Nelson Mandela - Kadir Nelson

Illustrated by the author

2013, Katherine Tegen Books, Harper Collins

HC $17.99 Carlisle's Bosler Library

40 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.20

My rating: 4/ (the illustrations are a definite 5)

Endpapers: deep cranberry

Title Page: No illustration, bold information on dark brown/tribal design background

Illustrations: Glorious!

2-page information and photo at the end of the book

Note:  I wish there had been a glossary/pronunciation guide, there were enough words to warrant one, perhaps this would be a good thing for my students to create after reading the book...

1^st line: " Rolihahla played barefooted/on the grassy hills of Qunu."

Goodreads:  One day when Nelson Mandela was nine years old, his father died and he was sent from his village to a school far away from home, to another part of South Africa. In Johannesburg, the country's capital, Mandela saw fellow Africans who were poor and powerless. He decided then that he would work to protect them. When the government began to keep people apart based on the color of their skin, Mandela spoke out against the law and vowed to fight hard in order to make his country a place that belonged to all South Africans.

My comments on Goodreads:  Kadir Nelson's illustrations, as usual, are incredible.  The cover is amazing.  This is the story of Nelson Mandela's life, but it seems a little spotty, starting with his earliest years (which was new-to-me information and really interesting), then jumping ahead, flying through his jail years, jumping ahead again....  I read this aloud to my 6-year old granddaughter and will read it to my fourth graders, and there are places that I felt I had to fill in information, or do some extra explaining.  Otherwise, I really loved this book.

Moses - Carole Boston Weatherford

When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2006
$15.99
48 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: bright yellow-orange
Forward and Author's Note
2007 Caldecott Honor Award
2007 Coretta Scott King WINNER

Kadir Nelson is a master at creating mood in his illustrations., I can smell the air. I can hear the crickets. I can feel her intense sadness.

I know well the story of Harriet Tubman and her many trips between the south and the north guiding slaves to freedom. I know of her bravery and perseverance. I did not know about her deep spirituality and belief in God, although I guess I'm not surprised. This book is the story of her first journey - a lone journey - and the talks she might have had with God. The same kind of conversation that the original Moses might have had with God. Those words - God's answers to her questions, his guiding advice, are written in a larger, paler font and twist and turn in and around the pictures. Quite beautiful. But we're talking Kadir Nelson here....

I like the way this shows the relationship Harriet Tubman felt with God. It doesn't matter whether or not you're a believer - it tells of HER beliefs. And it's apparently those beliefs, that relationship, that pushed her and gave her the bravery to succeed.

1820-1913. I've been to her grave. I have a photo somewhere. I'll look for it.

Testing the Ice - Sharon Robinson

A True Story About Jackie Robinson
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Press, 2009
$16.00
40 pgs.
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Dark aqua
Author's Note

This heartwarming true story about the personal life of Jaackie Robinson is written by his daughter, Sharon. It tells of their home and home life in the mid-to-late 1950's. It includes tidbits about Jackie Robinson's entry into the entirely segregated world of Major League Baseball. In the main storyline, Ms. Robinson weaves her dad's courage in and around and through a story of his fear of water and his inability to swim. It's done quite beautifully and makes for really interesting storytelling.

And the illustrations! Oh my goodness, can this man draw! Completely covering the oversized pages, each and every illustrtation is a masterpiece to behold - most especially his depiction of Jackie Robinson.

Super book!

Coretta Scott - Ntozake Shange

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
2009
For: School-age kids
Rating: 4
Endpapers: blue
$17.99

Kadir Nelson's been very, very busy recently...I think this is the third of his books published in 2009. It's gorgeous (as usual). And wow, what a cover!

Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

This story, in verse form, does not take us to or beyond her husband's assassination. It's really the story of how the two of them moved on their journey toward civil rights.

"... hundreds then thousands
white and black
marched
in Alabama
Carolina
Georgia
and Chicago."

Change Has Come

An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit
Artwork: Kadir Nelson
Words: Barack Obama
Published: 2009
Rating: 5
For: Everyone!
Endpapers: Rust
$12.99

A tiny book, perhaps 5 X 7 - but one I picked up and read three times as it sat before me on the table at Borders. Simple colors - black/gray on cream. Powerful, unforgettable words. Sketches - of the Obama family, of Americans, of Pres. Obama, of the White House. Simple. Lovely. Special.

We're not going to settle anymore.
and
What began as a whisper has now swelled to a chorus that cannot be ignored.
and
Yes We Can.
and
Together, ordinary people can still do exraordinary things.
and
I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.
and more!

Such a hopeful book.

Henry's Freedom Box - Ellen Levine

A True Story from the Underground Railroad
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Published: 2007
Read 1/31/09 B&N
Rating: 5
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
Endpapers: Medium brown

What a story! What detailed, heart-tugging illustrations! It begins, "Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays. That sure says a lot. The illustration is of a young, barefoot boy sitting on a barrell and just staring....

Henry is sold away from his family. He works in a tobacco factory for years, meets a young woman named Nancy, they are given permission to wed. They have three kids. But one day, Nancy and the kids are sold and he loses them forever. He decides to try to become a free man. With the help of a white doctor who thought slavery was wrong, he mailed himself in a crate to Philadelphia - and freedom. It worked.

I think as much as we hear about families being torn apart, about the indignity that black slaves went through, that a story like this for kids that tells (and shows) the truth is still very much needed to make a hard-to-understand concept more real.

And oh, the illustrations. Kadir Nelson's illustrations for All God's Critters were really different than those he did for this, but just as amazing and wonderful. I have a new hero! Crosshatched pencil lines are covered with layers of watercolor and oil paints. The back flap says he also illustrated Ellington Was Not a Street (Ntozake Shange) and Just the Two of Us (Will Smith). You'll see both of those reviewed here soon, what do you want to bet?

All God's Critters - Bill Staines

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Published: Jan. 2009, Rating: 4.5
Read: B&N 1/31/09
Endpapers: Black

Full page illustrations of large, fun, extremely whimsical animals - there are even two pull-open pages that show all the animals, arms over shoulders, kicking their feet like the Rockettes and, with heads thrown back, singing for all they're worth.
The music and lyrics are on a 2-page spread in the back.

This is a joyful book. It's too bad that a CD is not included, but it IS on Bill Staines"The Happy Wanderer" cd for kids that was released in 1993. I've seen Bill Staines perform three times, I think. He's great. And he yodels, too!