The roots of rap 16 bars on the 4 pillars of hip-hop

The life of a legendary cowboy, a tribute to the poet Gwendolyn Brooks, a shout-out to hip-hop and more. African-American picture books have always been successful at capturing the breadth, depth and beauty of the black experience, allowing children to gain muchneeded access to the strong legacy and vibrant history of African-American art and storytelling. But how we present this story is always undergoing revision and refinement, as four new books - from a closer view of plantation life to a visually rich depiction of the history of hip-hop - show. In these books, word and art combine to give us fresh insight into the lives, creativity and achievements of a truly resilient and profound people. James E. Ransome's the bell rang (Atheneum, 40 pp., $17.99; ages 4 to 8) beautifully captures several days in the life of an enslaved girl living with her family on a plantation. Plantation life is seen through the innocent yet fiercely observant eyes of the young, nameless narrator. Each day begins with the ringing of a bell, a warm hug, a loving kiss on the forehead or a gentle touch on the shoulder, followed by a simple goodbye from her big brother, Ben. Ransome doesn't shy away from the trauma of slavery, but he balances the terror that sits at the core of the story with moments of joy, skillfully painting a subtle smile across the young girl's face when she's given a doll, or the shadows of children running, skipping rope and playing hopscotch. We don't witness the daily, backbreaking work in the field, and a whipping happens offstage, but we do see the pervasive, watchful overseers, with their guns and their hound dog. At one point Ransome paints tears streaming down Mama's face, Daddy's bowed head against a wall with our narrator leaning against him, and an overseer with clenched fists standing in a doorway. "No sun in the sky. Mama crying. No Ben. Daddy crying. Ben ran," he writes. The book's color palette, strong on grays and pale blues, conveys its honest yet hopeful depiction of its young narrator's situation. We are left with the question, Will she run, too, some day? In "The Bell Rang" Ransome has given us a bittersweet slice of plantation life, one in which innocence, familial love and safety are juxtaposed with pain, loss and the resilience of the enslaved. LET 'ER BUCK! George Fletcher, the People's Champion (Carolrhoda, 40 pp., $18.99; ages 4 to 8), written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson ("Bad News for Outlaws") and illustrated by the Newbery Honor winner Gordon C. James ("Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut"), tells the story of the black cowboy George Fletcher, whose journey began when his family set out on the Oregon Trail from their Kansas town. After they met with racism, young George found solace among the children on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in eastern Oregon. There, he nurtured his love of riding with a make-believe bronco, but over time, the tribal horsemen taught George how to "buck." He became a star at local rodeos, even while being shut out of more popular ones, which opposed black cowboys competing against white cowboys. But in 1911 the 21year-old George competed against the fiercest cowboys in the Northwest: the Néz Percé Indian Jackson Sundown and the white rancher John Spain. What follows is a detailed account, rendered adroitly through Nelson's clear prose and James's elegant paintings, of one of the most important rodeo shows in American history, which established Fletcher as the "people's champion" - even though the judge declared Spain the winner. With its energetic pairing of words and art, "Let 'er Buck!" comes alive to unearth an unsung American hero. Gwendolyn Brooks, who died in 2000, was one of the most important, prolific and distinguished poets of her time, and as with most brilliant artists, her creative force was evident when she was a child. In A SONG FOR GWENDOLYN BROOKS (Sterling, 32 pp., $17.99; ages 4 to 8), Alice Faye Duncan and Xia Gordon unfurl Brooks's evolution from a precocious girl growing up in Chicago through her boundary-breaking accomplishments, including the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950. "Sing a song for Gwendolyn Brooks. Sing it loud - a Chicago blues," Duncan's text begins. Gordon's soft, velvety, earth-toned illustrations convey the sweetness and innocence of Gwendolyn's imagination, set against the vibrant urban landscape of her childhood. Duncan mimics the short, poignant stanzas and lyrical observations in many of Brooks's poems - a few of which are placed throughout, beginning with "The Busy Clock," written in 1928 when she was 11. Yet it is the way Duncan conveys the unwavering family support of Brooks's creativity that most stands out. "Her parents are wise and see the light.... Gwendolyn is free to sit and think," she writes. Brooks writes and rewrites a poem titled "Ambition" between 1930 and 1933, as she went from 13 to 16 years old, and Duncan uses it to illustrate the persistence, isolation and deep self-reflection that poetry required of Brooks. As she goes on to achieve fame, we are reminded that the joyous freedom of her work traces back to the remarkable achievements of a child poet. THE ROOTS OF RAP: 16 Bars on the Pillars of Hip-Hop (Little Bee, 32 pp., $18.99; ages 4 to 8) captures a specific African-American experience - one that is rooted in jazz, hiphop and the liveliness of urban culture. Carole Boston Weatherford's 16 bars of homage to the history of hip-hop accompany the celebrated illustrator Frank Morrison's pulsing and vibrant images, which not only convey the development of hiphop, they dance on the page. The opening pages are a tip of the baseball cap to the poets Langston Hughes and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as to James Brown - innovators of spoken word and funk music, and thus contributors to the roots of hip-hop. Graffiti figures prominently throughout the book, too, as it is a foundational aesthetic in hip-hop, and provides a colorful backdrop to the groovin' and movin' black children who populate the illustrations. The well-placed centerfold illustration is of a cool and smooth DJ Kool Here, known as the founding father of hip-hop, with his turntable and mic. "DJ Kool Here in the Bronx, block party under his command, rocks and rocks nonstop; mic clutched in his hand," Weatherford writes. While "The Roots of Rap" certainly does document the history of hip-hop, Weatherford forgoes the ingenious wordplay, jazzy meter and funky rhyme scheme found in early rap songs like the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" and Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks." ft is Morrison's illustrations that give "The Roots of Rap" its beat, its bass, rhythm and soul. ibi zoboi is the author of the novels "American Street" and "Pride" and the editor of the anthology "Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America."

