For Daughters. For Mothers.

The relationships between mothers and their children can be complicated.  The older you get, the more often you will do or say something and think "I've become my mother."  Sometimes, it is those little things which nearly drive you crazy, that you find yourself now doing.  Other times, their daily feats, you realize, are as close to superhero as mere mortals can get.  Or in the category of prophecy, those things they wished for you are a realty.  

In a word, mothers are a miracle.  They are your biggest and most constant cheerleaders.  Dreams for a Daughter (Atheneum Books For Young Readers, March 9, 2021) written by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Brian Pinkney are tender, but fierce commitments of an African American mother to her African American daughter. 

As I cradle you, look in your eyes,

the ancestors peer back at me.

Your gaze says softly,

I want to know everything.

I Promise to show you all that I can.  

So begins an enduring interlude between a mother and her daughter.  She sends out a prayer for her joyful embrace of life to continue and endure.  She watches as the love of her heart toddles away, happy in her ability to move on her own toward an unknown goal.

A first bike ride without training wheels is a jubilant celebration for both mother and daughter; one brave enough to go and the other brave enough to let her go.  A desire to know and understand is a trait to be valued and encouraged.  Going to school for the first time is a step toward expanding knowing and understanding.  Books champion needed narratives.

Shouts of encouragement will ring across any chosen playing field from this mother for her daughter.  May this child always be free to express and use talents, natural or earned.  Like the voices of mothers for generations, this mother wants more for her daughter than for those who came before her.

Though you are small in stature, your voice can speak volumes.  Trust in your instincts and turn away when necessary, to avoid danger.  In her final words to her beloved, the mother reminds her daughter of her constant presence, even if miles separate them.

The words written here by Carole Boston Weatherford lift up every reader's heart, but especially the hearts of those for whom they are written.  Whether read softly to oneself or aloud to an empty room or to a group, these words sing like hot chocolate warmth.  Each of the fourteen assurances builds on the other fashioning an unbreakable lifeline from mother to child.

Four times the mother makes observations about her daughter followed by the word I.  After I, we read what this mother will do for her daughter.  This technique is reversed for the next four sections.  For the final six portions, a blend is used by this wordsmith.  Here is a single beautiful passage.

When you learn to read,

you follow my finger and mouth each word.

I stroke your curly crown.

Books will carry you far

as you author your own story.

Sunshine and lightness radiate from the matching and open dust jacket and book case as complementary colors create patterns, flowing lines, and great affection.  When you look at the front, right, the bond between the mother and daughter is strong and true.  You can see it in their eyes and the way they hold each other.  On the dust jacket, the title text is in a pink foil hue and raised to the touch.

To the left of the spine, on the back, we are gifted with a peek at an image nearly identical to an interior illustration.  A sun, large and low to the horizon, with a compassionate gaze and slight smile, looks at the daughter.  She is a younger version of herself, standing on a hill, ready to face the world fortified by her mother's words.  Shades of yellow, orange, turquoise, and purple swirl and take shape.

On the opening and closing endpapers is a dusty lavender.  A smiling face of a daughter is framed in a starburst on the title page.  These illustrations 

rendered in watercolor, gouache, and India ink on Strathmore watercolor paper

place highly animated mothers and daughters within Brian Pinkney's remarkable brushes of color, alive with motion and emotion.  

Each portrait of a mother and their daughter is their love captured in a particular place and time.  As our eyes move from left to right across these double-page pictures, we might see a single moment as it happens or the depiction of a moment yet to be.  Some are more intimate than others, bringing us close to the duo and others present a more wide-angle perspective.

One of my many favorite illustrations features a mother and daughter on a picnic.  For this visual greens and yellows are the predominant colors.  Close to readers is the mother, mostly to the left of the gutter, seated on the blanket, her back to us.  A basket and drinking glass are on either side of her.  With her hands on her hips, she watches her darling daughter take first strong steps on her own, off on an adventure.  The child's arms are outstretched for balance.  She is in yellow but wears a pair of orange plaid overalls.  This is perfectly precious.

You will never tire of rereading this superb blend of loving language and charming, profound images found in Dreams for a Daughter by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Brian Pinkney.  This book speaks directly to African American mothers and their daughters but will find an audience with all mothers and their daughters.  I highly recommend you find a place for this title on your personal and professional bookshelves.

