21x05 - Show Way

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♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know
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♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

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Hi.

Big project today.

My family and I
are planting a tree.

Not the kind
that grows in soil,

But the kind that grows
out of stories

And memories.

It's called
a family tree.

And basically,
it's a chart

Of your family's history.

And when it's done,

It looks something
like this.

We've been researching
and collecting data

For months now,
and it's amazing

Some of the things
we've gathered.

We have old photos
and letters,

Documents, records,
and memories,

Lots of family memories

That have been
told and retold

From one generation
to the next.

Of course, our family isn't
the only one

With stories from the past.

Every family has them.

And in this book,

The story
goes back 7 generations.

It's about a family
that preserves its heritage

By stitching stories
into quilts,

And passing down that tradition
of remembering.

The story
and that tradition

Are called "show way."

Woman: "show way."

Written by jacqueline woodson,

Illustrated by
hudson talbott,

And I'm diahann carrol.

When soonie's
great grandma was 7,

She was sold
from the virginia land

To a plantation
in south carolina--

Without her ma or pa,

But with some muslin
her ma had given her,

And 2 needles she got
from the big house

And thread dyed bright red

With berries from
the chokecherry tree.

In south carolina,

Big mama raised
soonie's great grandma.

At night, big mama
told the children stories,

Stories she'd
tell in a whisper

About children growing up
and getting themselves free.

Big mama taught
soonie's great grandma

To sew colored thread
into stars and a moon,

And roads that sl*ve children
grew up and followed

Late in the night.

And soonie's great grandma
grew up--

Jumped broom with
a young man named insla.

Had herself a baby girl,

And named that child
mathias may.

And one day, mathias may
would be soonie's grandma,

But not for
a long, long time yet.

In the meantime,
she learned to sew.

[Cat meows]

Beautiful girl child
learned to sew.

When mathias may
was 7,

She got sold away.

Took a star from
her mama's blanket,

Took a little piece of
the road,

Pressed it to her face

When she wanted
to remember back home.

And at night,

She sewed stars and moons
and roads,

Tiny patch pieces
of stars and moons and roads.

Slaves whispered
what no one was allowed to say,

But mathias
knew how to make

A show way.

Came to her
for the patch pieces

Just before they--

Disappeared
into the night.

Years later, soonie came.

Soonie's mama held her up
in the moonlit night,

Showed her the stars,
the moon,

Whispered into her ear:

"There's a road, girl.
There's a road."

Loved that soonie up so,

Yes, she loved
that soonie up so.

Soonie and her mama stayed on
the land they'd always known,

Picking cotton
for a little pay

And a piece of
that ground to farm.

Call that land home.

Stayed on with
other people,

None of them slaves
anymore.

Hard work making a life

From pink day
to blue-black night,

But it was a free life
just the same.

[Child laughing]

When soonie was 7, she was tall
and straight boned,

Like her mama.

Took in wash with her mama,

Sewed stars
on patch pieces.

Sewed stars and moons
and roads,

Sewed fields
and rivers and trees.

Call those quilts
trail to the north.

Call the quilts show way.

Didn't much need that

Secret trail
to the north anymore,

But started living well

Off the money those quilts
brought in.

[Coins jingle]

Sold those quilts
to live.

Sold those quilts to remember.

Married a man
named walter scott.

Had herself
a baby girl.

Named that girl child
georgiana.

Loved that
baby up so, yes,

They loved that baby
up so.

Georgiana, who grew tall
and straight boned and free,

Picking out words
from her mama's bible

By age 3.

Reading by oil lamplight
at age 5,

People say about georgiana,

She always had
a book in her hand.

Had herself 2 girls at once.

Named them
carline and anne.

And carline and anne
grew up tall and straight boned.

Turned 7 walking in a line
to change the laws

That kept black people and white
people living separate.

They were a little bit
scared sometimes,

But pinned inside
their dresses

Were show way patches
grandma soonie had given them.

And something
about those patches

Made scared hang his mean old
head and walk away.

