An ode to a too-little-discussed musician and an excellent introduction to his amazing musical talent.
When NASA scientists compiled a recording of sounds to send into space representing Earth and humanity, those sounds included thunder, crickets, classical pieces, and a short wordless song by musician “Blind Willie” Johnson.
Willie Johnson’s mother died while he was still a boy, and shortly thereafter he lost his sight. Now young Johnson’s light came from singing in the church choir and playing the guitar. He traveled to cities throughout Texas, where he sang and played for money. One day, an adult Johnson was given the opportunity to record an album of his songs. One of the songs was “Dark Was the Night,” a haunting yet hopeful tune marked only by Johnson’s humming and characteristic slide-guitar playing. The second-person narrative is brief but evocative. In the backmatter, Golio shares with readers that this song was chosen for the Golden Record placed on Voyager 1 in 1977 because “Johnson powerfully conveyed the sense of loneliness that all people feel—something very important to know about human beings and life on planet Earth.” Lewis’ illustrations have a soft, blurred effect to them, conveying both the bygone time and Johnson’s vision loss. They are washes of mostly blue and violet, with punches of bright yellow and gold. The author’s note also discusses the challenges of researching Johnson and provides a bit more information on Voyager 1. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 65% of actual size.)
An ode to a too-little-discussed musician and an excellent introduction to his amazing musical talent. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3888-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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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