Black Hands
Builders of Our Nation
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Commemorate the innumerable ways the African American community has shaped the foundation of the United States in this stunning, poetic picture book from the Caldecott Honor-winning team behind Freedom in Congo Square.
Black hands molded clay, chiseled marble,
rendered portraits, and painted vistas.
Black hands penned literary testaments
that have stood the test of time.
Since the United States won independence in 1776, African Americans have contributed greatly to the nation’s culture, politics, economy, and landscape. Black Hands celebrates the countless contributions of African Americans—from building the White House, birthing jazz, and landing a man on the moon to pushing for social justice. Black excellence, however, has too often been overlooked.
Black Hands reunites Newbery Honor winner Carole Boston Weatherford and Coretta Scott King award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie to chronicle the remarkable progress of African Americans, even in the face of adversity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Beginning each boldly illustrated spread with the phrase "Black hands," previous collaborators Boston Weatherford and Christie (Freedom in Congo Square) present a history, both passionate and sobering, of how the African diaspora has shaped America. Pages begin with hands that "survived the Middle Passage.../ only to face the auction block" and end with those that "point the way/ for more to follow." All-caps phrases describe hands that built infrastructure ("laid the foundation," "plowed this land"), revolutionized art ("penned,/ literary testaments"), nursed the sick ("comforted,/ and consoled"), and more, while illustrations and supporting lines provide further detail. On one spread, Black laborers erect a municipal building as a frocked figure observes ("Black hands... forged iron for gates closed to them" and "fashioned ball gowns/ for First Ladies"). Elsewhere, scents of soul food emanate from pots, hands birth the blues and jazz, and figures innovate and elect politicians. Textural artwork, created with acrylic gouache on illustration board, combines collage-style composition with stylized patterns and portraiture. A list of historical references concludes. Ages 4–8.
