Status
Available
Local notes
E Wea
Collection
Genres
Publication
Albert Whitman & Company (2014), 32 pages. $16.99 (Sept 2017).
Description
Rhyming text celebrates the Harlem neighborhood that successful African Americans first called home during the 1920s. Includes brief biographies of jazz greats Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis; artists Aaron Douglas and Faith Ringgold; entertainers Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers; writer Zora Neale Hurston; civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois; and lawyer Thurgood Marshall.
Awards
CCBC Choices (2015)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
32 p.; 8 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
This book of poetry is focused on Sugar Hill, a neighborhood in Harlem in the early twentieth century that was the center of black culture during the Harlem Renaissance. Famous residents included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Dubois, and Thurgood Marshall.
The
“Where Robeson puts down roots a while
and Sonny Rollins hangs with Miles.”
“Where DuBois outlines social tracts
and Thurgood Marshall plots legal attacks.”
No indication whatsoever is given about who these people are until an Author’s Note and “Who’s Who” at the end of the book, clearly intended for adults.
Illustrator R. Gregory Christie is the perfect choice for this story. His spare modernist art style tends to be “jazzy,” and here he mixes bright colors and interesting perspective work to create interest.
It would not be possible, however, to read this without an adult, and even many adults will be flipping back and forth to the “Who’s Who” to match the bios with the text.
The
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very short poems feature these famous people in lines like these:“Where Robeson puts down roots a while
and Sonny Rollins hangs with Miles.”
“Where DuBois outlines social tracts
and Thurgood Marshall plots legal attacks.”
No indication whatsoever is given about who these people are until an Author’s Note and “Who’s Who” at the end of the book, clearly intended for adults.
Illustrator R. Gregory Christie is the perfect choice for this story. His spare modernist art style tends to be “jazzy,” and here he mixes bright colors and interesting perspective work to create interest.
It would not be possible, however, to read this without an adult, and even many adults will be flipping back and forth to the “Who’s Who” to match the bios with the text.
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LibraryThing member herethere
Love this walk back in time to what Sugar Hill once was and the people that lived there. Great history that shows the wide range of black americans who contributed in important ways to arts, music, and science. The illustrations are fun and it would be a great way to get kids to look at the idea of
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community and neighborhoods. Show Less
LibraryThing member bmalon6
This was a fun, entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main message of this book is to inform children of the wonderful old historic neighborhood, Harlem. It also provides great inside into a different culture. I liked this book because of the rhyming words. For example one page stated,"
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Sugar hill, sugar hill where life if sweet and the Nicholas brothers rest their feet." Rhyming words are a fun way to read and are also great for emerging readers. I also liked the illustrations. They were big, fun pictures. This made the story really come to life and the reader is able to really imagine what life if like in Harlem. The one thing I did not like about the book was the way the author set up the words. One page the words would be in several different fonts and all over the place. Some words would be going diagonal, vertical, and squiggly. This could make it really difficult for children to follow and read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
Great artwork, nice rhyming scheme and good historical notes at the end made me happy.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
Great artwork, nice rhyming scheme and good historical notes at the end made me happy.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
Great artwork, nice rhyming scheme and good historical notes at the end made me happy.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
Great artwork, nice rhyming scheme and good historical notes at the end made me happy.
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Pages
32