Langston Hughes: American Poet

This book is about the life of African American poet Langston Hughes. As a child his living situation was rocky, having to move back and fourth from place to place and living without his mother or grandmother sometimes. Once his grandmother died he went to stay with his mother again. They were very

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poor, but when his mother had the means she would spoil Hughes. Hughes grew up living in a time when discrimination, segregation and racism was still present in America which made it hard for him and his mother to find work. He visits his father after 11 years of being separated and discovers that he is rich, but hates black people and has a mean negative attitude about many things Hughes loves. He spends the rest of his life writing and even though his family wasn't very supportive and didn't understand it, he traveled to read his peoms to people who could't afford to buy his work. Although he had been published he was poor at times. He is dead now but he has become a loved poet and writer that many have come to admire and study.

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The sentences are short and the vocabulary is very simple. This book has a lot of information and told in a narrative fashion. Tells of Langston Hughes's life growing up, his family, school, neighborhood, and his growing passion for reading, writing, words and their meaning. The book touches upon

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the realities of growing up black in America during a time when racism and prejudice was accepted and the norm. Sprinkled with Langston's own poetry, this book is a fabulous read!

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I find myself in a predicament that I wasn't expecting with this book. I truly enjoyed the story, and I feel that I really gained a better grasp on the person that Langston Hughes was. However, as a children's librarian who has had to deal with similar situations in the past, I found myself

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wondering about the intended audience with this book. It would seem that this is a book is intended for the picture book audience to the unaware observer, but the text says otherwise. This is an excellent piece of writing that would be appreciated by a middle school audience were the format more indicative of that reading level. Instead, I'm afraid that the appearance would dissuade that crowd from giving it a chance, and that's too bad. Instead this book appears on the outside to be an elementary school read. An astute observer would know with only a brief review that this wasn't the case, but I still foresee it being shelved at an average impersonal bookstore in the children's section rather than with the young adult books where it would truly receive the appreciation it deserves. As I've said, the book is impressive and to have a biography written by someone who actually knew the subject is a rare treat, but I just wonder whether this book is presented in a manner that would attract its best audience.

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This is a great book about the talented American poet Langston Hughes. I particularly like that the author knew Hughes personally, and shared her first-hand experiences of who he was with the reader. The pictures in this book are beautiful. The author uses some to capture Hughes' poems (and they do

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so beautifully), and then some to capture moments in Hughes life, which were lovely and at times emotional. The writing itself is very clear and effective, and appropriate for a young audience (as early as elementary school, in my opinion).

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Although I remember reading the poetry of Langston Hughes in middle school, we never really covered any aspect of his life or the fact that he wrote numerous autobiographical works. It wasn't until much later (an African-American history course in college, actually) that I learned this stuff out.

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While I really enjoyed reading this book, sometimes I found myself confused as to whether it was intended for older audiences (middle school students) or a younger one. Although the sentences are easy to read, some of the language presented doesn't seem suitable for young audiences. I know the point is to introduce children to multiculturalism early on, but I don't think the way to do that is to introduce derogatory terms to students that won't really understand what they mean. At first I was skeptical about how the story presented some of the feelings of Langston Hughes, but after reading Alice Walker's "Author's Note" about keeping in touch with him and reading his autobiographical works, I feel more comfortable in believing its accuracy. This book also does a great job of integrating some of his poems into the story line without seeming forced. I have to admit, though, that my favorite aspect of this book was the pictures. I mean, that Aloe plant on page 17? Great stuff!

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