Tingle, Tim. Crossing Bok Chitto. Illus. Jeanne Rorex Bridges. El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press, 2006. Print
Tingle and Bridges have created an impressive, moving story of faith and bravery that emphasizes slavery in Mississippi during the time of the Trail of Tears. In the 1800s, the Bok Chitto River served as a boundary between the Choctaw nation and a group of plantation owners and slaves. Martha Tom, a young Choctaw girl befriends a young African American slave and his family who live on the plantation. Bridges’ paintings solemnly depict the characters’ individuality and resilience. When trouble occurs on the plantation, the runaways escape to freedom across the river where they are met by a courageous little girl and the women of the Choctaw tribe dressed in alluring white, appearing as angels in the moonlight. Tingle does a wonderful job of portraying this story in respect for the Choctaws, free of stereotypical observations, common in Native American literature. With his respect for oral history, he adds a note at the end of the story on Choctaw storytelling. Transcending stereotypes and appearance as stated in Jan LaBonty’s article, Tingle and Bridges create an accurate, refreshing story that can be enjoyed by children of all ages.
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