Anne grew up
writing poems,

And sometimes she made
the poems into songs.

Then anne had me,

And mama loved
this baby up so.

Yes, she loved this
baby up so!

And when I was 7,

I didn't have to work
in a field,

Or walk
in any freedom lines.

But I still read
like georgiana,

And wrote like anne,

And when the words
were slow in coming,

I sewed stars
and moons and roads

Into quilts and curtains
and clothes

Because mama said,

"All the stuff that happened
before you were born

Is your own
kind of show way."

Had a baby and named that child
toshi georgiana.

Love that toshi
up so, yes,

I love that toshi up.

So some mornings,
I start all over.

Holding tight
to little toshi,

I whisper a story
that came before her.

There's a road, girl.

There's a road.

Hmm. Great book.

The author,
jacqueline woodson,

Is soonie's real life
great granddaughter.

And besides
the stories and memories

That she got from her family,
she also inherited

Her grandmother's quilt,

As well as her grandmother's
love of sewing.

This is a picture
of jacqueline.

And this is the quilt,
the heirloom,

That she will now pass on
to her daughter,

Who is the next girl
in soonie's line.

Imagine holding a piece
of your family's history

Right in your hands,
and how powerful--

Hey, dad!

Look what
mom and I have.
Oh, my!

Look what we found.

You won't
believe it.

You are
kidding me!

Where did you
get this?

Grandma said she
found it in her attic.

[Gasps]

Oh, my goodness.

She sent it
to us?

Mm-hmm.

I am so shocked
she let this out
of her house.

This was my
grandfather,

Your great
grandfather,
mich,

My grandfather
willis ward's

Saddle blanket.

Isn't this too big
to be a saddle blanket?

No, see,
even though it's
a big blanket,

It was folded
and put across

The horse before
the saddle went
on.

Oh.
Yeah.

There's lots of
holes in it.

There's a hole.

[All laughing]

This really is one of
the most valuable things

That, you know, I know
I will own some day.

It's amazing--

Absolutely.

What you could get
passed down to you.

Speaking of
passing down,

You know, grammy passed down
something for you

Before you were
even born.

Ooh, what?
What, what, what?

This ring.

That's so gorgeous.
It's so pretty.

Isn't that pretty?

Can I have it?

She gave it to me
on my wedding day,

For me to pass on
to my daughter,

Should I have one,
so...

You can try it on.

It's a little too soon
for a wedding day, but--

Looks good.

On your wedding day
you'll have it,

And then you can pass it
down to your daughter.

Mm.
How about you?

Is there something
in your family

That has a story
behind it,

That has special
meaning for you?

This is a little
baby rattle,

And it was my
grandma's and

Then my mom's
and then mine.

And then my 2
younger brothers.

And it's kind of
special to think that

I was playing with this
and so was my grandma.

This camera was bought
by my great grandfather.

He loved taking pictures
of his child,

My grandfather.

Not only do we have
this camera,

But the pictures
that my great
grandfather took,

So we can learn more

About my great
grandfather.

This is a broach.

It was my great, great,
great grandparent's.

This is part of
my italian history.

When I have children
and they have children

They could pass it down
and they could see

What some of their
ancestors looked like.

This used to be
my mom's,

And she
gave it to me.

And my mom used to
press her nose

Against his nose
so much,

Um, it kind of
broke.

I think it's really
special to me

Because it's
my mom's.

When you have something
to hold on to,

Like a blanket
or a ring,

It helps you picture
how your ancestors

Might have lived.

But when you have someone
to hold on to,

Like a living grandparent,

You have an
even greater treasure.

You can discover firsthand
what their lives were like

And how they lived,
and don't be surprised

If you are surprised at
some of what you find.

What makes
this--excuse me,

What makes this cake
so special, huh?

Because it's good.

It tastes good.

It's not good
but it's excellent!

Burton: the children in
the kinder family

Spend a lot of time
with their grandmother celia.

