Coretta Scott King Award Winner
This book tells the story of an oral legend passed down through generations at the Orkney Islands. It tells the story of an old slave woman who was born in Africa and passes down all of her knowledge to a boy she cared for as her own who was born in slavery. It tales of a group of slaves who refuse to come off the boat and so sing a song that will take them home to Africa. The old woman joins in and they all enter the water and disappear. Some say that the people drowned and remained there, and some say that they walked along the ocean floor all the way back to Africa. The boy is left to remember all that he had been taught and pass it on to his own children.
I really enjoyed this book. It is told with wonderful language and intriguing style. The artwork is very different from what I am used to, and I think it is all the more powerful for that. The drawings are very evocative and powerful. The story and artwork combine to bring to life the time of slavery and the struggle to retain one’s culture in adverse circumstances. It think this is a very powerful story and very disserving of the Coretta Scott King award.
Image copied from Amazon.com.
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