Working Cotton

by Sherley Anne Williams, Carole Byard (Illustrator)

Overview

A 1993 Caldecott Honor Book

This child’s view of the long day’s work in the cotton fields, simply expressed in a poet’s resonant language, is a fresh and stirring look at migrant family life. “With its restrained poetic text and impressionist paintings, this is a picture book for older readers, too.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152014827
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/15/1997
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

An award-winning fiction writer, playwright, and poet, Sherley Anne Williams (1944-1999) is best known for her widely acclaimed novel Dessa Rose. Her interest in children's literature was nurtured by story-telling sessions for her son, Malcolm, and his friends.

Working Cotton is based on poems from The Peacock Poems, a National Book Award nominee, and his her first book for children.

Carole Byard (1941-2017) was an artist and illustrator whose books for children twice won the Coretta Scott King award.

Editorial Reviews

A hot, arduous and typical day in the life of a family of migrant cotton pickers is the subject of Williams's striking first picture book. Shelan describes how her parents, brothers and sisters arrive at the cottonfields before dawn and toil till night to fill sacks with the fluffy white harvest. At times both gritty and poetic, Williams's text is written completely in Shelan's dialect. Though the phrasing may require careful reading, it adds a necessary authenticity to the story while presenting a difficult way of life. However, the author does not pass a negative judgment here: her characters play, sing and admire nature--when they have the chance. Bayard's intense acrylic paintings capture the beauty of the California landscape as well as the intensity of human struggle--thoughtfully reflected in her cast's sweaty faces. Vast fields of white cotton tufts against an endless blue sky create an appropriate sense of isolation. Though some may object to the portrayal of African Americans picking cotton, Shelan's family is to be respected for embracing life and doing whatever it takes to make their way in the world. An auspicious debut. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly