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PREACHING TO THE CHICKENS THE STORY OF YOUNG JOHN LEWIS

Page history last edited by RichiesPicks 7 years, 4 months ago

3 October 2016 PREACHING TO THE CHICKENS: THE STORY OF YOUNG JOHN LEWIS by Jabari Asim and E.B. Lewis, ill., Nancy Paulsen Books, October 2016, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-399-16856-7

 

When I look out over this diverse crowd and survey the guests on this platform, it seemed to realize what Otis Redding sang about and what Martin Luther King Jr. preached about. This moment in our history has been a long time coming, but a change has come.”

--John Lewis speaking at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, 2013

 

Congressman John Lewis is the last remaining living speaker from the March on Washington, where Reverend King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

 

John Lewis has long been a hero of mine, and there are simply not enough books about him for young children. For older kids, I’ve booktalked Ann Bausum’s FREEDOM RIDERS: JOHN LEWIS AND JIM ZWERG ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. And I look forward to reading the newly-released third book in the exceptional graphic novel trilogy, MARCH, co-authored by John Lewis. But those picture books for older readers, describing Lewis’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, are not for little kids.

 

This one is perfect for them.

 

“John even baptized the chicks, bathing them in water from an old syrup can. But Li’l Pullet had stayed under too long and appeared to have drowned. John prayed over her and laid her in the sun. After a while, she began to breathe again and soon was up on her feet.

“‘He can heal the sick,’ John declared, ‘and raise the dead. Li’l Pullet, can I get a witness?’

“‘Peep, peep, peep,’ said Li’l Pullet.

John knew she meant ‘amen.’”

 

PREACHING TO THE CHICKENS is a wonderful introduction to the man who put his life on the line as he helped change America for the better. Among the many tales Congressman Lewis recounts in WALKING WITH THE WIND: A MEMOIR OF THE MOVEMENT, are his childhood exploits involving the family’s chicken flock after his parents put him in charge of their care. Author Jabari Asim has utilized Congressman Lewis’s tale of preaching to the chickens to craft this heartwarming picture book.

 

Illustrator E.B. Lewis has a distinctive style. Among his many books, he illustrated EACH KINDNESS and THE OTHER SIDE, two long-time favorites of mine, which I’ll use any excuse to mention and recommend. Here in PREACHING TO THE CHICKENS, his watercolor and gouache illustrations vividly capture the chickens, the lush Southern foliage, the dusty barnyard, and the young barnyard preacher.

 

Over the course of the past fifty-plus years, John Lewis has altered American history. I am always happy to catch him speaking on the Sunday morning news shows or debating on the floor in the House. And I can’t help but grin, seeing him in this book as a little boy, sharing the Good News with the hens and the chicks.

 

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Pickshttp://richiespicks.pbworks.com

https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/

richiepartington@gmail.com

 

 

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