Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat

The subtitle is more descriptive of the content of this engaging book than the title. There is a wealth of material, ranging from classic poems by Langston Hughes (several of them read by Hughes on the accompanying CD), Lucille Clifton, Eloise Greenfield, Maya Angelou, Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson and others, to modern hip-hop and rap. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is also included, both in the book and on the CD, with a performance in response by Giovanni and two of the advisory editors. Hope Anita Smith’s recitation of her “Audition” is quiet and hauntingly beautiful. All of the poems emphasize the beat and draw on African-American tradition; they are richly and effectively illustrated by a show more corps of young illustrators whose biographical sketches are appended. Listening to the CD completes the experience. The variety of poetic forms and performance styles (sometimes elucidated on the CD, as well is in Giovanni’s introduction) makes this collection an excellent source of material not found together elsewhere. (Poetry anthology. 7-12)

-Kirkus Review show less

An excellent book, with an accompanying CD that could be especially useful to arouse classroom interest. Not quite on a level with Caroline Kennedy's superb A Family of Poems (but then, there's little that is), but this volume with its focus on African-American poetry can be used in combination with Kennedy's more general anthology to provide a more complete multi-cultural curriculum.

Note that this is a book that children will probably get a little more out of than adults -- in contrast with Kennedy's more mutli-generational anthology -- which is one reason (the other being the far better quality of Kennedy's illustrations) I'm rating it ½* lower than Kennedy's.

Nikki Giovanni has captured the essence of poetry as the spoken word in this collection. The author narrates throughout the CD attached and gives introductions that explain to children how the Hip Hop Poetry scene developed. From Jazz sounds to the old school beatbox, it is a trip down memory lane for adults and a great introduction to poetry for children. It is a must have for teachers that teach 4-8 grades. It provide a great opportunity to help children develop their own creative voice and express themselves in a positive way. The children also will hear some of the actual poets read their own work. This book has something for everyone.

This was the most amazing poetry collection and I will most certainly buy it for my classroom when I have one. This collection includes my styles of poetry including some song excerpts from such famous people as Tupac Shakur, Queen Latifa, and Kanye West. It also includes poetry from the greats like Langston Hughes. The audience could really be anyone from young elementary to adult the poetry and illustrations are so varied in difficulty level.

Nikki Giovanni has put together an incredible collection of poetry that appeals to a vast audience, in particular reluctant readers! I love the addition of the CD. I love how she draws children in with familiar hip hop artist like Kanye West and then throws in more traditional poetry like Lucile Clifton and Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is one of my all-time favorite poets and I love "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." I love how Giovanni includes work that we may not have thought of as poetry, starting with hip hop, of course, but including a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. This is the perfect book to use in a poetry unit. I have used it in the classroom myself many times and it has always been a hit.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children is a delightful and enlightening collection of poetry from various Poets, several performed by the authors themselves, on the included audio CD. With beautiful pictures depicting the poems and the contagious beat that the words pound out, this is a collection sure to capture the interest of all ages. Geared toward the 9 - 12 age group, this easily goes beyond that. As an adult, I greatly enjoyed each poem and as I read them out loud to my 6 year old daughter, she bopped around to the rhythm of my voice just reading the words. She was delighted with the rhyming, which easily draws the reader into the words.

While some of the poems within Hip Hop Speaks to Children are fun and playful, others speak of deep show more emotion. One that I found especially fun is as follows:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funky Snowman
by: Calef Brown

Funky Snowman loves to dance.
You'd think he wouldn't
have much chance
without two legs
or even pants
Does that stop
Funky Snowman?
No!!

Turn up the music
with the disco beat,
when you're in the groove,
you don't need feet.
Crowds come out
and fill the street.

Kick it.
Funky Snowman!!

Another favorite that is more on the serious side and geared toward helping a child's self esteem, I feel, is as follows:

The Rose that Grew from the Concrete
by: Tupac Shakur

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack
in the concrete
Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk
without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned 2 breathe fresh air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loneliness, anger and sadness are feelings that every child knows. More often than not, however, a child is not given or taught an appropriate way to express these strong emotions. The written word is a powerful tool ,that perhaps if given to children, would allow them to positively cleanse themselves and possibly even spark that creative fire that smolders within each soul. Hop Hop Speaks to Children is a positive collection of such emotional expressions. It does not matter what color your skin is, what nationality, race, economic position, size or shape a person is, the written word transcends each and every boundary. With Hip Hop Speaks to Children, you can introduce and excite children to celebrate within the written expression and beat and rhythm of words. I greatly enjoyed this collection and highly recommend it to everyone. show less

A feast of a package for eyes, ears and mind. I especially enjoyed the CD which makes poetry accessible for the poetry-shy. Langston Hughes, well-known children's authors and rappers are represented. Favorite tracks include "Dat Dere" by Oscar Brown Jr. and the ladies riffing on MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.