To learn more about Carol Boston Weatherford and Brian Pinkney and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the link attached to their names.  Carol Boston Weatherford has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Brian Pinkney has an account on Instagram.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  

Not everyone can agree on their origin, but most can agree the "yo' mama" jokes have been spoken for decades, if not centuries.  As soon as everyone reads Your Mama (Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 6, 2021) written by NoNieqa Ramos with illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantara, they will quickly discover these fiery, shout-out-loud words and vibrant, colorful images are a tribute to mothers for everything they are.  They stand large in our lives, knitting all threads together to form a thing of love we wear with us wherever we go.

YOUR MAMA SO SWEET,

SHE COULD BE A BAKERY,

all frosting, powdered sugar, and pastries.

Leaves love notes in your almuerzo, homemade.

She's the cinnamon to your tembleque,

the tres leches to your cake.

Each of the ten bannered accolades bring readers into an exuberant scene of multiple sides of motherhood.  Her physical strength in the face of adversity is nearly legendary, but her style in clothing and accessories has heads turning in admiration.  When she could scold, she applauds your ingenuity.

There are times, though, when your mama thinks she might be losing her mind.  Is there such a thing as quiet time alone?  When it comes to learning, this mother gets an A++ and the library is her second home.  If you need answers, she finds them.

This has you wondering how she knows so much, even what you might be thinking.  She gets you better than anyone else.  Her sense of humor is off the charts, entertaining everyone in her company.  You will see her marching for justice and voicing her concerns with her votes.  

Wealth for this mother is not found in banks or possessions.  She is rich with connections in her neighborhood.  Familia is her greatest treasure; you are the largest gem in her world.  What should you do for your mama?  You move to her rhythm, an inseparable duo, cloaked in love.

It's a given readers and listeners alike will be unable to sit still reading the enchanting words penned by NoNieqa Ramos.  Her blend of Spanish and English supply us with a symphony of rhythm.  Each rhyming portion invites us to read it aloud.  We want to join this mother and this daughter in the daily jubilee of their lives.  There is an interlude, a pause of words, between bannered accolades, but the beat is still sweet.  Here is a portion of a cadenced passage.

YOUR MAMA

DRESS SO FINE,

she could have her own clothing line.

The way she walks into a room---

SHUU!---

she's an ad for

fancy perfume.

The splash of flowers, leaves and vines on the wash of denim blue, left to right, on the open and matching dust jacket and book case, opens your mind and heart to the joy waiting for you inside this book.  Look at the mother and her daughter on the front, right.  Their unbridled expression of dance is contagious.  The birds holding the banner is your introduction to the use of banners throughout the book.  It is an announcement.

The opening and closing endpapers glow in golden yellow.  On the title page two hearts rimmed in gold, flowers, and several elements from interior illustrations make a collage on which the mother and daughter are placed.  With a page turn we are drawn into the narrative by the first banner of many woven around a single item or group of items.  For example, the first banner loops around a spectacular many layered cake.  Strawberries, flowers, a spatula, a jar of cinnamon sticks, a whisk, a bag of spilled flour, and a slice of cake present a marvelous array.  Opposite this is the mother and daughter engaged in an activity.

These images rendered

using markers, pastels, Procreate, and Adobe Photoshop

by Jacqueline Alcantara nearly jump off the pages.  Most of them span two pages with the exception of several full-page pictures, and two smaller illustrations on a single page.  The illustrations flow, page turn to page turn, but you could take any one and frame it for the moments it expresses.

The facial features and body postures of the mother and daughter burst with life.  Each time you look at a picture, you will discover a new detail.  Careful readers will see insertions of humor such as the cat lifting its paw over the spinning record on the turntable.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for YOUR MAMA SO STRONG.  It references her strength to that of a marine.  It mentions her carrying groceries up flights of stairs and carrying you on her back to the emergency room when you are both sick.  On the left, a large anchor is wrapped in the banner with a night cityscape in the background.  Climbing up the top of the anchor is the child with the mother in front of her, laden with bags.  On the right, a hospital building looms large.  Coming from the lighted entrance in winter is the mother carrying her child.  Both are wearing winter clothing.  The mother has on her black boots covered in red roses.  The little girl grasps her favorite stuffed toy bunny.