*Starred Review* Starting with its attention-getting cover, this picture book does an excellent job of capturing the essence of rap. Written in free verse, the text effortlessly pays homage to the four pillars of hip-hop culture: rap music, graffiti, break dancing, and DJing. The spare, four-line verses embody all the right ingredients, blending together creative wordplay, clever allusions, expressive storytelling, and shout-outs to other artists, all delivered in a rhythmic beat. Rap luminaries and their contributions get nods: the text acknowledges the poetry of Langston Hughes; the exuberant stage presence of James Brown; the innovative blendings of DJ Kool Herc; and the artistry of such stars as Eminem, Queen Latifah, and Nas. While the undulating cadence of the text begs to be read aloud, the illustrations are no less impressive. Images swirl and flow across pages, catching street artists in action while celebrating hip-hop clothing and hairstyles. Each double-page spread delivers lots of visual details, making it hard to believe that the entire written content consists of only 16 lines (or, as the book's subtitle states, bars, to put it in music terms). This tribute to hip-hop culture will appeal to a wide audience and practically demands multiple readings.--Kathleen McBroom Copyright 2018 Booklist

With short, rhyming lines and dramatic portraits of performers, the creative team behind How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace offers a dynamic introduction to hip-hop. "I was not raised on rap, but I was rooted in the African American musical- and spoken-word traditions that preceded it," Weatherford writes in her author's note. She begins the book's text by contextualizing the movement, honoring some of the poets (Langston Hughes) and musicians (James Brown) whose work helped to influence hip-hop's birth. Celebrating all four "pillars" of hip-hop artistry-"graffiti, break dancing, rapping/MCing, and DJing/scratching/turntablism"-the pages pair succinct, informative rhymes with Morrison's vibrant paintings of street artists, b-boys, and DJs along with their gear: spray paint, giant boom boxes and turntables, "sheets of cardboard for a stage." Female MCs dominate two spreads, one an unforgettable portrait of Queen Latifah. With a closing spread that emphasizes hip-hop's international reach as a "language that's spoken the whole world 'round," and a glossary of terms aimed at a digital generation (vinyl records are defined), this artful introduction to one of the most influential cultural movements of the 20th century pulses with the energy and rhythm of its subject. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator's agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.