African American Book Reviews

 This post was completed for a Masters class at Sam Houston State University.

Lester, Julius. 1994. JOHN HENRY. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN: 9780140566222

 Plot Summary: John Henry tells the legend of a mountain of a man named John Henry who has the strength and power of ten men or more combined.  He spends his days using his strength to chop down woods, smash boulders and make roads, and carves space through a mountain faster than a machine. 

 Critical Analysis:

          This retelling of a famous African American ballad shares a hero with the literature world.  As far as the author knows, John Henry wasn’t a real person, but there are some that believe a version of John Henry existed.  Lester uses incredible figurative language that weaves beautiful imagery throughout the story including referencing some African American history such as sg “the boulder shivered like the morning when freedom came to the slaves.”  Using the imagery of a rainbow shining over John Henry and even wrapped around his arms when there wasn’t enough room to shine in the sky above him shows the reader how much of a hero John Henry was to the people in his community. As hard as it might be to actually believe that a person who can chop down a whole forest by himself, race on foot against a man on a horse and win, hammer a boulder the size of a mountain and create a road existed, Lester gives the African American community a hero to look up to and emulate.  No, we can’t do the same tasks, but John Henry worked for his community with an open heart, didn’t let himself get discouraged, and attempted the impossible. 

          Pinkney, as a Caldecott award winning illustrator, does an incredible job of showcasing John Henry and other African Americans with accurate skin tones and features.  John Henry is illustrated as being larger than all the other characters in the story, which adds to his larger-than-life personality and incredible strength.  His illustrations were created using watercolor and add vivacious realistic details to the story.

Review Excerpts:  

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review: “This carefully crafted updating begs to be read aloud for its rich, rhythmic storytelling flow, and the suitably oversize illustrations amplify the text.”

Kirkus: “Pinkney's watercolors walk a smart and lovely line between ephemerality and sheer natural energy.”

Connections:

          I would definitely include John Henry in a tall tale/legends unit.  Students could read about other legends like Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill.  Students could compare and contrast. 

          Students could also compare other stories about John Henry such as John Henry: An American Legend by Ezra Jack Keats or Steel Drivin’ Man-John Henry- the Untold Story of an American Legend by Scott Reynolds Nelson.

King, Martin Luther &  Nelson, Kadir. 2012. I HAVE A DREAM. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 9780375858871

 Plot Summary: Readers get to enjoy some of the highlights, or most important words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most famous speech in I Have a Dream.  The book is accompanied by gorgeous paintings that explain in a visual way some of the words from the speech.  The book is also accompanied by the speech in its entirety and a CD with a recording of the original speech.

 Critical Analysis: I have read a lot of books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. including helping students locate the books in the library for research projects.  This book seems to have topped almost all of them.  Breaking apart his speech can be difficult for young scholars because understanding the time period might be difficult.  However, the story starts with breaking apart the speech into smaller chunks and focusing on some of the most important words.

          Accompanying this most famous speech are the oil paintings from Kadir Nelson.  Each page adds a visual representation of the words that matches perfectly.  Nelson focuses ono sharing children of all colors including accurate paintings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his family.  Nelson even shares different scenery from across our great nation to add even more value to the words.  The reader feels like he or she was present for the speech because the paintings depict the March on Washington so well.  Using the doves at the end to represent freedom and hopefully peace make this book even more valuable.  Young readers will be able to understand the importance of this historical event after reading this rendition of this most famous speech.

 

Review Excerpts:

Coretta Scott King Honor Award, Parents’ Choice Foundation Silver Honor

 Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review: “A glorious interpretation of a bedrock moment in 20th-century history.”

 Kirkus Starred Review: “An award-winning artist captures the passion and purpose of this most notable 20th-century American speech in beautifully realized oil paintings.”

 Connections:

After readers have enjoyed this story, I would highly encourage them to conduct their own research on not only Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and legacy, but to also find information on other Civil Rights leaders.

Students could also look at I have a Dream with a foreword written by Coretta Scott King to compare and gather more information. Another book that might be good to compare to is Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport.

