Neal Porter Books | 978-0823456420
This week, I’m enjoying THE TABLE by Winsome Bingham and Wiley Blevins. It’s a story of all that matters most – family and community, the people we gather together with, and the table (literal and figurative) around and upon which we create and build our lives.
“Dawn sneaks through the curtains, shining a sliver of light on the side of the kitchen table.” There, a mining family meets to share cornbread, pork-fat pinto beans, and peas. There, Easter eggs are painted, books are read, and dresses, sewed. The table centers the family’s life.
When the bills pile up and Papa loses his job, the family must move into a smaller place. “We all fit, except the table” which finds a “new place to stand on the side of the road.”
One family’s loss then becomes another family’s gain. Soon, the left-behind table finds a place in a new home.
“Daddy lets me pick a spot for the
new-old table. I pick a place by the window,
a space with the sunlight and moonlight,
for Momma’s coffee and Daddy’s crossword,
for math homework and family game night.”
Text by Winsome Bingham and Wiley Belvins. Artwork by Jason Griffin
As the family gathers for the first time around their new-old table, the boy wonders what kind of stories it might hold and what “only a table could tell.”
Text by Winsome Bingham and Wiley Belvins. Artwork by Jason Griffin
Illustrated with mixed media on paper, artist Jason Griffin captures the essence of what holds the characters, and us as humans, together: held hands, daily meals, prayers, and parties. In an illustrator’s note, he writes:
“This book is about connection despite distance , despite difference. And so: open it up, turn each page, place your hand next to the characters’ hands. Now you are at the table, too.”
Authentically representing people and families in ways that shine a light on our commonalities matters. As Winsome Bingham writes:
“Before we are anything else, we are humans first. Our values are not that far apart. We value family and kindness. We value traditions and culture… All of these are what The Table represents – family, kindness, traditions, sharing, oneness, and strength.”
Wiley Blevins writes about his own family roots:
“My family is from a rural community in West Virginia. My grandfathers were coal miners. For generations many in my family were illiterate. We had little but I didn’t know that. It felt like I had everything I needed. ..
Of families similar to his, Blevins writes:
There is a beauty and a decency in the way they live their lives. They don’t have much, but they’ll give everything. Our stories matter. I hope in some small way I’ve helped them feel truly seen.”
This beautiful, moving book has received four starred reviews and is a Junior Library Gold Standard Selection.
Share it with your family this holiday season.
