Kwame Alexander discussed his latest children’s book on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Alexander’s How Sweet the Sound: A Soundtrack for America, illustrated by Charly Palmer and published Tuesday by Little, Brown, is a history of Black music in the United States, featuring artists including Billie Holiday, Lauryn Hill, and Kendrick Lamar. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a work whose lyrical and artistic genius only becomes more apparent upon rereads.”
Colbert asked Alexander if he changes the way he writes when he’s working on a children’s book as opposed to one for a general audience.
“Not really,” Alexander said. “I’m writing about topics that I think families can read and enjoy together, but certainly I have a soft spot in my heart for young people, because I believe that the mind of an adult begins in the imagination of a child.”
“What makes up the soundtrack for America to you?” Colbert asked Alexander.
“I believe it’s a symphony of refuge,” Alexander replied. “It’s a score of redemption.…I don’t care where you’re from, what you’re feeling, when you hear music, music can heal. It can give you hope. It can open up a world of possibility, which is the same thing I think children’s books do.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
