift. In literature for children, this is a lesson as old as the Grimms. But these realities cut deeper than any fantasy." —The New York Times

"Tingle is a performing storyteller, and his text has the rhythm and grace of that oral tradition. It will be easily and effectively read aloud. The paintings are dark and solemn, and the artist has done a wonderful job of depicting all of the characters as individuals, with many of them looking out of the page right at readers." —School Library Journal

"A moving and wholly original story about the intersection of cultures…Bridges creates mural-like paintings with a rock-solid spirituality and stripped-down graphic sensibility, the ideal match for the down-to-earth cadences and poetic drama of the text." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Crossing Bok Chitto is very highly recommended for all young readers as a celebration of diversity, acceptance, and unity in a remarkable production of expert authorship and invaluable illustrations." —Midwest Book Review, starred review

"A very moving story about friends helping each other and reveals a lesser-known part of American History: Native Americans helped runaway slaves...While, this is a picture book; it would make a wonderful read-aloud for middle elementary students." —Children's Literature

CONNECTIONS
-Questions for a class discussion: 
   1. Why did Martha Tom cross the river? 
   2. Who were the African-Americans at the church hiding from? Why were they hiding? 
   3. Why did the men chasing the slaves let them escape? 

-In the back of the book, there are notes from the author.  Using these notes, discuss the following with students. 
  1. What is the basic historical difference between the Mississippi Choctaws and the 

Oklahoma Choctaws? How are the two peoples alike?
   2. What was the Trail of Tears? 

-The illustrator, Jeanne Rorex Bridges is of Cherokee descent. Do you think having a Native American artist made the book more powerful?  What made the pictures look Native American?

-Jeanne Rorex Bridges describes her painting style as "Oklahoma Flat Style" where a solid color is applied in the shape of what you're drawing. This is her description: "Think, for example, of a woman in a blanket.  To create that initial shape, you must understand the position of her shoulders, her arms and back under the blanket. Pure Indian art would only allow fine lines of another color and/or gradual changes of flat colors to "shade" the blanket. Over the years, I've developed my own style by keeping the basic Flat Style while adding background work and shading.  

     -Have students paint a picture using the Flat Indian style and compare to how they usually paint pictures.  

-The publisher, Cinco Punto Press, has created a Study Guide that teacher's will find useful.  http://www.cincopuntos.com/pdf/crossing_bok_chitto_guide.pdf