You will be ready to read this book again as soon as you finish it.  The fabulous mix of words and artwork found in Your Mama written by NoNieqa Ramos with illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantara invites, no begs, you to read it repeatedly because this book is bliss.  Be ready to hear a chorus of read it again!  I know you will want a copy for both your personal and professional collections.

To discover more about both NoNieqa Ramos and Jacqueline Alcantara and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the link attached to their names.  NoNieqa Ramos has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  Jacqueline Alcantara has accounts on Behance, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.  The cover reveal was showcased at Latinxs in Kid Lit.  At the publisher's website is a book trailer hosted by Kwame Alexander.

Imagination On The Run

Some go through their entire childhood without one.  Parents and parental figures have any number of excuses or as they say, truth-filled reasonable replies.  It stands to reason in this timeless conflict, over thousands of years, there is a trail of squashed dreams held by younger gals and guys.  They have all wanted a pet; for many of them, specifically a puppy.

Rather than succumb to disappointment, there are special sorts of souls who have ignited their imaginations.  Puppy Truck (Atheneum Books For Young Readers, June 25, 2019) written and illustrated by Brian Pinkney follows a young boy whose mind bridges the gap between hoping and having.  It's exuberant optimism.

Carter wanted a puppy.

Carter did not get a puppy.  Carter received a truck.  He decided to make the best of the situation, put a leash on this truck and gave it some loving pats.  As they started to move it sounded like a combination of a truck and a puppy.

Vroom beep bark!

An impish gray squirrel darted next to the truck on their way to the park.  The truck roared to the challenge.  Carter yelled.  The truck raced right out of the leash.  It was gone!

Fortunately, a girl at the park stood on a bench and sighted the puppy truck.  There is nothing sweeter than a child reunited with their new best friend.  For the rest of the day, that truck carried that boy and together they pursued that troublesome squirrel, delighting in the chase.

Covered in dirt, they both splashed in the sudsy bathtub at home.  Inseparable they snacked and then snoozed. At the sand box the next day in the park, Carter and his puppy truck encountered a friendly surprise.


Using concise, precise words designed for the youngest readers Brian Pinkney presents a problem in the first two sentences and with the glass-is-half-full outlook prevalent in children, Carter has a solution in the third sentence.  This is instantly appealing.  When you add the sound effects, it's an open invitation to join the story.

It's interesting when Carter decides to abandon using the leash how the shared enjoyment increases.  Readers will appreciate the "truckish" language used in the narrative.  Here is a passage.

They were so hungry,
they ate some nuts and bolts.

Chomp
chomp
chomp munch


The choice to work with primary colors against the pale yellow canvas on the open and matching dust jacket and book case (and throughout the book) draws readers' attention quickly to Carter and his puppy truck.  Brian Pinkney's signature movements are present; the joyful upward flow of elements.  Carter's smile tells a story itself. 

To the left, on the back, beneath the words

Vroom beep bark!

Carter is kneeling on the back of Puppy Truck as they speed down a hill.  You couldn't ask for two happier pals.  On the opening and closing endpapers Brian Pinkney extends his story.  On the first, over the grassy landscape dotted with clumps of green, the gray squirrel scampers toward the right edge.  For a split second, on the closing endpapers the gray squirrel is sitting upright, resting before it's off to tantalize some new unsuspecting being.

Rendered in acrylic and India ink on Canson paper the illustrations are bold and bright filling much of the page with the child and his pet.  Carter is brimming with energy; ready to greet the day and so is his puppy truck.  Many of the pictures span two pages to show this exhilaration these two feel in each other's company as they embrace every moment totally.  There is not a picture in this entire book that is not emotionally charged.  Every line and brush stroke are fluid and free.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is a two-page picture.  On the pale yellow background, a big sandbox covers a large area along the bottom.  Sitting on the left is Carter.  His legs are moving, and his hands are raised.  He is laughing. (You'll almost be able to hear it.)  Near him and moving across the gutter is Puppy Truck.  It's gleefully saying

BARK!

Briefly seated on the far right is the gray squirrel looking astonished at not being followed. 


