BIBLIOGRAPHY
Shange, Ntozake, Ill. by Kadir Nelson. 2009. CORETTA SCOTT. New York:
Katherine Tegen Books. ISBN: 978-0-06-125364-5
REVIEW AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This poetry picture book by Ntozake Shange is a moving story
that is not only a biography on Coretta Scott, but also gives students a historical
glimpse at life in the South during the 1960s.
Shange’s powerful free verse poetry beings with Coretta’s childhood when
Coretta and her siblings “walked all/of five miles to/the nearest colored
school/in the darkness/with the dew dampening/their feet.” The very next page shows the young children
with wounded looks on their faces because a "white school bus/ left a/
funnel of dust/on their faces." The
story continues to tell of her marriage to Martin Luther King Jr. and their
leadership roles in the Civil Rights Movement.
The book ends with “ain't gonna let nobody turn me round/gonna keep on a-walkin'/keep on a-talkin'/walkin' up to freedom land/singin’ always singin’” and shows Coretta Scott and MLK Jr. leading a march with people following them and the last page shows a close up picture
of Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr.’s faces as they sing a
song. These last few pages show that Mr. and Mrs. King were dedicated to fighting for freedom peacefully until the end.
Shange has written this poetry picture book without any punctuation which allows the reader to focus on the simple, but powerful words. She has filled the book with rich imagery that adds depth to the words in the poem. The oil painted illustrations by Kadir Nelson truly bring out all the emotion that Shange has written about in the text. Readers will want to savor the bold, often double page spread illustrations, looking for new details and emotions at each glance.
The book ends with a note by author Ntozake Shange about the life of Coretta Scott King. It is a thorough, but not long winded, biography of Coretta Scott King's life along with a photograph of her speaking to a large crowd. This summary of her life, along with the photograph, help to fill in the factual holes left behind by the poetry format of the book.
This biographical poetry book on Coretta Scott King provides a unique opportunity for teachers to share about her life in poetry format. During Black History Month, students are often exposed to famous African Americans and their contributions to society. After reading this book and learning about Coretta Scott King, the teacher or librarian could introduce the Coretta Scott King Award to the students. This award is given to "African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that show an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values"(American Library Association). The students could explore the authors' and illustrators' books that have won this award over the years. What can they learn about the African American culture and what they endured in the past? This activity will not only expose students to African American culture and history, but also different authors and illustrators and many different types of text.
"The Coretta Scott King Book Awards", American Library Association, January 18, 2009.
http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards (Accessed April 4, 2013)
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