Makes a difference,
right?

We have 300 kids in
some of my classes.

Boy: how come you get
the private jet and we don't?

Burton: the family is thankful
for every minute together.

Girl:
when we get together,

It is nothing but
fun and laughs

And just a good time.

It's--there's always
good food, that we know.

Come on, david,
have a piece
of--

Girl: and there's this
level of closeness

That we have with her.

Second girl: my grandmother
is like my second mom.

She has been a main
part of my life.

I mean, she means more than
anything in the world to me.

Ha ha!
What did you--

Celia: my grandchildren
and children

Are extremely
important to me,

From the youngest
to the oldest.

I have a wonderful relationship

With each one
of my grandchildren.

Oh, good,
you found the pictures.

Right, some photos that
are important for you.

Burton:
celia takes the time

To share her childhood
experiences

With each
of her grandchildren.

Celia:
I was an only child,

Born to
a middle class family.

Pretty indulged, pretty happy.

I went to
ballet classes,

And I was
extremely excited

About my first
ballet recital.

And this is where
the story really begins.

This was taken
the week of

The recital that was
supposed to take place.

This was my
shirley temple--

Burton:
but celia never made it

To her ballet recital.

That day, the n*zi army
marched into her town

And took it over.

This was the time
of the holocaust--

When the nazis did great harm
to the jewish people.

Since celia's family
and friends were jewish,

They were
in great danger.

Celia:
these are the 2 cousins.

I was with them in hiding

In the rooms of
a bombed out house.

And one of the times
I remember being

In a basement.

And these were very primitive
kind of hiding places,

And the basement
was beginning to fall in.

I was pulled out
by a hand,

And made it up.

Burton: celia was
lifted out by someone

Who got out of the basement
ahead of her.

It was a time when everyone
depended upon each other.

Celia: I was hungry,
I was angry, I was dirty,

I don't remember what I ate,
but it must have been just

Scraps of food.

I remember just a constant
gnawing in my stomach,

It was just...

Living in horror...

And major discomfort.

Burton: celia had done
nothing wrong,

But she still had to be
very careful.

She knew all the places
a child could hide.

Somehow, at 7 years old,

She managed to stay
safe every time.

You know that there was
a time in our history--

Mm-hmm.

Where there was
the nazis and they wanted

A world without jews.

Burton: celia makes sure
that every grandchild learns

About her story.

Marcus is
especially interested.

My cousin marcus
was assigned in class

To do a project on
a family member,

And chose my grandmother
to interview

And to write a story
about her life.

I bet it must have been,
like, really hard.

Celia:
it was very hard,

I would think back now.

But at the time,
I wanted to be brave.

I was on my own.

And I did what I
needed to do to live.

I ran off and hid
in the ruins

That I was
familiar with,

Because we had lived
there at some point.

Burton: eventually,
a non-jewish family took her in,

And hid her in their house.

Even though it was
the first time in years

Celia had a real
place to live,

She still had to use
a secret room inside the house

So she could always
be out of sight.

This family was very brave.

It was a dangerous thing
to hide jewish people

In your home.

Celia: one day,
a family like mine

Was discovered.

They were hiding
jewish children.

And these people
were severely punished.

Burton: so she was forced
to hide in the barn.

She lived there
for many months...

Until one day,
the w*r was over,

And celia was free.

And miraculously, she was
reunited with her parents.

We were an
intact family.

And it was--even then,

Everyone said,
"oh, my god.

You're a family again,
so few were."

Burton: even though
celia and others

Did survive
this terrible time,

Many did not.

Celia: I'm a survivor,
my mother was a survivor.

Girl: now, at this
point in time more than ever,

The story
has to be told,

Because the bottom line
is that

Most of the people
that were there

Are not gonna be here
in 10, 15, 20 years.

And as much as you can
read about something

In a history book,
it's never the same as actually

Hearing someone that was there
speaking about it.

I decided that
the day I came here

To the united states,
that was my birthday.

