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PICTURE BOOKS
Hudson, Cheryl Willis

When I Hear Spirituals

40 pp. | Holiday | January, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780823453801 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780823462193 $11.99
(1) K-3 Illustrated by London Ladd. Hudson introduces young readers to the African American spiritual through descriptions of a young girl's emotions and associations accompanied by relevant spiritual verses. "When I hear spirituals, / They make me proud / To think of the strength / Our people have always had" is matched with an excerpt from the spiritual "Oh, Freedom," while the art shows enslaved people engaging in a historical uprising. As the girl remembers the civil rights movement, the text reads, "When I hear spirituals, / ...I sing with freedom fighters / I stand straight-shouldered with ancestors," and is accompanied by a chorus from "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" and a painting of a civil rights march. Other images include a church congregation, praise dancers, a riverbank baptism, and a train heading north during the Great Migration ("Get on board, little children"). Hudson's illuminating text and Ladd's expressive double-page spreads rendered in acrylic, colored pencil, and cut paper capture each aspect of the spirituals devoutly and respectfully. Extensive back matter includes an author's note, a glossary, and a list of resources.
Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2035

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