CHANGE HAS COME

Two-time Caldecott Honor winner Nelson here gives up his studied compositions and meticulous applications of color in favor of quick, emotion-laden graphite sketches that commemorate Barack Obama’s groundbreaking campaign and victory. Set to Obama’s own words, gathered from several speeches given from 2004 to his acceptance speech on Nov. 4, 2008, the illustrations neatly provide visual accompaniment to the oratory. A long line of patient voters stretches across two-and-a-half pages before the next turn reveals citizens in voting booths, as the text reads, “It’s the answer told by lines / that stretched around schools and churches / in numbers this nation has never seen.” Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march in another spread; the page turn reveals the White House. The wee trim size, creamy stock and ornately loopy typeface gives the volume both intimacy and ceremonial weight. The unabashed feeling conveyed in every loose line helps to make this a lovely memento, just in time for Inaguration Day. (Picture book. All ages)