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When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
In moving verse, Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis gives new voice to seventeen heroes of civil rights. Exquisitely illustrated by five extraordinary artists, this commanding collection of poems invites the reader to hear in each verse the thunder that lies in every voice, no matter how small. Featuring civil rights luminaries Coretta Scott King, Harvey Milk, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mamie Carthan Till, Helen Zia, Josh Gibson, Dennis James Banks, Mitsuye Endo, Ellison Onizuka, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Yunus, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.
44 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2012
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About the author
J. Patrick Lewis
134 books104 followersJ. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
October 30, 2013
Poetry is of the people by its very definition. Though sometimes considered the property of the elite (usually by folks who were forced to eat poetry unfiltered in high school by bored teachers) at its best it is a format that any human with a sense of rhythm and/or timing can use to their advantage. Poetry is the voice of people who are oppressed. When Chinese immigrants found themselves detained for weeks on end on Angel Island, they scratched poetry into the very walls of the building. Not curses. Not cries. Poems. It seems fitting then that J. Patrick Lewis should cull together poems to best celebrate “civil rights leaders” both known and unknown. People of different races, creeds, religions, and even sexualities are celebrated in a book that can only be honestly called what it is: one-of-a-kind.
Seventeen people. That doesn't sound like a lot of folks. Seventeen people turning the tide of history and oppression. Seventeen individuals who made a difference and continue to make a difference every day. And to accompany them, seventeen poems by a former Children’s Poet Laureate. In When Thunder Comes, J. Patrick Lewis highlights heroes of every stripe. And, in doing so, lets young readers know what a hero truly is.
Lewis isn’t phoning this one in. These poems are straight up honest-to-god works of poetry. Though the book is a mere 44 pages or so, its picture book size is misleading indeed. Consider this poem about Aung San Suu Kyi containing the following lines: “When a cyclone flicked off the roof of my prison / like the Queen of Hearts, turning my life to shame / and candle, the General had a mole removed. / When they added four words to the constitution - / my name – to bar me from ever running for office, / the General signed it with his fingernail made of / diamonds and disgust.” We’re on beyond nursery rhymes and patter here. There are also individual lines you just can’t help but admire. I like this one about Nelson Mandela in particular: “It is as if he’s landed on the moon / Five years before the actual event.”
The content is noticeably more mature as well. Kids have plenty of books to choose between when it comes to the Freedom Riders and Walkers, but the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner are dark as dark can be. That poem is told, not in broken up sections, but as a single long, square paragraph. Other ideas, like Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit system or Harvey Milk and his fight for gay rights require a bit more worldly knowledge on the part of readers.
Lewis makes some interesting choices along the way. He’s careful to include familiar names (Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, etc.) alongside lesser-known figures (Aung San Suu Kyi, Helen Zia, Ellison Onizuka, etc.). Some are living, some long dead. Each person has a title (“activist”, “auntie”, etc.). For “the innocent” he names Mamie Carthan Till but not her son, Emmett. At first I was confused by the choice, but the end matter made it clear that it was Mrs. Till that insisted that her son’s funeral be an open casket affair. An act of rebellion in and of itself. And this is undoubtedly the first book for children I’ve read that made special note of Harvey Milk. I know that some smaller presses have highlighted him in the past, but it’s particularly satisfying in this day and age to see him properly named and credited. A sign of the times, if you will.
Another thing I like about the book is its ability to highlight individuals that should be, and are not, household names. If Sylvia Mendez truly paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education, why isn’t Mendez v. Westminster better known? Certainly the book is ideal for writing assignments. The poems vary in terms of style, and I can see teachers everywhere assigning even more too little lauded heroes to their students, asking them to cultivate poems of their own. It would have been nice if somewhere in the book it said what the types of poems featured were (villanelles don’t come along in children’s books every day, after all). Teachers hoping to make connections between some of the subjects then and now might also point out things like how Emmett Till bought candy prior to his death, not unlike a more contemporary hoodied young man.
Of the various objections I’ve heard leveled against this book, there is the problem that each piece of art is not directly credited to its artist. Meilo So’s style is recognizable enough. Ditto R. Gregory Christie. But who did that image of Josh Gibson? Or Dennis James Banks for that matter? Now, the artists are listed on the publication page with references to their images, but since the book itself isn’t paginated this isn’t as useful as it might be. And some of the images work better than others, of course. While I wasn’t as taken with the images of Coretta Scott King, Mamie Carthan Till, or Dennis James Banks, I really liked Josh Gibson wearing his “Grays” garb, standing against a sky full of clouds. A different librarian objected to the fact that the three men murdered by the Klan in 1964 are featured with very similar, dark skin tones. I see the point, but since the shot is taken at night and the whole of the image is itself dark, this didn’t worry me as much.
In many ways the book most similar to this is Marilyn Singer’s recent “Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents Like Singer’s book, Lewis presents the poems and people first and then provides an explanation of who they were at the end. Both give new slants on old names. But for all that, Lewis’s book is unique. Maybe not 100% perfect, but chock full of better poetry than you’ll find in a lot of children’s rooms, highlighting folks that deserve a little additional attention. Certainly bound to be of use to teachers, parents, and kids with an eye towards honest-to-goodness heroism. A lovely addition, no matter where you might be.
For ages 10 and up.
Seventeen people. That doesn't sound like a lot of folks. Seventeen people turning the tide of history and oppression. Seventeen individuals who made a difference and continue to make a difference every day. And to accompany them, seventeen poems by a former Children’s Poet Laureate. In When Thunder Comes, J. Patrick Lewis highlights heroes of every stripe. And, in doing so, lets young readers know what a hero truly is.
