Palm of My Heart [Hardcover]

Davida Adedjouma (Editor), Gregory Christie (Illustrator), Lucille Clifton (Introduction)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

An inspiring and enlightening collection of free verse, written by African-American children, ranging in age from six to eight years old, explores and interprets their feelings about their heritage.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When children give voice to their own feelings, the result can be magical. This touching and inspiring collection of poems by African-American children helps prove that point. Edited by Davida Adedjouma and lovingly illustrated by Gregory Christie, these 20 poems came out of a series of writing workshops with children who were encouraged to celebrate their lives, joys, influences and hopes. The results are pure poetry, honest, wise and encouraging: "Black is the color of some people/but people are different/differences are good because/no one else says the/same things as you." Not only will children find the poems interesting, they may just be inspired to explore their own feelings. All ages.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4. A collection of poems by 20 children between the ages of 6 and 14, with introductory notes by Lucille Clifton. Christie interprets the selections with passionate (though somewhat scary in their expressive distortion) acrylic-and-pencil illustrations that could stand alone as a lively introduction to modern art. The poems were created during a community workshop designed to "introduce children to the techniques of image and metaphor, narrative and dialogue, and then set them free to explore their own lives, feelings and imaginations." Occasionally these goals are reached, as when Thelma Louise Lee writes of "my brother?trying to wash dishes/and me?talking too much, me hitting/my cousin (not meaning to, really),/me playing basketball and/calling all the shots." However most of the short poems, printed with boldface emphasizing certain words (Black, family, freedom) lack original imagery and come across as slogans rather than as personal voices. Facilitators of "everybody's an author" writing classes seeking a range of examples may be interested in purchasing The Palm of My Heart. Stronger writing and a broader range of topics can be found in June Jordan and Terri Bush's Voice of the Children (Holt, 1970; o.p.)?Karen MacDonald, Teaticket Elementary School, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880000415
• ISBN-13: 978-1880000410
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,743,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States > Black History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, March 4, 2009

By 

Melissa Savitt "MelissaTeachNYC" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Palm of My Heart (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my classroom library, but I do not display it. I find it to be too race-oriented. I feel uncomfortable putting so much emphasis on black vs. white.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great short stories for your kids to read, September 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Palm of My Heart (Hardcover)

This book shares the thoughts and stories of young african american children.As the kids speak up you will here the palm of there hart speaking to you. There are just great stories some happy some sad and some tell you just how much different there lifestyle is from ours.the kids will take you to there world and express there heart.