When I Hear Spirituals by Cheryl Willis Hudson & illustrated by London Ladd
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| Holiday House Publications ISBN: 9780823453801 Hardcover $18.99 |
My thoughts: Having been raised as a Southern white girl, I remember many of these songs. Spirituals. Soulful songs. I remember learning a little of the history behind some of them. Perhaps some will say it is wrong for a southern white child to learn to sing these spirituals so steeped with African American history. But we did sing them in school. No one made fun of them. No one talked ill about them. They were sung in music class as a means of teaching us a form of music whose epic history belonged to the South and a part of history with which we should be acquainted.
As I grew older, I learned more of the history and the people connected to this music and sorrow filled my own being to think of their sadness and pain and suffering. I was glad, though, that they had a spiritual connection to the God who could deliver them from their sorrows.
This book is a treasure to teach children of all races about the music that encouraged and brought a whisper of hope to those who sang it. There is a darkness in the book through the visual art and that is good because that was a dark period in history and there was darkness hovering over the African Americans. But in this darkness they sang of the undergirding strength they found in their faith as their spirits connected to God.
Libraries need this book.
About the book: Your spirit will soar! A girl connects with heritage, history, and a higher power through the lyrics of twelve beloved spirituals and four seminal events in African American history.
A beautiful keepsake to be shared by multiple generations.
When I hear spiritualsSometimesA big, full feelingGrows in my chest . . .
Her heart pounds, she gets a lump in her throat, and tears flow down her cheeks. She wants to clap her hands and stomp her feet. There is healing, tenderness, strength, pride, and above all, hope.
The author of the classic picture book Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, Cheryl Willis Hudson, has woven together lyrics of twelve timeless, Black spirituals with a moving exploration of how music holds memories, emotions, and empowerment.
Songs include “Go down, Moses,” “Nobody Knows the Troubles I See,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Rock-a-My Soul,” “Get on Board, Little Children,” and more.
Evocative illustrations by award-winning artist London Ladd depict important people and places in Black history and culture: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Great Migration, and the Enslaved People’s Uprising of 1811.
Journey through Black history and music in this layered picture book.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
