By Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson; Illustrated by Nikolai Smith
Lori the Librarian |
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The 1619 Project: Born on the Water By Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson; Illustrated by Nikolai Smith If you are familiar with the 1619 Project written for the New York Times Magazine, you will be pleased that a compellingly illustrated picture book on this same subject of racial injustice was created for elementary age children. This is an intensely powerful, educational and loving story that should be shared with all children. The story is told through poems that are deeply empowering. They are strong and clear and are written to share the origin stories of Black American children. The beginning poems tell the history of their People as they built their homes, culture and land in West Africa where they loved, planted, created, danced, traded and thrived. The authors write, “They knew how to mix the old with the new, how even an ancient people always had more to learn.” The book continues with their stolen history through the grim Middle Passage. The authors stress that, “Ours is no immigration story.” Virginia in 1619 was not a place of comfort but one of terrible pain and the place where American slavery started. While the authors do not shy away from the hardships, the beatings and the lies endured during too many generations they also stress the strong underlying resistance that the people carried and kept them living. In the poem, “Legacy”, they write line after line that the people survived, fought and that, “No one could steal the people’s joy.” The framing of the whole story between a a girl who at the beginning is ashamed of her roots but through her grandmother’s story ends with a hopeful sense of pride about her ancestors who helped build this country, is well done. This picture book should be treasured, read slowly and often to all elementary aged children as it is a story of love, resistance, perseverance and a crucial part of our American history. Highly recommended!
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Author For 29 years I had the best job as School Librarian in the Aaron Kushner Library for grades Pre K-3 at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. Although I am retired, I remain Lori the Librarian. Archives
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