The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights

With the text of the biblical Beatitudes as an undercurrent, the story of the civil rights movement is told in lyrical text and stirring illustrations.

School Library Journal

Gr 1–6—Weatherford uses the Beatitudes (Mathew 5: 3–12 KJV) as backdrop for a powerful, beautifully produced book. In free verse, she relates the story in first person—"I am the Lord your God,"—tracing the African-American journey from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement to the inauguration of Barack Obama. Each page begins, "I was with…" as Weatherford focuses on a particular person (Harriet Tubman, Marian Anderson, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr.) or an event (slave ships, freedom rides, right-to-vote movement). Verses, short and meaningful, carry forth a poignant message, reinforced by Ladwig's inspired, richly hued, expressive illustrations. The words of the Beatitudes, which are printed in their entirety at the book's beginning, run across the bottoms of the pages in softly colored type, making a constant connection to the pictures. In addition, the artist's choice of perspective is exemplary: angry white hecklers back an image of a hopeful-looking Ruby Bridges; Lincoln looks down on a crowded Mall as Marian Anderson sings to the throngs, and Martin Luther King, Jr., gazing into a reflecting pool, sees the smiling faces of two girls (one black and one white). Regardless of race or religion, this is a book to share with today's children who live in a discordant world too often lacking in kindness and civility.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of many books for children, including Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, which was a Caldecott Honor book, and Becoming Billie Holiday, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, a 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book. Carole makes her home in North Carolina.

Tim Ladwig has previously illustrated other African-American settings of biblical texts, The Lord's Prayer and Psalm Twenty-Three, as well as many other books for children, including When Daddy Prays, by Nikki Grimes, and Good King Wenceslas (all Eerdmans). Tim lives in Kansas.