"Part songbook, part research text, this work is perfect for families to share together or for young scholars who seek to discover an important piece of cultural history."—
School Library Journal, starred review
From Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Honor winner Brian Pinkney comes an extraordinary must-have collection of classic playtime favorites.
This very special book is sure to become a treasured keepsake for African American families and will inspire joy in all who read it. Parents and grandparents will delight in sharing this exuberant book with the children in their lives. Here is a songbook, a storybook, a poetry collection, and much more, all rolled into one. Find a partner for hand claps such as “Eenie, Meenie, Sassafreeny,” or form a circle for games like “Little Sally Walker.” Gather as a family to sing well-loved songs like “Amazing Grace” and “Oh, Freedom,” or to read aloud the poetry of such African American luminaries as Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. And snuggle down to enjoy classic stories retold by the author, including Aesop’s fables and tales featuring Br’er Rabbit and Anansi the Spider.
"A rich compilation to stand beside Rollins’s Christmas Gif’ and Hamilton’s The People Could Fly." —The Horn Book "An ebullient collection.... There is an undeniable warmth and sense of belonging to these tales." —
Kirkus Reviews, Starred
On sale: January 10, 2017
Age: 6-9 years
Grade: Grades 1-4
Page count: 184 Pages
ISBN: 9780375870880
Reading level: Lexile: 990L | Fountas/Pinnell: S
Patricia C. McKissack is the author of
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, a Newbery Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Award Winner, and its companion,
Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book. Ms. McKissack has also written many award-winning picture books, including
Goin’ Someplace Special, a Coretta Scott King Award Winner;
Mirandy and Brother Wind, a Caldecott Honor Book; and
Never Forgotten, which received five starred reviews.
Brian Pinkney received a Caldecott Honor for
Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney and for
The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci. He has illustrated many highly acclaimed books for children, including
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney, a
Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book, and
In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson, a Coretta Scott King Award Winner. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Andrea, with whom he often collaborates, and their two children. Learn more at brianpinkney.net.
"A comprehensive treasury of memories, verbal art, and play." —
Kirkus, starred review
"It’s a collection valuable both for its rich assembly of songs and stories that have delighted, comforted, and inspired generations of black families and for the illuminating historical context that McKissack brings to each selection."—
Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Part songbook, part research text, this work is perfect for families to share together or for young scholars who seek to discover an important piece of cultural history."—
School Library Journal, starred review