'Cause I didn't
want to remember my past.

But now I feel that
I should remember

And tell it, so that
young people like you

Should know.

So that you can understand
to be more tolerant

Of other people,
and that such a disaster

Doesn't ever happen again.

I actually finally
finished the book.

Oh, my, I heard
so much about it.

Girl: my cousin marcus took it
to a whole new level,

And wrote a book
called "survival."

Marcus: this is
the dedication page.

"I dedicate this book
to my grandmother

"And everybody else
who inspired me

To write this book."

Celia: which means
that the story of the holocaust,

It really
inspired you, huh?

Marcus: yeah.

Celia:
ok, let's see, so--

This is the first
page, I just--

Celia: children can only
learn from what they're told

By adults.

And I would like
to hope that in my lifetime

I can prevent at least
a few from saying,

"That's just a story,
there never was a holocaust."

It's not a story.
It was real.

I was there.

I am so, so...

Lucky to have you,

And all your other
cousins in my life.

Celia: you can't live
with hate.

You can't.
People heal.

And I healed,
and I am...

I think a fairly
well-adjusted person.

I can't thank you
enough for this book.

Having someone like
celia in your life

Connects you
directly to your past,

And really inspires you
to want to explore

Your family history.

And even if you don't
think you have someone

Amazing or even famous
in your family,

Remember that all of
your relatives' stories

Are not only
interesting,

But they
have value as well.

And when your
research is done,

Then you
can put together

Your family tree.

So, ladies,
what do we have

In the way of
materials

To put together
our family tree?

Stephanie:
well, how about this?

Burton: oh, my.

There are so many
people here!

Where are you,
steph, in this--

I am...
Cozart
family tree?

Right there.

Burton: oh!
And there I am.

Michaela: oh!
And there's me.

Burton: ok, so,
your father

Was thomas cozart,

And your mom
donna white.

Right? And so this is
the cozart family tree.

Stephanie: right,
and you trace this up to

His father--

Burton: his father.

Jackie norris cozart.

So there are
the 6 children.

So we have to figure out
how many of these people

We're going to be
able to fit

Into our family tree,
right?

Can we put in karma?

Yes, we can
put in karma.

Yeah!
Burton: ok?

One puppy,
that's it.

Burton: one--one dog
per family, all right,

So let's say we take
from--yeah,

From this part of
the family

Down to--down to micha.

Stephanie:
right.

So we could just
do it that way

And branch it off
both sides.

Right. Ok,
so let's see

How many
pictures we have

Of these people
in the cozart

Branch
of the family.

Ok...
All right?

Do we want to start
youngest generation out?

Youngest
to oldest.

All right.

Let's start with micha.

Burton: then
we'll go...me.

Mom, granny,
your dad.

Stephanie:
my grandmother.

Great aunt maude.

Michaela: great, great, great,
great grandmother.

All right,
so now we have

All of our pictures
in order,

I guess it's time
to start scanning
right?

Eh, let me help you
with that.

Good idea.

Resident
computer expert.
Mm-hmm.

All right, mich.

Well, let's start
with you and karma.

Michaela: yay!

Ok, so put it
upside down.

Scan...

Right.

Ok, it's
scanning.

Right.
Oh! There it is.

Let's print one
and see what it looks like.

Ok, and then we'll see
if it's a good size.

Burton: ok.

Ok! That's 1 down.

And many to go.

Many to go, all right,
so let's get going.

There we are.
All scanned and mounted.

Wow, that's great.

So this is the sh*t
of micha and karma.

Mm-hmm.
Right?

And here's
your father, tommy.

Exactly.
Uh-huh.

Here's your
grandmother.

Right.

There's mommy.
Mm-hmm.

That's my grandmother.

So I get that

These are
the leaves,

But what are
we gonna use for
a tree, sweetie?

Well, we have
a surprise for you.

Michaela, you want
to bring it in?

Ta-da!

Burton: wow,
look at this.

This is incredible!

Mich,
did you do this?

With a lot of help.

Wow, look at how
beautiful this is.

So, I see, so these
are the places

Where we're
gonna hang

Our pictures, right?

Right.
Burton: ok.

Stephanie: start at
the top and work down.

Burton: uh-huh.

From the great-great's
on down.

So the oldest
to the youngest.

Exactly.
Ok.

My great, great
grandmother

Goes up at
the top here
on the right.

Maternal
grandmother--

Goes there.

That's my
grandfather.

And my
grandmother.

Michaela's maternal
great, great aunt.

Michaela: my grandma
and grandpa.

And so the last
picture to go

On our family
tree would be...

You, michaela.
Yay!

Nice! That's it,
then, right?

Done!
We're done!

Nice, sweetie.
Very nice.

Micha, good job.

We did it.

This has been an
awesome experience.

When you trace
your family tree,

You get an
opportunity

To meet the folks
you came from,

And to see where in
the line you are.

So if you're
thinking about

Starting your own
family tree,

Then here are


Worth going out on
a limb for. But--

All: you don't have to take
my word for it!

Hi, my name is jay,
and the book that I read

Was "the kids'
family tree book,"

And it's about tracing
your family history.

It tells you to look up
different documents

And ask people
in your family

About your
family history.

Documents can be
your birth records,

Different progress
reports that have

All this information.

I think the author
gave some good ideas

On how to trace
your family history.

When I read
this book, it really,

Really got me going,
and I wanted

To create my own
family tree and chart.

Hi, my name is tina,
and the book that I read

Was "what a family!"

And it was basically
about family.

This family
has lots of people.

But everyone looked
a little bit the same,

And a little
bit different.

Some people have the same ears,

Some people
have the same noses.

Take a look
at these eyebrows.

I think
they're hysterical.

But what was really funny
about the eyebrows part

Was when I
turned the page,

And you find out
that the grandpa

Looked like his dog.

If you're looking
for a fun book

That's a little strange,

This is the book
that's for you.

"What a family!"

My name is emma joy,

And I'm reading
"seven brave women."

This book is about
lots of generations

Of grandmothers,

And each grandmother
tries to help people.

Like one wants to
become a doctor,

And back then it's
really, really hard

To become a doctor
if you're a girl.

Most picture books

Are just, like,
a continuous story,

The whole story.

And this is kind of like


For 7 different
brave women.

I definitely
recommend this book,

For boys and girls,
because it shows a lot

To them, that they
can do anything.

Well,
our tree is done,

And there's only


To make, and that's
where to put it.

So, what do
you guys think?

My bedroom!

Living room.

Hmm.
Hmm.

Both: the family room!

[Laughing]

Excellent
decision, ladies.

Very nice.

You know, when we
started this project,

I thought it was
a good idea.

But I was wrong.

This was a great idea.

Tracing your
family's roots

Brings your
history as well as

Your ancestors to life.

So go ahead.

Climb up your own
family tree,

Take a look around,
and discover your past.

And remember
that one day

Another curious kid
will do the same thing.

Climb up and look back
only to discover

You.

Michaela: dad!
We found a spot!

I'll be right there!

I'll see you next time.

Burton: hey,
that's perfect!

I love it.

♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know
and ways to grow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Burton: today's
"reading rainbow" books are:

"Show way,"
by jacqueline woodson.

Illustrated
by hudson talbott,

Published by
j.p. Putnam and sons.

"The kids' family tree book,"
by caroline leavitt.

Illustrated by
ian phillips,

Published by sterling publishing
company incorporated.

"What a family!"
By rachel isadora.

Published by
j.p. Putnam and sons.

"Seven brave women,"
by betsy hearne.

Illustrated by
bethanne anderson,

Published by
green willow books.

Hi. I'm levar burton.

In uncertain times,

There's no more effective
way to make your kids
feel good and safe

Than to spend time with them.

We at "reading rainbow" suggest
sharing a book with your family.

Read for fun, read for family,
read for our future.