Joyce Carol Thomas

Describes the joys and hardships experienced by an African-American pioneer woman who staked a claim for free land in the Oklahoma territory.

A collection of poems, including "Golden Goodness, " "Cranberry Red, " and "Biscuit Brown, " celebrating individuality and Afro-American identity.

Abyssinia Jackson, born in an Oklahoma cotton field in the wake of a tornado, is the pride and joy of her family, church, and community until a series of natural disasters and personal attacks threaten to break her spirit, but Mother Barker and her lessons in folk medicine help Abby survive.

Abyssinia Jackson must learn to cope with tragedy when peace is shattered in her Oklahoma countryside and her boyfriend Carl Lee disappears.