The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Hughes, L. (2009). The negro speaks of rivers (E.B. Lewis, illus.). New York: Disney Jump at the Sun Books.

Genre: Poetry
Format: Picture Book
Awards: 2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award
Age Recommendation: 3-7

Who would have guessed that a poem written in the 1920s could be so beautifully complemented by artwork illustrated nearly 90 years later? Yet in The Negro Speaks of Rivers, E.B. Lewis achieves a melodious flow of colors that takes readers back in time. His watercolor work captures the exact mood of the poem so that any reader can not help but linger and stare at the way the light reflects off of the moving waters and the ebony skin of negros throughout history as they work, play, and live off the river. From depicting the fresh young faces of children at play in the Euphrates River to the deep, cracked lines of the hands and feet of one hard at work, Lewis captures the beauty of a long history between the river and the negro.

Being a book of few words, I would recommend this book to children ages 3-7. Younger children will especially be drawn to the majestic illustrations while older children will most likely be drawn in to the beauty of the poetry accompanying them. This book is a must read for children and adults alike, and I recommend it to every family, school, and library. It is not just a book to set out for black history month, but rather a book by which we can celebrate the diversity of the world which we live in and the overall beauty of the African people.

Jemtegaard, K. (2009, January 4). Picture-perfect poetry. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2010 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123002843.html.

Being a review of several different children's books, Jemtegaard briefly touches on the multi-generational joint effort of Hughes and Lewis in The Negro Speaks of Rivers. She gives a brief history of the poem's first appearance in The Crisis in 1923 and later reveals the fact that the illustrator's self-portrait lies within the pages of his own book. Jemtegaard gives the highest of praise to both the poem and illustrations, and as always, I myself agree.