Langston's Train Ride (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Leonard Jenkins (Illustrator) "Sunday afternoon in Harlem, and 125th Street is alive, swarming with people..." (more)
Key Phrases: known rivers

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5–The train that carried Hughes from Ohio to his father's ranch in Mexico is the vehicle that propels both this slice-of-life picture book and the 18-year-old's journey as a poet. As Burleigh describes the moment in his well-crafted, first-person narration, words drifted into the passenger's consciousness as the rhythm of the wheels and the specter of the Mississippi assaulted his senses. The mighty river conjured up ancient African rivers, and by the end of the trip, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was scrawled on an envelope. Vibrant mixed-media collages will dazzle viewers. Even the shadows pulse with color and pattern. Jenkins has a gift for figural painting and an exciting sense of composition. Layers and reflections add to the dream-like mood of the long ride. Images are pulled from the paintings and screened in simplified form under the text; they appear as reverse silhouettes on backgrounds of brilliant color. The end result is a joyous celebration of the journey and the word. The story of the published piece frames the trip. An introduction and afterword place the piece and the poet in context. Alice Walker's Langston Hughes (HarperCollins, 2002) and Tony Medina's Love to Langston (Lee & Low, 2002) offer complementary information on Langston's life, the latter in poetic form. Worthy of reading in and of itself, Burleigh's book also offers multiple curricular connections from trains, journeys, and writing, to rivers, Harlem, and the black experience.–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
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From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. The great Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes wrote one of his most anthologized poems, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," at the age of 18 while on a train to visit his father, who left when Langston was a child. This dramatic picture book focuses on the instant when the young writer scribbled his famous poem on an envelope. In an author's note, Burleigh explains that his aim was to capture "the moment when Hughes came to believe in himself as a writer." But what are Burleigh's sources for picking this particular moment? In Hughes' autobiography The Big Sea (1940), the poet makes clear that he already had "a whole notebook full of poems" by then, so the message seems forced. The appeal here is the poem itself, printed in full, and in Jenkins' beautiful, rhythmic collage illustrations, which capture the changing view through the train window, the dreaming writer in his seat, the sweep of African American history in the poem, and the vital Harlem streets where Hughes' poetry is celebrated. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439352398
• ISBN-13: 978-0439352390
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #376,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars reads like poetry. . ., August 22, 2005

By	Kim (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

. . .and it is perfect to read out loud. this book should be in every elementary school library.

4.0 out of 5 stars find inspiration in all things, May 18, 2005

By	Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a picture book biography of Langston Hughes. It tells us that he got inspiration for his first poem while listening to the sound of a train. He was on the way to visit his father in 1920. He starts to think of all the people who have seen these sights before him and what life might have been like for them. He writes his famous poem on a piece of scrap paper and the rest is history!

The book was written in picture book/ story book form. Although it was a non-fiction book it was fun and easy to read.


We would recommend this book to others who are interested in knowing more about Langston Hughes. This would be helpful to students who might be researching his life for school projects.