An Earth Song (Petite Poems)

by Langston Hughes, Tequitia Andrews (Illustrator)

Overview

Discover the power and joy of poetry in this simple, modern introduction to Langston Hughes, featuring an ode to spring and long-awaited new beginnings

In this illustrated adaptation of a beloved Langston Hughes poem, a child delights as the world around him awakens from winter and comes to life with the long-awaited arrival of spring and new beginnings of all kinds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647009526
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	04/18/2023
Series:	Petite Poems
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	24
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Langston Hughes (1901–1967) was an American poet, writer, columnist, civil rights activist, and one of the leaders of the Harlem Renaissance. Tequitia Andrews is an artist and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia. Her illustrations have been included in Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic and numerous YA novel covers. This will be her first full-length picture book and her first book with Cameron Kids.

Editorial Reviews

Like springtime, worth the wait.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

K-Gr 2—Hughes's simple but surprisingly sophisticated, short poem celebrating the arrival of a new season has been visually interpreted with charm and verve. It starts with a small Black child looking out of an apartment window. Bold colors and simple shapes on uncluttered pages effectively create childlike illustrations in what appear to be gouache. Initially the window is snowy, but time seems to pass and soon the spring song starts: "Strong as the shoots of a new plant/ Strong as the bursting of new buds/ Strong as the coming of the first child from its mother's womb." The child views the urban surroundings first from afar, then from the sidewalk as he walks with his mother in front of their building, seeing signs of new life: a pregnant woman, flowers, children playing on green grass, seeds. On the last pages of the book, delicate white dandelion seeds the child blows into the air across a blue sky become (literally) the notes of spring. After all, "It's an earth song,/ A body song,/ A spring song." The entire short poem and a brief endnote about the poet and his work conclude this small, handsome, and surprisingly touching illustrated poem. VERDICT Not essential but a highly recommended addition to both school and public library collections.—Maria B. Salvadore

School Library Journal

2023-01-25
A “petite poem” by Hughes gets its first picture-book treatment.

Perhaps taking inspiration from the word song in Hughes’ poem, Andrews casts a red-winged blackbird as a harbinger of spring. She makes the narrator a young Black child who delights at seeing the bird through an apartment window, snow still visible on the sill. When the child ventures outside with a Black adult (likely their parent), they see several other signs of spring, some of which are directly named in Hughes’ poem, while Andrews adds others to deftly expand upon the text. For example, in a spread reading “Strong as the shoots of a new plant / Strong as the bursting of new buds,” the child is near a flowerbed, with unmentioned honeybees near the blooms. The red-winged blackbird appears again in a scene set in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park that includes a depiction of sculptor Thomas J. Price’s 9-foot-tall bronze figure The Distance Within. The bird flies over an open, grassy space where diverse children run and play in an idyllic scene embodying the interpretation of the poem offered in backmatter: “In the poem, Langston writes about how long he has waited and hoped for change—a sunny spring day, and perhaps a time when everyone has equal opportunity to experience freedom, joy, and peace.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Like springtime, worth the wait. (Poetry/picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews