This fabulous bit of historical fiction, set in the era of reconstruction after the Civil War, is told from the perspective of a young girl, whose family is getting their first taste of freedom.  When news comes through that permission has been granted for all former slave couples to officially register their marriages in the eyes of the law, Ellen’s parents reminisce about their “broom wedding,” the only type of wedding that had been allowed under slavery.  The day the family goes together to the court house, Ellen brings along the family broom, and decorates it with flowers from the roadside as a wedding bouquet for her mother.  The cut-block illustrations are stunning, capturing both the time period and the mood of the story.