Who Will I Be, Lord? by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

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Who Will I Be, Lord? was written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. This book is 40 pages long, and was published in October 27th, 2009 by Random House Books for Young Readers. Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title in 2010. She loves bringing books and children together and feels lucky to have two careers that foster this. The children's librarian and author says, "It was destined from the day I was born. My mother found my name in a novel she was reading.[1]

Summary

This book tells about a young girl who thoughtfully considers her family tree and the vibrant ancestors who populate it. As each family member’s story is discovered, 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. [2]

Pros

One of the readers named Monica, give her opinion about it, she explained that with a lyrical and repetitive refrain, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson tells the story of her own personal history as a little girl, and that of several different generations in her family. She goes through each branch of her family tree recalling shared stories and memories of her family history. For instance, she tells of her great grandma who was white and disowned by her parents after marrying Nelson’s great-grandpa who was black. After sharing the story of each family member, she repeats her catchphrase, “What will I be, Lord? What will I be?” The illustrations are detailed and textured with a very distinct rhythm to match the author’s writing style.[1]

A compilation of comments from one online site describe that this book is a biographical story about a mixed girl whose great-grandma is white and great-grandpa is black. She starts out by notifying us that her family by telling us about her grandpa, grandmother, grandma, grandpa, uncle, dad, cousin and mom. They are all very active people who are known for their jobs. Some are preachers, jazzmen, pool shark, housewives, mailmen and the whole time the girl (the protagonist of the story) is wondering what she will be as the title says, "Who will I be lord. So she introduces us to her family and their vocations and from time to time we wonder what she will be. This book is about a family discussing their different professions. She talks about her great-grandparents, her parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins and their occupations. On each page, she asked the Lord what she will be. In the end, she realizes she has the choice to be whatever she wants to be.[3]

Kirkusreviews mentioned that this substantive yet never heavy offering, an African-American girl reflects on the people in her family. This book has a strong sense of family and history, the girl comes to understand that what she is, who she is, is ultimately up to her. Quall’s lovely, textured illustrations depict realistic figures against backgrounds suffused with blues and purples.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Who Will I Be, Lord?. goodreads.com. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  2. Who Will I be, Lord?. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  3. Who Will I Be, Lord? (Picture Book). librarything.com. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  4. Who Will I Be, Lord? A book review. kirkusreviews.com Retrieved January 28th, 2021