Rise! From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou by Bethany Hegedus & Illus by Tonya Engel

Maya Angelou--this woman was a rockstar! 

This book has colorful and swirling art. 

Maya and her brother going south to live with their grandma. 

Isn't this art amazing? 

Life was mostly good in Stamps, Arkansas. They were cared for and loved by their extended family. They also witnessed the cruelty of racial prejudice endemic in the south in the 1930s.

When their mother settled into a new relationship in Chicago, she sent for the children to visit. 

Of course, that relationship was fraught for Maya. I love how a children's book deals with such a heavy topic (childhood sexual abuse) in such a... well delicate but effective way. There are a lot of kids who feel this sort of fear in their own home and I can only imagine their relief at seeing that same experience reflected in a picture book. 

Still, I hesitate to read this to very young kids. I guess I feel like I need a little more training on how to handle student's comments and questions in a careful way. 

After she was assaulted, one of her uncles allegedly killed her attacker. As a young girl of seven, she felt her words had killed him, so stopped talking to anyone but her brother.  But she still loved words--the rhythm and cadence of words, the beauty and depth of words.

Outside, Maya is quiet. Inside, words make music. Maya memorizes the rhythm, sways to the exquisite dance, the twisting, turning, conga line of language. 

Poetic. 

Maya earned a scholarship to a San Francisco Labor College and studied dance and drama.  

As a young single mother, Maya struggled, but never gave up on her stage talents. Marrying a Greek sailor and aspiring musician at 24, she used a form of his last name for her stage name, Maya Angelou. She toured Europe with Porgy and Bess during the early 1950's. Eventually she went on to release an album of her own compositions and win Tony awards for her acting in multiple works. 

She was passionate about civil rights, working with Martin Luther King Jr, South African activist Vusumzi Make (who she fell in love with and moved to Cairo with), and then meeting and working with Malcolm X in Ghana. 

After MLK Jr.'s murder on her birthday, Maya was devastated, but her friend James Baldwin encouraged her to put that devastation to work and free herself by writing an autobiography. 

In 1970 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published and became an immediate success. 

She went on to win Grammy's for her spoken word albums of poetry, had great commercial success as an author, became the first black women to write a produced screenplay, and became a professor at Wake-Salem University. 

Maya Angelou was an incredible, incredible woman. Massive intellect, charm, From a somewhat troubled beginning (broken family, sexual abuse, young single motherhood, a failed marriage) she went onward and upward, teaching at universities in Ghana and the USA, mastering six languages, and being a life long advocate for civil rights.

In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor for a life of achievement. 

She was a dynamo! 

The Women Who Caught the Babies by Eloise Greenfield & Illus by Daniel Minter

Oh my word. This book is so gorgeous. 

It begins with a little historical note about African-American midwives. 

And then the amazing Eloise Greenfield launches into poetry illustrated eloquently by Daniel Minter. 

These pictures are not the greatest, so I strongly advise you to find a copy of this ASAP.

There is such a geometric/batik quality to the detail here that seems so timeless. 

And those biceps....!!

I don't pretend to fully understand all the art, but that might be what adds an element of awe to it. 

Greenfield writes poems throughout the centuries up until the present day, but doesn't overwhelm the reader with words or poems. Spare word use and only a poem or two a century, make the words stand out. 

Emancipation Proclamation--the first child born free. 

The early 2000's

Welcome them into the world for loving. 

Swoon. 

I don't feel this review really portrays the magnificence of this book (okay, it doesn't at all--I don't know what is wrong with my camera) but trust me on this--it is incredible. 

A Place to Land by Barry Wittenstein & Illus by Jerry Pinkney

Another MLK Jr. book? Yes, please! This was one of those books I wasn't sure about on the first read through. It seemed to be a non-story in some ways. It tells the back story on the famous "I have a dream speech" which is basically, Martin went off script.

But the more I read it, the more nuanced it is. There is still so much to say and learn about this man, the things he did, and the words he said. 

Pinkney is no slouch--this is before the title page, which is often left blank, but not here. 

The night before the speech, Martin didn't know what to say. 

So Martin did what great men do. 

He asked for guidance. 

Not from above.

At least not at first. 

They all had their say, including an adviser saying he had used the "I have a dream" line too often and it could not be used effectively again. 

Part of Martin's greatness--he knew 

the importance of listening. 

I love these two excerpts that show the humility of truly great men. 

After listening, he went upstairs and thought about all the people who went before him in this fight and what they would want him to say. 

Detailed view.

Seriously, Pinkney puts so much in each picture--textured and layered. 

Martin wrote late into the night. 

Words crossed out three, four times, searching for the perfect meaning and rhythm. 

Even Martin, as brilliant as he was, edited and rewrote.

I love the collage elements over in the left hand corner here. 

The next morning, people came from all over the country to Washington--to be met with soldiers in riot gear. 

Map collages are never not a wonderful addition. 

Even an hour before he was supposed to speak, Martin kept thinking about what to say, things did not feel totally settled. He hadn't found his place to land yet. 

Martin began his speech and then, paused. He wasn't feeling inspired, so his audience wasn't either. 