The pure bliss in Puppy Truck written and illustrated by Brian Pinkney is certain to lift your spirits and surround you in happiness.  The fact this child is able to use his imagination to make his dream a realization is the best kind of story.  You could pair this book with A Pet for Petunia, The Pet Project or The Grumpy Pets, and Some Pets for a storytime extravaganza on pets.  This is a charming title to add to your professional and personal collections for your younger gals and guys.

To learn more about Brian Pinkney and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior images.

Are You Ready To Dance?

It doesn't take much for children to dance.  They have no worries about expressing the cadence they hear whether it's found in words, music or a combination of words and music. Not only do they dance but they take great joy in doing it.  It only takes one to start grooving and it spreads in mere seconds.  And oh . . . the laughter accompanying their dancing makes your soul soar.

The air vibrates with happiness when children dance.  Hip-Hop Lollipop (Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, October 2, 2018) written by Susan McElroy Montanari with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is certain to have people in motion as soon as the title is read. They will also feel themselves grinning with gladness.  They know something good, really good, is about to happen.

Mama says, "Lollipop, stop!

Stop!

Jumping snapping
Nonstop."
Arms and shoulders pop 'n' lock.
Lollie's dancing hip-hop.

There is no stopping this little gal.  Her hands, knees, arms and hips are constantly moving.  She is jumping with jubilation. 

When Mama calls out it's bedtime, does she stop? She does not.  She moves down the hallway pausing by her sister's bedroom doorway.  Without missing a beat, Lollie and Tasha become a dancing duo.  Tick. Tock.  Now Daddy adds his voice to the time-for-bed declaration.

As the music bounces off the bathroom walls, the siblings brush their teeth in preparation.  Copper, the family dog, is done for the day.  Boo Boo, the family cat, uses Lollie for a pillow.  Lollie snuggles on top of Copper.  Mama ushers the sleepy trio into Lollie's bedroom.

Pajamas donned, and blankets drawn up to her chin, Lollie still listens to the music, lower and less loud. Daddy gives a goodnight kiss.  Copper curls on the bedroom floor.  Boo Boo snuggles on the cozy bed.  What twirls in Lollie's dreams?


It's impossible to read the words in this story written by Susan McElroy Montanari without nodding your head, shimmying your shoulders, or tapping your toes.  Each phrase is designed to provide a pulse which promptly syncs with readers' internal rhythms.  The rhyming nearly shouts off the pages in total merriment. Here is a passage.

Hands tutting.
Knees jutting.
Arms cranking.
Body swanking.
Hip gyration.

Exultation! 

  
One look, just one look, at this opened and matching dust jacket and book case is certain to have readers smiling and ready to dance.  Like the swirls of rhythm around Lollie, Copper and Boo Boo, this trio is happily stepping to the music.  You can't sit still.  You want to jump into the image and join them.

To the left, on the back, in other curves of color (more green) Tasha and Lollie lift their legs in perfect nearly poetic action.  Copper gladly joins them.  Part of the words from the above quoted passage appears over this illustration. 

The shade of purple used in the title text covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Beneath the words on the title page, Lollie smiles as she holds her portable music player.  Rendered in

watercolor and India ink on Strathmore watercolor paper

by Brian Pinkney, the illustrations are highly animated and loaded with familial cheer and comfort.

More than once the double-page images contain several smaller scenarios to heighten the pacing.  Brian's signature whirls of color combinations and fluid lines will surely engage readers on each page.  Readers will find themselves smiling at the exuberant expressions on the characters faces, even Mama and Daddy. 

One of my many favorite illustrations spans two pages (as do all the pictures).  A sunny yellow is a prominent hue in the wash of color.  Brush strokes and lines of pink, blue and a bit of green join this vibrant palette.  In the center her body moving to the left and right of the gutter, Lollie dances with abandon.  She is joined by Copper on the left and Boo Boo on the right.  I think I can hear the music and laughter, too.  This image is accompanied by the above-quoted text.


For story time, bed time (sweet dreams are assured), for a unit on music, dance or creative drama, Hip-Hop Lollipop written by Susan McElroy Montanari with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is an excellent choice.  The charm, playfulness and enthusiasm of Lollipop and the members of her family will wrap around you through these words and artwork.  You will want to include this title in your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Susan McElroy Montanari and Brian Pinkney and their other work, please visit their respective websites by following the links attached to their names.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  Susan maintains accounts on Twitter and Instagram. 

