Ellington Was Not a Street

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Ellington Was Not a Street was written by Ntozake Shange and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Ntozake Shange is on a quest to fill your bookshelves with beloved authors of the African Diaspora. When she's not hanging out on line, she's living it up as the mother of two rambunctious girls and wife of a local filmmaker. [1]

She was an African-American playwright, performance artist, and writer who is best known for her Obie Award winning play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, and a Pushcart Prize. [2]

Summary

In a reflective tribute to the African-American community of old, noted poet Ntozake Shange recalls her childhood home and the close-knit group of innovators that often gathered there. These men of vision, brought to life in the majestic paintings of artist Kadir Nelson, lived at a time when the color of their skin dictated where they could live, what schools they could attend, and even where they could sit on a bus or in a movie theater. Yet in the face of this tremendous adversity, these dedicated souls and others like them not only demonstrated the importance of Black culture in America, but also helped issue in a movement that "changed the world." Their lives and their works inspire us to this day, and serve as a guide to how we approach the challenges of tomorrow. [3]

Pros

The illustrations and the feel of each picture was lovely. The original poem reads as a sad remembrance but the illustrations make it a joyous story. As we read progress through the poem we would see more and more faces pile into the home. Every face was warm and kind, and the readers would felt it straight away. It was a wonderful primer for introducing these figures to our children. Nelson shows them laughing and singing, in the throws of passionate conversations. If we use this and other books like this as the starting point for Black History, not just the speeches and the terror, then we give our children a thoughtful account of what our lives were like. [1]

Lisa Skripps as one of the readers spoke out her thought about this book. She revealed that it was a unique tribute to various African American men who have made a difference over the years. In the story, incorporates inspirational men from Dr. Kwame Kkrumah, the President of Ghana, to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. An adorable little girl brings us into her home as she remembers these influential men of her childhood. We feel the love she has for her father and can identify the important impact that these famous men had on her life; how they were able to "change the world." She was extremely impressed by this book. She thought that the images by Kadir Nelson were warm and inviting. They helped her to feel the fondness and importance of the main characters childhood memories. She also thought that the book was a wonderful way to introduce African American culture to children from various cultural backgrounds. In the end of the book, there were two pages discussing each of the men mentioned in the story. If she was teaching this book to her class, she thought that this insert would be incredibly useful in terms of introducing her students to names that they may never have heard before. It is no wonder why Ellington Was Not a Street is a winner of the Coretta Scott King Award!

Annawade Stevenson absolutly giving this book five stars because this book was a multicultural picture book about the men in history that helped African American people become accepted in the society, promote civil rights and serve as role models for younger Black people. The book was told from from the point of view of a young girl who grew up around men that changed the world. There is only one line on each page next to a large illustration on a single or double page spread. By the end of the story, all of the lines come together in a poem, and the reader realizes that this book is a poem called "Mood Indigo" and each line of the poem is separated onto individual pages. Thus, each line of the poem is fully illustrated. The poem starts off with talking about the past stating that it "hasn't always been this way", meaning that the social change and equity African Americans are getting today was not a thing in the past. In the book jacket, the reader learns that the illustrator,"lived in a time when the color of their skin dictated where they could live, what schools they could attend" and so on. [2]

Library Thing's members also taking part in reviewing this book. They wrote their reason why this book was one of the best book for the black children. It was because one of culture; a book of power and knowledge. Persons of all ages will enjoy reading this book and becoming enlightened on prominent African American figures of the era. It gives different biographies of these people while displayed beautiful imagery to accompany the flowy text of the book. Overall, this book is one of knowledge and people should read it to understand more behind the culture of African Americans. Beautiful illustrations combine with a poem to show major figures in the early civil rights movement and major players in black music through the eyes of a child. ach page has one line from the poem about the influential African American men and how it changed the life and influenced the life of a young girl. At the end of the book there are mini biographies on the men mentioned in the book. This would be a good book to discuss poetry, and the meaning behind each line as well as one to discuss during Black History month in February. [4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange (Book Review). Retrieved February 9th, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ellington Was Not a Street. Retrieved February 9th, 2021
  3. Ellington Was Not a Street. Retrieved February 9th, 2021
  4. Ellington Was Not a Street. Retrieved February 9th, 2021