Product Description

"And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely -- I'll make me a world."

-- James Weldon Johnson

Thus begins Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ashley Bryan's collection of inspiring excerpts of poems by celebrated African American poets. Beautifully illustrated with his own tempera and gouache paintings, Ashley Bryan's unique alphabet book will delight readers of any age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #750410 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689840456
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry is not an alphabet book. Award-winning children's book author and former teacher Ashley Bryan has simply hit upon a straightforward way to present the work of his favorite African American poets: he uses a letter of each poem to organize the 25 excerpts and one African American spiritual. His vibrant artwork, with bold strokes of paint reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh, successfully captures the essence of each piece. "As I read," Bryan writes, "images sprang from the lines of the poets... Finally, I chose the sketches that offered a balanced play of images and did finished paintings from them in tempera paints and gouache colors."

Poems ranging from the intense to the whimsical reflect the diverse voices of poets such as Rita Dove, Lucille Clifton, and Gwendolyn Brooks. A colorful elephant stands solidly next to Countee Cullen's poem: "Dear Noah: Please save me a spot / Exposed to the sun, where the Mice are not; / But if I must share my chamber, the Ant / Is the one I should welcome. Yours: L. E. Phant." From Langston Hughes we hear, "There are words like Freedom / Sweet and wonderful to say. / On my heart-strings freedom sings / All day everyday." And Eloise Greenfield chimes in with "Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff / Wasn't scared of nothing neither / Didn't come in this world to be no slave / And wasn't going to stay one neither." This innovative, easy-to-absorb, boldly illustrated introduction to a rich variety of African American poets would be a valuable addition to any child's bookshelf. (All ages)

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4. The alphabet takes a back seat to the poetry and is lightheartedly wrestled into compliance as an organizational device in this exultant celebration of African-American writers. Each full-page entry features a short poem or poem fragment, surrounded by Bryan's vivid tempera and gouache paintings. To make this work as an alphabet book, the artist often takes the featured letter from a word within the poem, sometimes even a letter within a word (for "X," "Without eXpectation/there is no end/to the shock of morning/or even a small summer" from Audre Lorde's "Summer Oracle"). The letter is set off at the top and the poet's name fills the bottom frame of the painting. The selections, many of which will be unfamiliar to children, display a loving acquaintance with poets from James Weldon Johnson to Rita Dove. While there is a full range of emotions, joy and pride predominate. Some pieces will elicit appreciative chuckles, even a guffaw or two. An acknowledgments page lists the source of each selection. This marvelous introduction should inspire many readers to seek out other works by these writers. While the format and the lively illustrations mark this as a children's book, the pleasure that both word and picture will give to involved adults will enhance the shared experience.?Sally Margolis, formerly at Deerfield Public Library, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
A fine painter, story teller and writer selects some pithy, some humorous poems to read aloud to little ones. A Parents' Choice Approval. (Parents' Choice, 1999) -- From Parents' Choice®

To Satch by Samuel Allen
My Hair, A Hive Of Honey Bees by Maya Angelou
Sos by Amiri Baraka
I Am Black by Gwendolyn Brooks
To Sally, Walking by Sterling Allen Brown
The Lesson Of The Falling Leaves by Lucille Clifton
'first Came L. E. Phants Letter' by Countee Cullen
Night's Brittle Song, Silver-thin by Frank Marshall Davis
Nothing Happens Only Once by Owen Dodson
July. The Conspiracy Of Colors by Rita Dove
Each Man by Henry Dumas
Greatness by Henry Dumas
Theology by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Tree House by James Andrew Emanuel
The Voyage Of Jimmy Poo by James Andrew Emanuel
Who Can Be Born Black by Mari E. Evans
Paula The Cat by Yolande Cornelia Giovanni
Harriet Tubman Didn't Take No Stuff by Eloise Greenfield
Stars (sojourner Truth) by Robert Earl Hayden
There Are Words Like Freedom by James Langston Hughes
And God Stepped Out On Space by James Weldon Johnson
Without Expectation by Audre Lorde
The Old Of Our People by Haki R. Madhubuti
17 by Raymond Richard Patterson
Black Girl Black Girl by Dudley Randall
God Never Planted A Garden by Anne Spencer
Black American Spiritual by Anonymous - African American
Lineage by Margaret Abigail Walker
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Customer Reviews

Awesome Images!
We love this book and are purchasing a second copy so we can cut out the images and frame them. Ashley Bryan is a master of art! Bryan uses only portions of poems by wonderful poets, the stanzas chosen match the images perfectly and make the reader want to find the entire poem to read! Highly recommended by this family

Beautiful, breath-taking
The illustrations in this book are so beautiful, words can not explain. It is a simple read that introduces the little ones to poetry. Most poems are excerpts of a stanza or a few lines and the picture corresponds to the poem. Each poem either starts with the letter of the letter is bold in the poem and ties in the picture. For example, F=freedom, but the poem's first letter is not F, so F is bold in the word freedom. Highly recommended for the entire family.