His Legacy Lives

It was April 4, 1968.  As a sixteen-year-old junior in high school my thoughts were turning to the end of the school year and a summer job at the local florist shop at the other end of the street.  In another state a Noble Peace Prize winner was thinking of music and words when standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was early evening.  An hour later, this man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was gone, killed by an assassin's bullet.  My memory of the news in our home is one of stunned silence.

Today, fifty years later, I watched the ABC News broadcast of the tragic events of that evening.  This video broadcast is followed by the ABC News coverage of the  Memphis March on April 8, 1968 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  (You cannot experience these historical broadcasts without being emotionally moved.)  Martin Rising: Requiem For A King (Scholastic Press, January 2, 2018) written by Andrea Davis Pinkney with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is as extraordinary as the man being honored within these pages.  Time stands still from the moment you begin reading.

HENNY PENNY PRELUDE
Here she is!
Hind feathers
hightailing

Her birdie eyes,
filled with foresight,
see far down the road.

Peck-peck prophecy.

This prelude is the first of forty docu-poems, each dated, centered on the three months prior to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In the second poem dated with his birth, January 15, 1929, we read of a child growing into a man with purpose and a dream.  It follows in a third poem with words celebrating what would be his last birthday; the baking of the cake, the thirty-nine candles on that cake, a wish made, and a family singing and dancing to the music sounding forth from the piano with Coretta's playing.  Months pass taking readers to the strike of the sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee on February 11, 1968.  A group led by Reverend James Lawson meets two weeks later in support of the workers.

March weather roars and strikers march through the city of Memphis.  Unlike the weather their efforts appear stalled.  A call is made from one friend to another.  Dr. King is to arrive in Memphis.  His speech to those gathered on March 18, 1868 buoys their spirits as does his promise of a return in four days.  March weather intervenes until Dr. King comes back and they walk again on March 28, 1968.  It does not go well.  It does not end peacefully.  Against the advice of friends, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knows he needs to return.  He knows he is needed in Memphis, Tennessee.

Arriving at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, Dr. King is bone-tired.  His fever-torn body has him asking a friend to speak in his place that evening at the Mason Temple.  Later that same friend begs him to come.  The people want him.  Peace.  Nonviolence.

"I may not get there with you.

But I want you to know tonight,
that we
as a people
will get to the promised land!"

It is April 4, 1968.  After the triumph of his speech last night, Dr. King sleeps until noon.  His friend, Ralph (Pastor Ralph D. Abernathy) is ready to discuss their next rally and the march scheduled for April 8, 1968 for the sanitation workers.  There is a surprise visit and an afternoon of fun.  In the evening friends at the Lorraine Motel in Room 306 ready themselves for a dinner and for a night of inspiration.  And then . . .

Henny Penny is correct; the sky does fall.  Hearts are broken and rage rains on Memphis.  And what of James Earl Ray?  There are so many questions with no answers.  On April 8, 1968 a wife stands tall with children near her; children now with no father.  Days pass moving toward another holiday full of promise, a promise seen in the joy of children.  For the rest of years as far as we can now see the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will still be a time for making wishes, dreaming dreams and going forth in love.


Having finished reading these forty poems for the second time, moments ago, a feeling of being in the presence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his family, his friends and those for whom he represented is unshakable.  Andrea Davis Pinkney gives us the truths of these events so beautifully it takes your breath away.  The weaving of the folktale character Henny Penny into the narrative is done flawlessly and adds a new dimension to the understanding of what transpired and what continues today.  It is a master stroke of poetic writing.

At the beginning of the book a table of contents lists the titles of each poem.  You can see Andrea Davis Pinkney has divided them into three sections; Daylight, Darkness and Dawn.  This is done with intention.  It serves to bind the reader personally to each poem.  With respect here is a portion of the poem

SHATTERED
March 28, 1968

. . .

Eleven o'clock,
on the nose
of what they hope
will be
freedom's punctuality.

Garbagemen go all out.

All showing up,
so proud.

