A moving depiction of a potent response to a dark period in U.S. history.
An NAACP leader found a unique way to confront racism in the early 20th century.
Writer and Civil Rights activist James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was a man of multiple talents, not the least of which was his facility with language; his poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is often referred to as the Black national anthem. But he knew there were also times when silence could be more effective than raised voices. With racist violence on the rise, he conceived of an unusual protest: “No chanting, / no cheering, / no chuckling. / Just serious, / somber / silence.” In 1917 in New York City, 10,000 people, among them children, marched down Fifth Avenue, carrying signs with messages about justice and the contributions of Black heroes. As one of the march’s leaders, Johnson remained as quiet as the rest of the participants, who were kept in step by drumbeats. Twenty thousand spectators watched this display of bravery and determination. Written in terse, at times staccato verse, Williams and Long’s portrayal of an important protest will be understood by even the youngest readers. The idea that a man of words could harness silence to convey a powerful message comes through loudly. Expressive digital illustrations in a palette of browns, tans, yellows, and fiery oranges support the storytelling. An authors’ note provides valuable context for the events.
A moving depiction of a potent response to a dark period in U.S. history. (text of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781665902786
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project.
The Celebrate the World series spotlights Lunar New Year.
This board book blends expository text and first-person-plural narrative, introducing readers to the holiday. Chau’s distinctive, finely textured watercolor paintings add depth, transitioning smoothly from a grand cityscape to the dining room table, from fantasies of the past to dumplings of the present. The text attempts to provide a broad look at the subject, including other names for the celebration, related cosmology, and historical background, as well as a more-personal discussion of traditions and practices. Yet it’s never clear who the narrator is—while the narrative indicates the existence of some consistent, monolithic group who participates in specific rituals of celebration (“Before the new year celebrations begin, we clean our homes—and ourselves!”), the illustrations depict different people in every image. Indeed, observances of Lunar New Year are as diverse as the people who celebrate it, which neither the text nor the images—all of the people appear to be Asian—fully acknowledges. Also unclear is the book’s intended audience. With large blocks of explication on every spread, it is entirely unappealing for the board-book set, and the format may make it equally unattractive to an older, more appropriate audience. Still, readers may appreciate seeing an important celebration warmly and vibrantly portrayed.
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project. (Board book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3303-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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