ABC book that includes work of African American poets. Includes excerpts of poems by these authors on each page--inspiration to seek out the writers and pursue them. This could be followed up by children's individual internet or library searches for further poetry by individual authors and creation of collections of favorite poems. 3 - 8th grade.

Bryan's compilation of African American poems have been put together in an artistic way to present the reader with a alphabetical set of poetry. This is a great example of poetry, as Bryan has carefully chosen poems with meaning and cultural relevance. She won the Coretta Scott King award in ( )

In this winner of the Coretta Scott King and Parent's Choice Award, Bryan took poetry from famous poets such as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou and incorporated them into his ABC book. Illustrations are bright and colorful and help bring the poem to life. The text is positive, happy, and spiritual. Even though it is an ABC book, it is not recommended for younger children, as they would not understand the subject matter of the poetry. ( )

Use: Alphabet, Poetry, African American History
Media: Acrylics
Critique: These are good examples of poetry. There are small selections from different poems giving a good example of types of poetry and then the opportunity to find the full poem to examine. The illustrations bring the different parts of the poems to life. It helps to visualize what the author of each poem was speaking about with vibrant colors. ( )

Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry is an ABC book that for each letter incorporates a quotation relating to the importance of African Americans. The people quoted include Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, and Samuel Allen, all important figures in advancing the cultural contributions of African Americans. The quotations all celebrate being black, loving god, baseball, and life, respecting elders, and appreciating freedom. Some of the poems are relevant to today's life, and others are set in important times in history like freeing slaves, seasons and holidays. The book seems too difficult for a beginning reader to understand the meaning of the
quotations, but a child capable of understanding the words would not be interested in reading an ABC book, so the target audience for this book is unclear. The illustrations are colorful and beautiful- they are easily the best part. They feature strong, bold lines, rich browns for skin tones of the African American children featured happily engaged in life throughout the book, and backgrounds of sunny, strong natural elements. This book is the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, and it must be because of its celebratory nature of African Americans through both text and illustration. ( )