Boys and girls---twenty-two thousand of them!---

Playing hooky, skipping school,
so they, too,
can demonstrate.

Martin leads them all
through Memphis streets
toward city hall.

Arm in arm, 
he walks,
with his friend,
his ace,
his close-close confidant,
Reverend Ralph Abernathy.

Interlocked elbows, 
the city's many ministers
march with Martin, too.

We shall overcome!   . . .


The swirl of glowing golden hues blended with new sky blue calls to readers from the opened dust jacket.  The marchers holding signs beneath Dr. King cross the spine stretching until they fade to the left in the same swirl of glowing golden hues blended with new sky blue.  On the back we read:

Can a Dream ever die?

A burst of sun replies:

His life well lived for peace and good.

Martin's spirit---still alive!

And with love,

we all shall rise.

Removing the jacket reveals a splendid book case with a white canvas.  The title text with Andrea Davis Pinkney's and Brian Pinkney's names is golden yellow.  The subtitle is placed on the left in blue.  Beneath those words are three arches on each side, representing the three portions of this narrative.  Along the bottom only about an inch high are multitudes of marchers.

The blue from the dust jacket covers the opening and closing endpapers.  A page turn at the front shows a sun rising in a wash of yellows, blues and a bit of purple.  On the title pages the image from the book case is replicated.

Rendered in watercolor, gouache, and India ink on watercolor paper, the paintings of Brian Pinkney are in a word, exquisite.  Each page turn will have you gasping at his representations.  He shines a bright light on the text, shifting with the emotions, moods and the weather.  His lines and color choices reflect those very things.

One of my many favorite paintings is for the continuation of the poem, KINGS IN MEMPHIS March 18, 1968.  A deep, deep golden (almost pale orange) washes on the left providing a place for the text.  On the right is a loose arched window, as one would see in a church.  In a circle near the top (like a rose window) Dr. King is speaking.  Radiating from that and beneath it are sections filled with gathered people, intently listening.  In the far right, lower corner, more people are entering the church.  The warmth of this moment is captured in the colors used, oranges and yellows with hints of blue and green.


Reading Martin Rising: Requiem For A King written by Andrea David Pinkney with illustrations by Brian Pinkney silently to yourself is an experience to be remembered.  To read it aloud is powerful.  I high recommend this book for your professional and personal collections.  At the close of the book are Author's Reflections and Artist's Reflections and four pages dedicated to Now Is The Time with original photographs.  The final four sentences read:

When we vote, we rise.  When we march, we rise.  When we speak out, seek peace, teach the truth, we all rise to a better tomorrow.  And the time is now!

A time line and sources (books and web sources) with acknowledgments conclude this title.

To learn more about Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior poems and images.  Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher, hosts the cover reveal and an interview with Andrea and Brian on his blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  Andrea Davis Pinkney stops to chat with author, Deborah Kalb, in a Q & A.  Andrea Davis Pinkney talks with Roger Sutton about this title in a video at The Horn Book.  Author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson talks about this book at Kirkus and gives us views of artwork on her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Please visit a page on Scholastic's blog, On Our Minds, to celebrate this title.

For Her Son

Many an educator stands in the hallways of schools around the world at the end of the day watching students pass, secretly sending blessings their way to keep them safe, healthy and happy.  Once they leave our classrooms and libraries, we have no way to offer them further education until they return to us the following morning or after a vacation.  If it should happen to be the final day of a school year, we hope with all our hearts we have provided them with the knowledge and skills to ensure they live the best life possible until we meet again.

For parents this desire is surely stronger.  In Your Hands (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, September 12, 2017) written by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is a deeply moving request.  It is reverent.  It is full of faith.

When you are
newborn
I hold your hand and study your face.

I name you
Omari---
firstborn son.

This mother, like so many mothers, holds dreams in her heart for this child.  She takes his hand to keep him safe as he learns at home and school.  And when he is sad, she comforts with affection.

A bedtime ritual of stories and reminders of living by the Golden Rule usher the child to sleep.  As the child grows, this mother realizes she cannot always be there to offer assistance.  This is when a prayer is made to God to hold this boy in His hands.

She asks for safety.  She asks for the child to walk with assurance.  She asks for guidance.  These things can be as everyday as navigating a street crossing or as challenging as becoming a teen.

