Often you read the title of a book initially unaware of its specific content. And, even though the punctuation does not indicate a question, you have questions. You are also pondering probable answers to those questions.
We lost John Robert Lewis on July 17, 2020. He was a man who never sought it, but was wrapped in a mantle of light and honor for his lifetime of accomplishments. Certainly, there must be a lengthy list of truths to follow the first five words in this title. Possibilities were whirling through my mind. Because Of You, John Lewis: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship (Scholastic Press, June 7, 2022) written by Andrea Davis Pinkney with illustrations by Keith Henry Brown supplies us with a story each generation wishes for the next. We wish for the world to be a better place for all and we wish for those who follow us to continue working toward that better place.
His name is as bright as the dawn filled with stars.
Tybre Faw.
Tybre Faw has a wish as radiant as his name. He wants to meet Congressman John Lewis and shake his hand. Hailing from Johnson City, Tennessee, Tybre has been schooled by his grandmothers and the Black Lives Matter movement. This is a child filled with purpose and hope.
Upon first learning about John Lewis, Tybre reads all he can about this friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He reads about his youth as a sharecropper's son and preaching to his family's chickens. He reads how John Lewis wanted to meet Dr. King.
He reads about John Lewis receiving the nickname of
"Good Trouble".
He reads about John Lewis's activities during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He reads how John Lewis writes a letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and gets a bus ticket in return. It is a bus ticket so John Lewis can meet Dr. King. This is how their friendship begins. This is how they both give memorable speeches on August 28, 1963 in Washington, DC. This is why the duo are walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on what is now called Bloody Sunday.
After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s passing, John Lewis knew he needed to keep his friend's endeavors alive. Each year he marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. This year, 2018, Tybre Faw has persuaded his two grandmothers to make the seven hour drive from Johnson City, Tennessee to Selma, Alabama. In anticipation, he waits for John Robert Lewis to exit the Brown Chapel AME Church. He wishes. He keeps wishing. He holds a sign thanking the congressman.
A wish comes true. A hand is grasped. Words are exchanged. An invitation is extended. A walk, together, is made across that famous bridge. And, again, endeavors are being kept alive. They live in the words of John Lewis's favorite poem read by Tybre Faw at the congressman's memorial service at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Keep wishing, children, keep wishing.
Immediately two words come to mind each time this title penned by Andrea Davis Pinkney is read. They are powerful and poignant. The poetic sentences weave together the friendship of John Robert Lewis with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the friendship of John Robert Lewis with Tybre Faw. Past and present blend with historic accuracy. An uplifting undercurrent of hope runs through the entire narrative.
Many times Andrea Davis Pinkney creates an enhanced impact by grouping thoughts and facts together in threes. These are carefully placed within the text. She also uses repetition to excellent effect. When she describes the 1965 march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the strength of the relationship between John and Martin, it is stunning. Here is a passage.
Hearing Martin's words lit a light in John's heart.
They flew straight
to John's wide-open hopes
and tucked themselves
into the deepest pockets of his understanding.
I want to meet that clergyman.
I want to shake his hand.
I want to tell Martin Luther King, Jr.
exactly who I am.
Me. John Robert.
On the front, right side, of the matching dust jacket and book case, we see John Robert Lewis standing tall, yet humbly, above a depiction of one of the commemorative marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In front of them is Tybre Faw, holding the sign he carried as he waited outside the church in hopes of meeting John Lewis. To the left of the spine, on the back, is an image extending to the flap edge. It is a bird's eye view of thousands of marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge is shown right to left across the lower portion with the city buildings rising in the upper portion. Water and trees fill the area between the two. In the sky is a John Lewis quote:
"Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and
get in good trouble, necessary trouble.
The opening and closing endpapers are in a muted orange. On the title page, there are a limited number of colors. The full-page image presents a night with a full moon shining over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, now nearly empty except for a few vehicles.
Each of the double-page pictures rendered by Keith Henry Brown
primarily with watercolor and quill pen with black ink on smooth Bristol and D'Arches cold-pressed 140 pound paper, and then rendered digitally
elevates the text as well as supplies readers with a pictorial insight into history, then and now. The portraits of Tybre, John, and Martin are thoughtful, meaningful, and moving. The watercolor washes fashion a marvelous mix of light and shadow. The black ink lines draw our eyes to the people and their reflected personalities.
Often, Keith Henry Brown will place the people in a setting with relevant buildings in the background as well as a historical event. If there are other people present, he will have them fade into the background, giving them a solid color while our attention is drawn to the main people in full color. He will also give insight into what the people might be thinking or reading.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a wash of red, blue, and green, all blending into a pleasing whole. Bold, black lines outline the lower half of Tybre's legs on the day he met John Lewis. His pants are cuffed at the bottom and a bit longer. Tybre's new shoes are tied tight with laces. His feet are walking, walking forward, as his friend John Lewis would want him to do.
The eloquent words and radiant images in Because Of You, John Lewis: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship written by Andrea Davis Pinkney with artwork by Keith Henry Brown afford readers with a deeply personal and memorable portrait of John Robert Lewis and his friends Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tybre Faw. It is a story spanning decades and it continues to this day. At the close of the book are two pages titled Two Journeys. One Dream. These are followed by two pages dedicated to a Time Line Of The Life of Rep. John Lewis. There is a half page of sources and further reading. One page showcases black and white photographs during the civil rights movement. On the opposite page are color photographs of John Lewis and of John Lewis and Tybre. The entire poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley is printed with these pictures. I cannot imagine a personal or professional collection without a copy or two of this title.
To learn more about Keith Henry Brown and his other work, please access his website by following the link attached to his name. (For some reason, I am currently unable to link to the stated website for Andrea Davis Pinkney.) Andrea Davis Pinkney has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Keith Henry Brown has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. On the Scholastic Reads Podcast John Robert Lewis is honored. Andrea Davis Pinkney is present discussing this book as well as U. S. Representative Nikema Williams with her memories of Congressman Lewis.
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