ISBN: 978-0-439-92818-2
Concieved and illustrated by: Stephen Alcorn
Website: http://www.alcorngallery.com/
Poem by: Samantha Thornhill
Website: http://www.samanthaspeaks.com/
Media Used (discussed in detail): The text was set in Adobe Garamond Pro Regular and the display type in Davida BT. The illustrations were done in casein paint on paper. The illustrations are wonderfully done, full of movement and detail. The young Odetta carries around a bird in a cage, representing her voice that is trapped inside her waiting to be released. That same bird flies out of an older Odetta's mouth when she finally is allowed to sing. The "White's Only" drinking fountain has the words spelled out in the water's foam as it crashes around a small Odetta being held by her mother. A face rising from the smoke of the train and a hand pointing down from the sky, lightning shooting from the fingertips, represents encounter Odetta had with the Jim Crow laws forbidding her family from boarding the whites only train car.
Summary: This book chronicles the life of Odetta, an African American folk singer, as she grows up in Alabama, travels to Los Angeles with her family, learns to sing and play, and shares her music with the world.
Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed this book. Each spread of illustrations is a wonderfully complete piece of art that you might see on display. The pictures help to show the love and solidarity Odetta's family shares with one another. The child Odetta understands the Jim Crow laws to be a person - "President Jim Crow," a white man with glacier blue eyes and smoke colored hair. Later as she grows, Odetta understands that the Jim Crow isn't a man but "a bunch of silly laws that made black folks pause and feel bad about themselves." This is really a great book about Odetta, about folk music, and about this time in America. The poem doesn't rhyme but it certainly flows wells, possessing its own special rhythm when read aloud.
Single Book Length Poem
Curricular Connection: Grade 8 History & Grade 9 to 12 Music
California Standard: History 8.11.3 - Understand the effects of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial segregation and “Jim Crow” laws. Music 3.0 Historical and Cultural content - Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music. Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers. 3.3 Describe the differences between styles in traditional folk genres within the United States.
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