Mahalia Jackson, the "Queen of Gospel," told him to tell the people about the dream.

And then came some of the most inspiring words America had heard in years. 

Afterward, people joined hands and sang, "We shall overcome."

And Martin went to the White House to shake hands with JFK who had been slow to embrace the civil rights movement and tried to convince its leaders to cancel the march. 

Students are often surprised that a president would work against Martin Luther King Jr. How could any right thinking person disagree with him? Some great conversations about that. 

Martin stepped up to the lectern, 

and stepped down on the other side of history. 

And then the ones who came after.

Mini-biographies of the people pictured advising Martin.

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson

This book!!

Well I mean, what would you expect from two rock stars in the kid lit world? 

Kwame Alexander wrote this poem for his newborn daughter in 2008, right after Obama had been elected. 

He wanted to honor all the African-Americans that had faced so many obstacles and leapt over them like Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics. 

Those who survived America by any means necessary...

And those who didn't. 

This blank page--so powerful. 

This is for the undeniable

the ones who scored

with chains 

on one hand

and faith 

in the other.

Luminaries.

...To save an imperfect Union.

Kadir Nelson's pictures are amazing! Every time I pick up one of the books he has worked on I am blown away by the attention to detail, the intensity of each subject. 

And this page really gets me right in the gut. The lives given to fight for this country that enslaved them because they refused to believe that men could be that unremittingly vile forever. 

The audacity of hope. 

...the unspeakable.

Modern unpeakables.

A roll call of famous African-Americans athletes....

...and the undiscovered.

Musicians

How does Kadir Nelson get that glimmering, almost-crying look in people's eyes so perfectly? HOW? 

There is so much hope and love and optimism on this page that it gets me every time. 

This is for you. 

Turtle in Paradise and Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Rather cluelessly, I read Full of Beans before I read Turtle in Paradise. Which is interesting. Because Full of Beans takes place just BEFORE Turtle in Paradise, but was written AFTER. 

So I feel like I read it backwards even though technically I read it chronologically. 

First of all, both are great historical fiction books set in Key West during the Great Depression. This was just before Key West became a tourist destination, so there is certainly some gritty reality in them. 

(Also, avocados are called alligator pears. I enjoyed this detail for no real reason.)

Turtle in Paradise deals with a girl named Turtle who is sent off to live with relatives in Key West because her mother took a job as a live in housekeeper to someone who won't have kids around. In Key West, Turtle gets to know her family and finds adventure. 

Full of Beans gives us a backstory for Turtle's cousin Beans. I know Turtle in Paradise won a Newbery Honor, but I definitely liked Full of Beans more. Beans is an opportunistic realist, which makes him a fascinating character. He is an entrepreneur where there are no jobs and hardly any money. But somehow, Beans figures out a way to make a few bucks. Not surprisingly, Beans has a few moments of moral quandary or two as he makes money doing odd jobs that are not always strictly legal. If no one is hurt, does it matter? A question for the ages.

I liked Turtle, but Beans captured my heart. 

Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara & Illus by Esmé Shapiro

It is always interesting to me when society has a renewed interest in someone long dead. Alexander Hamilton hasn't done anything interesting in over 200 years and somehow, he is a person of very current interest and passion.

The power of a musical. 

This book is an interesting look at Alexander Hamilton's wife, an interesting and important player in the Revolutionary/Early Years Era of American history.

 You can see the sway of the musical in the fact that the actress that plays Eliza in the play has graced the book with an afterward; giving her blessing.  

The book itself is written like a letter from an older Elizabeth to her soon to be born great-grandchild. 

While no such letter exists, it is an interesting format to convey a personal touch and a wealth of information. 

Eliza goes all the way back to her birth, sharing details of her parent's life and home north of Albany. 

Eliza like all good heroines was a bit unconventional, loving the outdoors and not being afraid of anything. Unlike her visiting friends who were a little hesitant about the wildness of newly settled area. 

Eliza is true to the era, depicting her family's slaves and a destroying fire that moved through during her childhood. 

Do you remember the discussion a year or two ago about how slaves were depicted in children's books? Sophie Blackall's illustrations in A Fine Dessert and Vanessa Brantley-Newton's illustrations in A Birthday Cake for George Washington were widely criticized because they depicted the slaves as smiling or enjoying their enslavement. Clearly Shapiro learned from that conversation. 

The courtship of the young, passionate, and orphaned Alexander and the well-connected Elizabeth

Their home filled with light, love, and children

The day of Alexander's death

After Alexander's death, Elizabeth devoted herself to making the world more gentle and kind to those destitute and needy. 

Along with several others, Eliza was involved in establishing the Orphan Asylum Society which is still operating under the name of Graham Windham. 

This is a children's book, so it doesn't include all the details about the Alexander's life, including Alexander's affair with Maria Reynolds becoming public, their first son being killed in a duel only two years before Alexander was killed in his own duel, and her oldest daughter who had a mental breakdown after her brother's death and was there after described as being in "an eternal childhood" for the rest of her life. 

But overall, this book has a wealth of knowledge about an interesting woman involved in the founding of America.