God Bless the Child

Rating:
Summary: God Bless the Child
Review: Accompanied by a CD of Billie Holiday singing "God Bless the Child" the reader is given a visual interpretation of the proverb "God blessed the child that's got his own," in which the illustrator has displayed the happenings of the Great Migration. Repeating the chorus of the song, we glimpse inside the lesson of making a way for yourself.

"Mama may have,
Papa may have,
But God bless the child
That's got his own!
That's got his own."

The illustrations capture the words in the story and serve as a tribute to our past as well as to those reading now who are committed to self-reliance and not only making do with what they have, but striving to become better. GOD BLESS THE CHILD is a wonderful book that I think children would enjoy, but more in a read-aloud atmosphere combined with the playing of the CD enclosed.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Educators Recommend
Review: God Bless the Child is a masterpiece: visually stunning and emotionally appealing.

Taking the words to Billie Holiday's and Arthur Herzog Jr.'s bluesy "God Bless the Child" as his text and inspiration, Pinkney depicts a family's move in the 1930s from the rural South to the industrialized North in what was known as the Great Migration.

His exquisite "slice of life" watercolor paintings are wonderfully atmospheric, capturing perfectly the period and people.

The final page is one of hope and the promise of a better future. The single painting shows a young boy sitting in a classroom holding a book, talking with his teacher. As Pinkney notes in an afterword, "At the time "God Bless the Child" was written, education was largely a privilege of the wealthy . . . Free public education was prized as the great equalizer-the stairway out of poverty for those with the courage and opportunity to climb it."

This book is a labor of love. One can see this clearly in the facial expressions, the gestures, even the postures of the characters. No detail is neglected. Each page feels like an inexorable progression forward-even the endpapers. (The front endpapers show what appears to be a cabin's rough, wooden walls, while the endpapers in the back of the book show painted wallpaper.)

This book receives our highest recommendation: Suitable for district-wide library acquisitions.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff

Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL PICTURES COMPLIMENT A BEAUTIFUL SONG
Review: Jerry Pinkney collects vintage photographs, and it was those photos, along with the history of sharecroppers and their migration to the north, that inspired Pinkney to breathe new life into Billie Holiday's song "God Bless the Children" - not that the song needed new life, but it is a the perfect choice for the message Pinkney is trying to convey to young African-American readers--which is their history.

The large book displays some memorable illustrations, each stretching across two pages. The illustrations are scenes in the life of a sharecropper family in the thirties: scenes of Bible reading, horse playing, working in the field, loading the car to move up north and scenes of the working and living in an industrial city. With the illustrations are the words to the song "God Bless the Child." The song becomes a beautiful story brought to life with these detailed, expressive images. They are absolutely beautiful; I just couldn't get enough of them. A free CD of Holiday's God Bless the Child can be found at the back of the book.

Rating:
Summary: pictures to sing to
Review: Rebeccasreads highly recommends GOD BLESS THE CHILD as a perfect gift for every family who has ever known struggle, & the excitement & loss that moving from a well-loved place to a new world brings.

Exquisitely illustrated by the award-winning artist, Jerry Pinkney, GOD BLESS THE CHILD, is a glimpse into another time, hauntingly accompanied by the legendary singer Billie Holiday.

Rating:
Summary: neat book with cd
Review: The book shows us what it was like for one African American family is the 1930's. The family starts out poor. They are a hard working farm family. The family makes a move to the North. Here they find a better way of life of their family and things start to look up for them.

The book included a CD of Billie Holiday singing the song that inspired the book.


We would recommend this book to teachers and homeschoolers who are doing a study on African American history. The pictures really help to bring the time period to life.