Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat

One of the Best Children's Books this Year!

Hip hop is more than gangsta rap. Hip hop is rhythm. Hip hop has soul. Hip hop will be here forever. Giovanni captures the essence of hip hop in this collection of ¿poetry with a beat¿. The poems are skillfully illustrated. There are over 30 performances recited by the poet on the accompanying CD. The poets include: A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye West, Sugarhill Gang, James Berry, Queen Latifah, Nikki Grimes, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Common, Gwendolyn Brooks, and many more. Young and old alike will identify with the poems that flow like lyrics on top of beats that will make you groove. A few favorite poems are: Dat Dere, The Rosa Parks, and Hip Hop Rules the World. There are also a few excerpts from some of our favorite rappers. This is definitely a book for everyone. There are more than 50 poems written by 42 different poets along with 30 performances on the CD. Share your past with your kids, by giving your children the opportunity to hear real lyrics and experience poetry at its finest. This promises to be the BEST Children¿s books of the YEAR! Deltareviewer

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Inspirational and Educational!

This book is definitely an inspirational book that can be passed down from generation to generation, teaching children and adults on how ¿Hip Hop¿ is a celebration of poetry! I truly enjoyed the colorful diverse illustrations in this book and listening to the audio CD that incorporates Hip Hop, Jazz and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr¿s ¿ I had a dream¿ speech. This is an excellent resource for any child to look back into history and learn how ¿Hip Hop¿ has changed our music generation.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

At the opening of the book Nikki Giovanni's introduction offers

At the opening of the book Nikki Giovanni's introduction offers the history of the "dawn"/development of poetry put to rhythm. This introduction is worthwhile reading and rather enlightening and informative, and a great vocabulary builder. "Hip Hop Speaks to Children" is a wonderful collection of various artists' celebrated works in poetry and song. In this youth inspired book are wonderful illustrations for each poem/ art in written form to capture the young and young at heart. **This would be a great addition to a music classroom's library and to be used in teaching music at school or at home.

Great Learning Tool

I gifted this book to a teacher that I work with. She has several students that were having a lot of trouble with reading and writing in general, and poetry was a subject they had no interest in. The first day this book was presented to the class, these students were hooked. She introduced it as a book about rap. When it was explained further that rap and poetry have many over laps these students were now interested in the how's and why's of that thought. Of the three students needing help one was so interested that their reading level went up and they took an interest in writing. I highly recommend this book for teachers, educators, parents, and anyone else that works with kids. It is ingaging and creative with out talking down to children.

Great Addition to Your Library!

I bought this book for my then three year-old son. This book comes with a CD. He absolutely loves the CD. The best part about that is that he is now reciting poetry! I thought that this book/CD combo would introduce him to hip-hop music. It does this - sort of. It introduces kids to the rhythym of hip-hop and early influences in hip-hop. It is more of an introduction to poetry and African-American history. Some of the songs are just snippets and not the whole song, which I don't love, but my son doesn't seem to mind. He likes the rhyming and rhythym of it all. I do love that Dr. King's On The Mountain/I Have A Dream speech is recorded on the CD. I like giving my son an informal intro to that history. I have also bought this book/CD combo as a gift and it was well received. Overall, it is a positive addition to our library and learning.

Yes it does, but this isn't it

This a book of poetry pure and simple. Some of it is indeed in the style of spoken word/urban poetry but for the most part it is simply illustrated poetry. There are very few tracks on the included CD that actually sound even remotely hip hop. Despite some hip hop greats being listed and indeed heard, this book leaves you very disappointed in the hip hop aspect. I am actually a bit upset that I bought it. As a spoken word artist myself, I am a lover of poetry, but this book leaves a lot to be desired. It is mostly a book of urban nursery rhymes. don't waste your money. Check it out from the library instead if you can.

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