WHEN I HEAR SPIRITUALS

$18.99
SKU:
9780823453801
Weight:
18.00 Ounces
Width:
10.00 (in)
Height:
11.00 (in)
Depth:
3.00 (in)
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Calculated at Checkout
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Description

Description

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 spirituals 
Sometimes
A big, full feeling
Grows 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.

*A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

 

 

REVIEWS

In this beautifully crafted celebration of African American spirituals, our young narrator walks readers through twelve spirituals, noting her personal connection to them and alluding to their significance within the larger historical, cultural, and religious context of her African American community. The girl’s voice is direct and full of emotion, and the sense of awe running throughout her narration on the verso page often parallels the lyrics of spirituals on the recto, creating an intimate, visual connection between whatever the girl is feeling and the song itself. There is a soaring sense of beauty when she says, “When I hear spirituals / Sometimes / A big, full feeling / Grows in my chest / My heart pounds / So fast and so hard,” which is paired with “Over my head, I hear music in the air. / There must be a God somewhere” and backgrounded by a scene that sees the young girl looking up through a flight of white birds. A quiet, contemplative sorrow takes over later, as she ponders “Steal away, Steal away home; / I ain’t got long to stay here,” and then a rhythmic, cheerful joy as she stomps her feet to “Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham.” Cut paper, tissue paper, and acrylic paint give the art layered depth, much like the spirituals themselves, and the various changes in perspective and composition echo the emotion behind the songs; a scene in a church is slightly askew, evoking a sense of movement as a woman sways and sings, while a spread of people marching for civil rights keeps a more linear, organized layout. A conversational author’s note offers more historical and cultural details while keeping the girl’s welcoming, wondrous tone, making this both an informative and evocative read. A glossary and further resources are included. 

- Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books, STARRED REVIEW 

 

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Willis Hudson movingly exalts the power of African American spirituals in a lyrics showcase that pairs existing verses with feelings they can evoke. On the first page, a Black child watching doves circle narrates on the verso: “When I hear spirituals,/ Sometimes,/ A big, full feeling/ Grows in my chest.” The recto, meanwhile, supplies italicized lyrics: “Over my head, I hear music in the air.” A page later, a Black adult in a pew bows their head, “A big lump/... stuck/ In my throat,” while lyrics read, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” Other spreads foreground a church congregation raising their hands in worship, a child dancing in a white dress, and Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King marching in a crowd, mixing historical scenes with everyday vignettes. Ladd’s ethereal acrylic, colored pencil, and cut paper illustrations render each characters’ heartfelt emotions visible, while personal-feeling text underlines how “spirituals speak/ To something tender/ And gentle/ And reverent/ And ‘sho’nuff’/ And ‘can-do’/ Inside of me.” Back matter includes an author’s note and glossary. Ages 6–9. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

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 "A deeply resonant work that speaks to these songs’ historical—and present—meaning."

 

An exuberant and picturesque celebration of African American spirituals.

 

A Black child with dark skin and an Afro puff waxes rhapsodic about spirituals in free verse, while choruses from relevant songs accompany the youngster’s words. Sometimes the narrator feels mournful while listening to the music, and “a big lump / Gets stuck / In my throat.” The chorus from “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” appears. But this music can be healing, too; here, Hudson includes an excerpt from “There Is a Balm in Gilead.” And sometimes the music moves the young protagonist to “stomp my feet” and “sway to the beat”; the opposite page presents the chorus from “Bosom of Abraham.” Pairing beautifully with the well-chosen lyrics and Hudson’s rhythmic, affirming text, Ladd’s richly saturated mixed-media illustrations demonstrate the cultural and historical importance of these songs. Churchgoers lift their hands in praise, Harriet Tubman leads her people to freedom, and Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and John Lewis raise their voices in protest. The use of cut paper gives the artwork a heavily textured look; emotion feels carved into every spread. Thorough backmatter discusses how spirituals have allowed Black Americans to forge an identity and chronicle their history; Hudson also expands on the people and events depicted in the illustrations.

A deeply resonant work that speaks to these songs’ historical—and present—meaning. (author’s note, glossary, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-10)      

- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

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In this original picture book, a girl thinks about spirituals. Each double-page spread features her comments, several lines from a spiritual, and an illustration that reflects the tone of the lyrics and music. While most scenes focus on the girl in various contemporary settings, others represent other Black people in the present or in America’s past. The free-verse text conveys the girl’s thoughts, memories, and emotions as she thinks about spirituals’ power to inspire people, including herself. As she says, “Spirituals speak / to something tender / and gentle / and reverent, / and ‘sho ‘nuff’ / and ‘can-do’ / and so strong / inside of me.” Hudson, who remembers spirituals from her childhood and has sung them in choirs, is surely writing from the heart in this lively picture book. Readers fortunate enough to have heard and sung spirituals as children will feel at home, with their memories providing a soundtrack of one song after another. Created with acrylic paint, colored pencils, cut paper, and tissue paper, the illustrations are expressive and colorful. In an appended note, Hudson offers a history of spirituals’ development, from their African roots to the 2007 passage of a U.S. Congressional bill recognizing spirituals as “a national treasure.” A personal tribute to a beloved American art form.

— Carolyn Phelan, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

 

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Additional Info

Additional Info

SKU:
9780823453801
Weight:
18.00 Ounces
Width:
10.00 (in)
Height:
11.00 (in)
Depth:
3.00 (in)
Shipping:
Calculated at Checkout

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