Who Will I Be, Lord? (Picture Book) [Hardcover]

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author), Sean Qualls (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Picture Book

A lyrical story about how looking back is helpful when you start looking forward. . . .

A young girl thoughtfully considers her family tree and the vibrant ancestors who populate it. As each family member’s story is revealed, her quiet meditation—about what kind of person she’ll be when she grows up—transforms into a testament to the importance of sharing family stories.

The simple, elegant narrative combined with Sean Qualls’s evocative art makes for a wonderful read-aloud experience.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—A contemplation of the future through the lens of a family's past. An African-American girl looking to the future has a broad range of relatives to emulate—a banjo-playing mailman, a housewife who broke the color barrier, a pool shark, and a burger-flipping aspiring jazzman. Nelson's rhythmic and colloquial first-person narrative introduces the characters not only in terms of the jobs they hold, but also the kind of people they are; her Great-Grandpap believes, "Nothin's more important than family." For the jazzman, "what matters is the trying." Qualls's mixed-media illustrations combine muted and bright elements and feature full-spread renditions of each relative at home or work, followed by a page showing surreal floating heads of the girl and the featured role model as she repeats the title's query. Nelson shows respect for all the ways people live and work.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC END

About the Author

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson wears multiple hats in the world of children’s books as an author and a youth services librarian at a public library in New Mexico. Her books have received numerous awards starting with her first book, Always Gramma, a CCBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. She lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Sean Qualls has created evocative, powerful art for magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and children’s books, including Dizzy, Powerful Words, Phillis’s Big Test, and Before John Was a Jazz Giant. He lives with his wife and their two children in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375843426
• ISBN-13: 978-0375843426
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 0.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,338,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a beautiful little story of a little girl who is trying to find out what she will be and who she will be!, January 1, 2010

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Will I Be, Lord? (Picture Book) (Hardcover)

There were so many interesting people in the little girl's family. She often wondered what kind of person she would be and often said to herself, "And what will I be, Lord? What will I be? Her Great-Grandpap was a cheery man that everyone knew because he delivered their mail. He also "played banjo with Schult'z Nighthawks on WNBO Radio." The banjo was put aside only to be played for his family when the kids came along. Family was everything. His grandpa, a slave, taught him that. Great-Grandma took care of the children. Now she was white and her parents (and everyone else for that matter) said she was crazy. She was only crazy about Pap. Mmmmm, what would that little girl be?

Her grandpa was a preacher and said the "Golden Rule is one that could save everybody." Now he learned that from his mama. Her grandma was a teacher. Sometimes people said she was "uppity," but she knew there was power in education and was proud of her accomplishments. Mmmmm, what would that little girl be? There were so many interesting, talented people in her background. Uncle was a pool shark and he told her, "If you're gonna be a ditchdigger, learn to dig the best ditches on this earth." He was a "rascal," and her mama liked him. Her cousin was a jazzman but until he got famous he would work at "Dizzy's Diner, flipping burgers." Papa was a car man and mama was a good woman who took care of everyone. She looked at them again and asked herself, "And what will I be, Lord? Who will I be?"

This is a beautiful little story of a little girl who is trying to find out what she will be and who she will be. This is a wonderful story of a solid family life, one is which all its family members were accepted for who they were, not what anyone else thought they should be. I loved many of the important messages this little book has to impart to the very young. One of the most important is that no matter who a child is or what they will do in life, they will be a unique and very special person. The artwork reflects the joy and pride this family had in one another. This would be a nice book to read and discuss in a homeschool or classroom setting!