|
|
Harlem (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)
by Walter Dean Myers , Christopher Myers (illustrator)
| Category:
Race, Award-winning books, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The book Harlem was about how black and whites didn't get along, and they move to Harlem and all their problems were resolved with the help of positive leaders. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
Detail |
Author |
Description |
Excerpt |
Reviews |
|
|
|
Author: Walter Dean Myers , Christopher Myers (illustrator)
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub. in: February, 1997
ISBN: 0590543407
Pages: 32
Measurements: 12.4 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00054
Other information:
|
|
Rate this product:
|
|
- Awards & Credential -
Caldecott Honor Book |
|
- MSL Picks -
A visually striking, oversized picture book. The book can be read as a bunch of little poems all talking about the history, magnificence, and glory of Harlem. It can also be read as a single continuing story that starts with a Great Migration from all over the world and ends on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard. We see people up and people down. We meet and view famous characters from history. We see Harlem residents' faith, their religion, and their everyday activities. Checkers players are viewed alongside pallbearers. Kids and hot asphalt and lines like, "A journey on the A train / That started on the banks of the Niger / And has not ended". The book is a celebration of a place by a man who was born and raised there, but does not live there today.
Kids will not get this book. Not all kids. A few will understand what it's saying, and a few who have it explained to them by talented teachers, will get it as well. By and large, however, this is a book meant for teens and adults. The kinds of people who might have read Harlem Stomp by Laban Carrick Hill and (as a result) now understand exactly what this book is referring to. You need a little background and history in Harlem to understand Harlem. Myers is assuming that the casual reader is familiar enough with its past to nod sagely at such lines as, "A huddle of horns and a tinkle of glass, a note / Handed down from Marcus to Malcolm to a brother / Too bad and too cool to give his name". You may wonder why this book is considered children's. Just because it has bright pretty pictures? Puh-leeze.
Not that the pictures are bad. They're nice, in a cut paper/artistic kinda way. But children won't gravitate towards them. They're far more likely to prefer Collier's candybar cutouts on the already mentioned "Uptown". Still, there's no denying the mastery behind these images. "Harlem" may garner some complaints but few will be centered on the art.
All in all, this is a perfectly nice book in search of an audience. Consider it recommended for anyone looking for contemporary Harlem poetry (especially if they're over the age of 7).
Target readers:
Kids aged up 7
|
|
- Better with -
Better with
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
:
|
|
Customers who bought this product also bought:
 |
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (Paperback)
by Mark Twain
This is a masterpiece of American literature from Mark Twain which most closely represents the America experience. |
 |
My Brother Sam Is Dead (Paperback)
by James Lincoln Collier , Christopher Collier
"My Brother Sam is Dead" is a more accessible story, and more enjoyable to students who may not be all that fond of history. |
 |
Johnny Tremain (Yearling Newbery) (Paperback)
by Esther Forbes , Lynd Ward
A historical fiction tells of the turbulent, passionate times in Boston just before the Revolutionary War which is a good book for young boys to read both to teach them history and to set them forward in life. |
 |
Harlem (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)
by Walter Dean Myers , Christopher Myers (illustrator)
The book Harlem was about how black and whites didn't get along, and they move to Harlem and all their problems were resolved with the help of positive leaders. |
 |
Fallen Angels (Paperback)
by Walter Dean Myers
This book is action packed, has a colorful cast of characters, and displays the horrors of war in Vietnam vividly. |
|
|
Walter Dean Myers is a writer of children's and young adult literature.
Walter Dean Myers was born in West Virginia in 1937 but spent most of his childhood and young adult life in Harlem. He was raised by foster parents and remembers a happy but tumultuous life while going through his own teen years. Suffering with a speech impediment, he cultivated a habit of writing poetry and short stories and acquired an early love of reading.
|
|
The two Myerses-author and artist, father and son-celebrate Harlem, which they perceive both as a city and a "promise of a better life," in quite different but wonderfully complementary ways. The author views Harlem-where he grew up-as a symbol of African American aspiration; the artist shares a more concrete city composed of "colors loud enough to be heard." In a text that is as much song as poem, the author offers his impressionistic appreciation for a culture that is predominantly music-based, with its roots in "calls and songs and shouts" "first heard in the villages of Ghana/Mali/Senegal." In his hotly vibrant ink, gouache, and collage images, the artist shows us the textures of the city streets, the colors of "sun yellow shirts on burnt umber bodies," and even, it seems the sounds the words themselves evoke. The very look of metaphorical moments is well served by the text, but it is Harlem as a visual experience that YAs will return to again and again, to admire and wonder at what is realized with truly extraordinary grace and power by this young artist of such wonderful promise.
|
| View all 5 comments |
Ann Azuma (MSL quote), Japan
<2006-12-27 00:00>
As a book for four to eight year olds, I give it a three. As an adult, I give it five stars for an average rating of four. If you've never been to Harlem, or even New York, never met an American of African descent, if you're too young to have heard of the likes of the Cotton Club, the Apollo, people like Sugar Ray, Langston Hughes, Lady Day, or even Malcolm X, your mama has a heck of a lot of explaining to do: too much for the brief span of attention only just long enough to look at the pictures and feel the music of the poem. In terms of just words, I suppose this fits in the 4-8 reading level. However, as a work, this is more likely to be understood and therefore appreciated by older people. My kids, five, and seven, were completely mystified by the poem, although they loved the beautiful compositions that make you wish you could touch them. Having lived in Washington Heights, I can explain some basic things to them, but not enough. The ability to understand and appreciate this book is beyond their capacity at this time. |
Thomas Nixon (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
Walter Dean Myers is certainly better-known for his chapter books for children than for poetry. That being said, "Harlem" offers an insight into the place as well as the man. African-American culture has long had a close relationship with poetry and Myers cements that friendship. Kudos for a job well-done!
For teachers, this is a must-read during African-American History Month in February (as well as any other time of the year).
|
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
I thought this book was great! It's a book that anyone can read. This book not only has beautiful pictures, but seems to teach you a little about Harlem. I think this book should be read by all ages, because it is fantastic! |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
This book is for adults, not children. There is so much deep meaning in this book. Just because it is a picture book does not mean that it is for children. I believe that adults will get much more out of it. |
View all 5 comments |
|
|
|
|