When she says

I will pray that the world sees you as a 
child of God

she wants for this beautiful boy of hers as every parent wishes for their sons (and daughters).  This is a universal desire.  This is a universal connection between parents.

She continues to define what it is to be a child of God.  This child is seen for their inner character.  This child is given second chances so lessons can be learned.  This child is given bravery.  This child is able to stand strong.  She closes with asking for a long life for this beautiful boy of hers so he too can have sons and grandsons.  This mother's words on the first of the final two pages are being sung throughout the land.


The first several times I read this silently and then aloud, it was as if I was seated in a sanctuary of a church.  When I just stepped outside moments ago to the evening sound of katydids I knew this prayer would resonate wherever it is spoken.  Carole Boston Weatherford writes with a pure heart of truth.

She begins with the love song of a mother to a newborn.  She follows with the mother's thoughts as she imagines a future for her son until he, too, is a parent.  The voice of this woman, this mother, is sincere, founded in love and in the knowledge of the world as it is.  Here is a sample passage.

I will 
pray
that you are
safe
in neighborhoods beyond our own
and that you feel confident
when you face new challenges. 


Viewing the fluid lines of artist Brian Pinkney is the same as receiving an invitation.  They reach out, draw you into the text, embracing you even after the last word is read or spoken.  The illustration on the front of the dust jacket of the boy held in the hands of God is gorgeous.  The title text is raised and varnished.  To the left, on the back, the mother is cradling her newborn child in her arms.  The colors used for them are golden yellows and oranges.

Beneath the jacket on the book case covered in powder blue we see on the right the title text in white with the mother's hands reaching downward to help her son take his first steps.  The same illustration as on the back of the jacket is on the back of the case.  A pale mint green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  The front book case image is repeated prior to the title page.  To the left of the text on the formal title page, Brian Pinkney again has a picture of the child walking within the hands of God.

Rendered in watercolor, gouache, and India ink on Strathmore watercolor paper the pictures fill the pages opposite the narrative placed on varied pastel shades of yellow, blue, pink, purple, and a brighter burnt orange.  Warm shades whirl around loosely drawn elements in black.  Each visual is breathtakingly beautiful, certainly worthy of framing.

A favorite illustration of many is of the child sleeping.  Above his head are swirls of black, pink, blue and yellow and one brush stroke of pale purple.  As he rests his head on his pillow with closed eyes, his mother's hands reach to tuck the blankets around him.  In a truly tender moment the boy's hand is reaching to hold one of her hands.  On his bedspread vehicles race in a scattered pattern.  Brian Pinkney continues to place loose brush strokes of pink, blue and golden orange within the mother and child.


In Your Hands written by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is not only a prayer but a promise.  It is this mother's assurance to her boy child she will do everything to lift him up so his life can be fulfilling and lasting.  This is every mother's hope, but in this title it is the song sung for an African American child by his African American mother.  This title is highly recommended to be on all bookshelves, professional and personal.

To view the websites of Carole Boston Weatherford and Brian Pinkney to discover more about them and their work, please follow the links attached to their names.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  

Rhythmic Heartbeat Of A Child

During childhood our words form into chants, songs, rhymes, sayings, poems and stories.  When learned by heart from daily use, we carry them into adulthood.  They are passed from one generation to the next generation, their rhythmic memories echoing through the ages.

As an integral part of our culture, they shape us.  Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin & Turn It Out!: Games, Songs & Stories from an African American Childhood (Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, January 10, 2017) collected by Patricia C. McKissack with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is a treasury of tradition and history.  It is an astounding resource.

Our earliest toys are our hands, feet, and voices.  When we are babies, our wiggling fingers, curling toes, kicking legs, and flexing fists, combined with our squeals of wonder and surprise, provide us with hours of challenging and entertaining play while helping us develop basic learning skills.

After an introduction nine chapters take us into the past and bring us to the present.  They also provide an invitation for a future full of fun.  These hand claps, jump rope rhymes and games, circle games and ring shouts, songs inspired by the Underground Railroad, spirituals, hymns, and Gospel music, proverbs, psalms and parables, superstitions, fables and Mama sayings, performance pieces inspired by African American writers and folktales and storytelling not only bring together African American children and

have provided a connecting thread among people of color throughout the world  

but reach out a unifying and universal hand to all children.