Zoboi, Ibi. 2017. AMERICAN STREET. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 9780062473059

Plot Summary: American Street shares the story of a young Haitian immigrant, named Fabiola Toussaint, who may have been born in America, but has spent her life in Haiti.  On her way to meet her aunt and cousins in Michigan, her mother is detained, and Fabiola must navigate a new home, new school, and new romance by herself.  Fabiola learns along the way that freedom seems to come at some heavy costs as she works to try to free her mother.

Critical Analysis: This novel will pull at the heart strings and engage almost any young adult or adult reader.  Zoboi can connect the reader with the life of an immigrant as she draws on her own experiences as an immigrant come to New York.  When most readers read about or hear about VooDoo, they immediately think witchcraft and evil.  However, Zoboi can show the reader that this is another form of faith and part of the Haitian culture as Fabiola relies on her lwas, or Haitian spirits, to support her as she tries to locate her mother.  Young adults will be able to relate to the themes of friendship and romance that Fabiola encounters as she builds her new home and family in America. 

          One thing to be aware of is the crude language throughout the story, but the life of drugs and struggling in poverty seems to be where this kind of language would be predominant.

 Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Starred Review: “ Filling her pages with magic, humanity, tragedy, and hope, Zoboi builds up, takes apart, and then rebuilds an unforgettable story.”

 Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review:  “Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming.”

 Connections: Students may not know much about immigrant laws and the process of becoming an American citizen. This could be a research project for students.  They could compare and see how often it is that immigrants are detained due to improper paperwork.

          Students could take the project further and research the first immigrants to come to the United States. Where did our founding fathers come from?  What ideals and motives drove them to start our country and create the Constitution and laws?  Some students may even connect this to the recent theater performance of Hamilton that has been showing on television. Students could make plans to help immigrants set up their own businesses and start their new lives in America. 

          Students could also complete a research project on the Haitian culture.  How much is VooDoo still practiced?  When Haitians immigrate to the United States, how many continue the practice?  This would be a great opportunity for students to complete research on a new culture.

Reynolds, Jason. 2017. LONG WAY DOWN. New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN: 9781481438261

 Plot Summary: Long Way Down shares the gripping story of Will after he has seen his older brother, Shawn, shot and killed.  Will must follow the rules of the impoverished: no crying, no snitching, and that he must get revenge.  Reynolds uses free verse poetry to tell Will’s story as he meets various characters from his past on his journey to make amends with his brother’s death.

Critical Analysis: This book is a great way for young adults to stop and focus on choices they are making in their daily lives.  Hopefully, daily choices won’t include revenge for a family member’s death, but the message of thinking about what you do and how it will affect others down the road is important.  Reynolds shares the anguish of the main character, Will, using free verse poetry that reads freely and easily.  Any young adult will be able to follow the story and understand the African American dialect that Reynolds “speaks.”

          One of the main focuses that Reynolds wants to portray to his readers is that of gun violence and how not only your actions will affect your future, but serious actions such as ones that involve guns will be life altering. 

Review Excerpts:

Newberry Honor Book, Printz Award Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award

Kirkus Starred Review: “Throughout, readers get a vivid picture of Will and the people in his life, all trying to cope with the circumstances of their environment while expressing the love, uncertainty, and hope that all humans share.”

 Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review: “Written entirely in spare verse, this is a tour de force from a writer who continues to demonstrate his skill as an exceptionally perceptive chronicler of what it means to be a black teen in America.”

 Connections: Older students will be able to connect gun violence issues from the story with current events happening now.  Most recently, the Uvalde elementary school shooting has prompted politicians and citizens alike discussing gun violence and future gun laws.  Students could present current events including current laws along with offering their ideas for what should be put in place for the future. 

          Students might also enjoy Jason Reynolds’ graphic novel version of Long Way Down. Comparisons could be made between the two versions.  Student could also complete a survey of students reading both versions to see which one had more of an impact: the poetry/novel version or the graphic novel version. Students could discuss and compose ideas of why that version is more popular.