ISBN: 9781499801033
Editorial: Little
Autor: Boston Weatherford, Carole
Año de edición: 2016
N° Páginas: 40
Tipo de pasta: Pasta dura
Descripción: Críticas Located in what is now the Treme neighborhood, Congo Square was the one place where the slaves and free blacks of New Orleans were allowed to gather on Sundays, a legally mandated day of rest. There they could reconnect with the dance and music of their West and Central African heritages and feel, at least for a few hours, that they were in "a world apart," where "freedom's heart" prevailed. Weatherford hits a few flat notes with her rhyming ("Slaves had off one afternoon, / when the law allowed them to commune"), but she succeeds in evoking a world where prospect of Sunday becomes a way to withstand relentless toil and oppression: "Wednesday, there were beds to make/ silver to shine, and bread to bake./ The dreaded lash, too much to bear./ Four more days to Congo Square." Christie, who worked with Weatherford to illuminate another historic neighborhood in Sugar Hill (2014), takes readers on a visual journey, moving from searing naïf scenes of plantation life to exuberantly expressionistic and abstract images filled with joyous, soaring curvilinear figures. An introduction and afterword provide further historic detail.-- "Publishers Weekly"Coretta Scott King Honorees Weatherford and Christie have created a gorgeously artistic and poetic homage to the birthplace of jazz and a people whose legacy is too often ignored. For one day a week, the slaves of New Orleans were allowed by law to gather on one public space: Congo Square. Through sparse, deliberate language, Weatherford tangibly captures the anticipation of those Sundays, listing the physical and emotional work that slaves endured without respite. They tend to animals and crops, cater to their masters, endure losses and lashings, all the while counting the hours until they can revel in the freedom of Congo Square. Holding on to that joyful experience feels like a form of silent resistance as the slaves bear the harshness of the week. The blunt words are richly supplemented by illustrations reminiscent of Jacob Lawrence's work. Christie elegantly renders people's gestures in chalk, capturing their energy or lack of, depending on the context. Blocks of color stamped with texture bring to life the landscape and movement in a place where "They rejoiced as if they had no cares; / half day, half free in Congo Square." Subtle and layered, this is an important story beautifully told.-- "Booklist in a STARRED REVIEW"Count down the days until Sunday, a day for slaves in New Orleans to gather together and remember their African heritage. In rhyming couplets, Weatherford vividly describes each day of nonstop work under a "dreaded lash" until Sunday, when slaves and free blacks could assemble in Congo Square, now a part of New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Park and on the National Register of Historic Places. Musicians "drummed ancestral roots alive" on different traditional instruments, and men and women danced. They also exchanged information and sold wares. The poetry is powerful and evocative, providing a strong and emotional window into the world of the slave. Christie's full-bleed paintings are a moving accompaniment. His elongated figures toil in fields and in houses with bent backs under the watchful eyes of overseers with whips. Then on Sunday, they greet one another and dance with expressively charged spirits. One brilliant double-page spread portrays African masks and instruments with swirling lines of text; it is followed by another with four dancers moving beautifully-almost ethereally-on a vibrant yellow collage background. As the author notes, jazz would soon follow from the music played in Congo Square. Weatherford and Christie dazzlingly salute African-Americans' drive to preserve their dignity and pride. (foreword, glossary, author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)-- "Kirkus Reviews in a STARRED REVIEW"Gr 1-3 This vibrant picture book examines Congo Square in New Orleans. A foreword and author's note explain how, historically, slaves in Louisiana were allowed Sunday
- Idioma: Inglés
- Autor: Boston Weatherford, Carole
- Editorial: Little
- N° Paginas: 40
- Tipo de pasta: Pasta dura
- Envío: Desde EE.UU.
