Product Description

When Langston Hughes was a boy, His grandmother told him true stories of how African people were captured in Africa and brought to America enslaved. She told him about their fight for freedom and justice.

Langston loved his grandmother's stories. To learn more stories and bear more beautiful language, he began to read books. He fell in love with books and decided that one day he would write stories too, true stories about Black people.

When he was only fourteen, Langston wrote his first poem, and for the rest of his life he was always writing -- stories and essays and, most of all, poems. He wrote about Black people as he saw them: happy, sad, mad, and beautiful. Through his writing he fought for freedom from inequality and injustice; and his gift of words inspired and influenced many other writers.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker was one writer Langston influenced. In this moving and richly detailed portrait she celebrates the life of an extraordinary man. Accompanied by stunning paintings by artist Catherine Deeter, Langston Hughes: American Poet will introduce a whole new generation to the life and works of a great African American Poet of the twentieth century, and one of the most important poets of all time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1532400 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-01
• Released on: 2001-12-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

From School Library Journal
Grades 2-5--This text originally published in 1974 is accompanied by new, colorful paintings. In clear but at times dry prose, the author reveals the many influences that led Hughes to become who he was. He was raised by a loving grandmother and by a mother who had difficulty finding jobs. He dealt with loneliness, racism, and a distant father who, he realized, hated his own people-black Americans-as well as Native Americans. The artwork is rendered in lovely, inviting hues and softens the misery the narrative describes. For example, a depiction of young Langston meeting his estranged, bitter father shows the elder Hughes in a much warmer light than the wording might indicate. The new edition is larger in format than the older one and has a more modern picture-book feel, as well as an author's note. Two of Hughes's poems are included: "When Susanna Jones Wears Red" and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Walker's version balances Floyd Cooper's Coming Home (Philomel, 1994) by delving more into Hughes's adult life. An acceptable choice for poetry units and Black History Month.

Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 3-6. Walker's picture-book-size biography Langston Hughes: American Poet, first published in 1974, returns to print with lively new artwork. It is an excellent introduction to Hughes, focusing mainly on his adolescence and early adulthood. The text is romanticized in places, but the engaging, anecdotal style is perfect for read-alouds, and the brief sentences and simple vocabulary make the book a good choice for beginning and struggling readers. Deeter's realistic paintings capture the text's pivotal moments. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"An excellent introduction to Hughes.The engaging, anecdotal style is perfect for read-alouds." -- ALA Booklist

Customer Reviews

American poet
This is a very touching book for both children and adults alike. The portrait of America in another era is accurate and informative for young minds to understand how things were once upon a time. The biographical sketch relays the influnces early on in Langston Hughes life which shaped him to become one of the great poets of the twentieth century, in spite of racism. His father lived in Mexico and had a disregard for black people who seperated himself to the extent of living in Mexico. Although he(Langston's father) did well for himself in Mexico he did not support his son. The major exception was sending him regretfully to Columbia University which Langston eventually dropped out of much to his fathers displeasure. Hughes felt isolated and much more relaxed in nearby Harlem. Langston Hughes was a man of letters that he inherited from the story telling his grandmother told him. His love for his culture translated into many books of poetry. Alice Walker is the writer of this children's book and the author of "The Color Purple," and was tremendously influenced by Hughes himself who she met as a college student. The illustrations are pretty realistic and further document the story. The book is easy enough for youngsters and may also be good material for middle school readers who have not yet achieved grade level profiency. It is an inspirational story that may get a youngster motivated to write or read further.

An excellent picturebook biography
Catherine Deeter's paintings accompany this celebration of poet Langston Hughes' life, which reads like fiction as it surveys the influences on Hughes' career and the motivations behind his writings and life. An excellent picturebook biography, this requires reading skills but will appeal to grades 2-4.