Love to Langston

Rating:
Summary: Introducing Langston Hughes.....
Review: Meet James Langston Hughes in a unique and entertaining biography that brings this great poet of the Harlem Renaissance to life. Written in free verse, Tony Medina's fourteen poems follow Langston from his boyhood in Kansas marked by racism and poverty, to his trips to Africa and around the world, and finally to life in his beloved Harlem..."Harlem is the capital of my world/black and beautiful and bruised/like me..." Mr Medina's simple, yet powerful poems speak volumes, and are full of energy, rhythm, wisdom, and truth. "In Topeka, Kansas/the teacher makes me sit/in the corner/in the last row/far away from/the other kids// She rolls her eyes/and sucks her teeth/with heavy heavy sighs/and lies and lies// She tells one kid/not to eat licorice/or he'll turn black/like me// When Mama finds out/she takes me out of school/she rolls her eyes/and sucks her teeth/with heavy heavy sighs// And why why why" R. Gregory Christie's expressive, bold, and riveting illustrations complement each poem beautifully, and draw the reader into the world Langston Hughes loved and remembered. Together word and art present an engaging and evocative tribute to a remarkable and vibrant man who loved people, books, and jazz. This is much more than a creative and innovative biography, it's a labor of love. Perfect for youngsters 7 and older, Mr Medina includes notes, details, and insight to help flesh out, complete, and enrich these original poems about Langston Hughes' life, and introduce Hughes and his work to a whole new generation. This engaging biography is sure to whet the appetite of both young and old alike, and send you out looking for more. So come celebrate the life of Langston Hughes on what would have been his one hundredth birthday... "Sometimes life ain't/always a hoot/or a holler// But if you manage/to give it/a bother// Even if you miss/your mother/or don't like your father// There'll be better days/up ahead// A whole mess of/happenin' days/up ahead// You can sit and sulk/suck your teeth/and sigh// Or love and laugh/and live life/by and by"

Rating:
Summary: Introducing Langston Hughes.....
Review: Meet James Langston Hughes in a unique and entertaining biography that brings this great poet of the Harlem Renaissance to life. Written in free verse, Tony Medina's fourteen poems follow Langston from his boyhood in Kansas marked by racism and poverty, to his trips to Africa and around the world, and finally to life in his beloved Harlem..."Harlem is the capital of my world/black and beautiful and bruised/like me..." Mr Medina's simple, yet powerful poems speak volumes, and are full of energy, rhythm, wisdom, and truth. "In Topeka, Kansas/the teacher makes me sit/in the corner/in the last row/far away from/the other kids// She rolls her eyes/and sucks her teeth/with heavy heavy sighs/and lies and lies// She tells one kid/not to eat licorice/or he'll turn black/like me// When Mama finds out/she takes me out of school/she rolls her eyes/and sucks her teeth/with heavy heavy sighs// And why why why" R. Gregory Christie's expressive, bold, and riveting illustrations complement each poem beautifully, and draw the reader into the world Langston Hughes loved and remembered. Together word and art present an engaging and evocative tribute to a remarkable and vibrant man who loved people, books, and jazz. This is much more than a creative and innovative biography, it's a labor of love. Perfect for youngsters 7 and older, Mr Medina includes notes, details, and insight to help flesh out, complete, and enrich these original poems about Langston Hughes' life, and introduce Hughes and his work to a whole new generation. This engaging biography is sure to whet the appetite of both young and old alike, and send you out looking for more. So come celebrate the life of Langston Hughes on what would have been his one hundredth birthday... "Sometimes life ain't/always a hoot/or a holler// But if you manage/to give it/a bother// Even if you miss/your mother/or don't like your father// There'll be better days/up ahead// A whole mess of/happenin' days/up ahead// You can sit and sulk/suck your teeth/and sigh// Or love and laugh/and live life/by and by"