How many can remember Patty Cake?  Did you know there are more than thirty variations?  It would have been wonderful as a child to have been taught to hand clap to the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy or to transform Little Anthony and the Imperials song Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop (1960) into an original hand clap.  Jumping rope alone and hot pepper or double Dutch jumping is both a challenge and a joy with these songs.  Gather in the round to the sound of song, clapping and stomping--ring shouts.

Songs guided slaves toward freedom with words having more than one meaning.  In 1871 a group called the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University gathered spirituals sung in the South during slavery.  Gospel songs, a form of worship music, are a blend of enthusiastic voices raised in melody and shouts and body movements.  They praise Jesus as portrayed in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Comparisons to proverbs from other cultures are made to those of African American sayings, supplying us with the sure knowledge we are the same in wisdom.

Native American Saying
Be satisfied with the needs instead of the wants.
African American Saying
There's nothing better than enough.

Biblical psalms and parables serve as a foundation for spiritual thinking.  Superstitions, fables and sayings from mothers abound in every culture guiding, protecting and asking children to stop and think.  Have you ever played Porch School?

Literary giants were featured by children who were "on program".  Pieces were memorized and recited.  A gift handed down from parents to children and them to their children is the art of telling a good story beginning with Anansi and how he came to possess all stories and ending with children's favorite, a scary story.  A lifetime, many lifetimes, are held in these pages waiting for release by readers.


For each of the chapters Patricia C. McKissack has written an introduction providing a basis and personal context for her selections.  She informs us of the histories attached to each of the individual choices within each chapter.  The information she includes is absolutely fascinating for readers of all ages.  We are able to enjoy multiple versions.  Her writing style for this book is as if we are sitting on her front porch gathered together as she shares her years composed of claps, stomps, circles, shouts, rope jumping, songs, sayings, African American literature and stories.  Here is a chant for three rope jumpers.

I Know
(Begin with three jumpers.)
I know something,
But I won't tell;
Three little monkeys
In a peanut shell.
One can read.
(One jumper leaps out.)
One can dance.
(The second jumper leaps out.)
And one has a hole
In the seat of his pants.
(The third jumper leaps outs.) 


Don't you want to start singing, jumping and dancing when you look at the front of the matching dust jacket and book case?  The art of Brian Pinkney rendered throughout this title with watercolor and India ink on Strathmore watercolor paper flows with energy.  To the left, on the back, a single smaller picture features four children, arms raised and mouths open in song.  They are placed above a list of some of the titles showcased in this book.  A deeper sky blue seen in some of the lines on the front of the jacket and case covers the opening and closing endpapers.

Brian states in an illustrator's note at the beginning how his memories of these selections guided his work.  There is much joy in every single line and brush stroke placed on the heavier, matte-finished paper.  His color palette leans to warm and more pastel shades, although his black and white images are equally ready to leap off the pages.

Every chapter begins with a full page picture.  Nearly every page has one illustration.  At times a visual will cross the gutter.  His interpretation of Patricia's selections is striking and memorable.

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the chapter Turn About: Jump Rope Rhymes And Games.  Beneath the text a boy, eyes closed in concentration and a smile on his face, is leaping over a rope.  He holds the ends of the rope in his hands.  His feet are kicked up behind him.  You can't look at this picture without smiling or laughing along with the boy.


I read this book in a single sitting.  Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin & Turn It Out!: Games, Songs & Stories from an African American Childhood collected by Patricia C. McKissack with illustrations by Brian Pinkney is one of those rich and rare books which will be a resource and source of happiness for generations.  Everyone will find connections in this book to their own personal childhoods.  At the close of the book Patricia C. McKissack includes Acknowledgments, Notes for each chapter and a Bibliography for each chapter along with an Index.

To discover more about Patricia C. McKissack and Brian Pinkney and their other work please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Several pages of interior artwork are shared by author, reviewer and blogger Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  You will want to read through this review and conversation with McKissack at Kirkus.

Although this book is far longer than a nonfiction picture book, I choose to feature it for my choice as a participant in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.  This challenge is hosted by educator Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy.  Take a few minutes to view the titles chosen by other participants this week.