Lewis isn’t phoning this one in. These poems are straight up honest-to-god works of poetry. Though the book is a mere 44 pages or so, its picture book size is misleading indeed. Consider this poem about Aung San Suu Kyi containing the following lines: “When a cyclone flicked off the roof of my prison / like the Queen of Hearts, turning my life to shame / and candle, the General had a mole removed. / When they added four words to the constitution - / my name – to bar me from ever running for office, / the General signed it with his fingernail made of / diamonds and disgust.” We’re on beyond nursery rhymes and patter here. There are also individual lines you just can’t help but admire. I like this one about Nelson Mandela in particular: “It is as if he’s landed on the moon / Five years before the actual event.”
The content is noticeably more mature as well. Kids have plenty of books to choose between when it comes to the Freedom Riders and Walkers, but the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner are dark as dark can be. That poem is told, not in broken up sections, but as a single long, square paragraph. Other ideas, like Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit system or Harvey Milk and his fight for gay rights require a bit more worldly knowledge on the part of readers.
Lewis makes some interesting choices along the way. He’s careful to include familiar names (Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, etc.) alongside lesser-known figures (Aung San Suu Kyi, Helen Zia, Ellison Onizuka, etc.). Some are living, some long dead. Each person has a title (“activist”, “auntie”, etc.). For “the innocent” he names Mamie Carthan Till but not her son, Emmett. At first I was confused by the choice, but the end matter made it clear that it was Mrs. Till that insisted that her son’s funeral be an open casket affair. An act of rebellion in and of itself. And this is undoubtedly the first book for children I’ve read that made special note of Harvey Milk. I know that some smaller presses have highlighted him in the past, but it’s particularly satisfying in this day and age to see him properly named and credited. A sign of the times, if you will.
Another thing I like about the book is its ability to highlight individuals that should be, and are not, household names. If Sylvia Mendez truly paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education, why isn’t Mendez v. Westminster better known? Certainly the book is ideal for writing assignments. The poems vary in terms of style, and I can see teachers everywhere assigning even more too little lauded heroes to their students, asking them to cultivate poems of their own. It would have been nice if somewhere in the book it said what the types of poems featured were (villanelles don’t come along in children’s books every day, after all). Teachers hoping to make connections between some of the subjects then and now might also point out things like how Emmett Till bought candy prior to his death, not unlike a more contemporary hoodied young man.
Of the various objections I’ve heard leveled against this book, there is the problem that each piece of art is not directly credited to its artist. Meilo So’s style is recognizable enough. Ditto R. Gregory Christie. But who did that image of Josh Gibson? Or Dennis James Banks for that matter? Now, the artists are listed on the publication page with references to their images, but since the book itself isn’t paginated this isn’t as useful as it might be. And some of the images work better than others, of course. While I wasn’t as taken with the images of Coretta Scott King, Mamie Carthan Till, or Dennis James Banks, I really liked Josh Gibson wearing his “Grays” garb, standing against a sky full of clouds. A different librarian objected to the fact that the three men murdered by the Klan in 1964 are featured with very similar, dark skin tones. I see the point, but since the shot is taken at night and the whole of the image is itself dark, this didn’t worry me as much.
In many ways the book most similar to this is Marilyn Singer’s recent “Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents Like Singer’s book, Lewis presents the poems and people first and then provides an explanation of who they were at the end. Both give new slants on old names. But for all that, Lewis’s book is unique. Maybe not 100% perfect, but chock full of better poetry than you’ll find in a lot of children’s rooms, highlighting folks that deserve a little additional attention. Certainly bound to be of use to teachers, parents, and kids with an eye towards honest-to-goodness heroism. A lovely addition, no matter where you might be.
For ages 10 and up.
December 23, 2012
Great collection of poetry focusing on a variety of global men and women who have stood for change.
January 30, 2013
Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis has created a new book of poems for young people about the lives of those around the world who sought to break race, class and sexual equality barriers through their actions. When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders is a collection of poems highlighting the lives, strengths, and accomplishments of seventeen men and women who fought against the restrictions put upon them by the societies they lived in.
Included in the list are well known activists such as Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Coretta Scott King. But there are also lesser-known names, such as Mitsuye Endo, a Japanese American woman interned during World War II, and Dennis James Banks, who cofounded the American Indian Movement.
Each person listed is given an honorific title, like “the first” for Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American baseball player in the modern era, and “the crusader” for Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.
Five artists illustrate the poems: Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra and Meilo So. At first I worried that this may make the drawings too separate and feel unrelated to each other. Instead, it brings richness to the illustrations that highlight the unique qualities of each civil rights leader.
Brief biographies at the back add detail to the lives of the leaders celebrated through verse. When Thunder Comes is a great book to share with your children and introduce them to some of the major issues of the 20th century.
The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Included in the list are well known activists such as Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Coretta Scott King. But there are also lesser-known names, such as Mitsuye Endo, a Japanese American woman interned during World War II, and Dennis James Banks, who cofounded the American Indian Movement.
Each person listed is given an honorific title, like “the first” for Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American baseball player in the modern era, and “the crusader” for Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.
Five artists illustrate the poems: Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra and Meilo So. At first I worried that this may make the drawings too separate and feel unrelated to each other. Instead, it brings richness to the illustrations that highlight the unique qualities of each civil rights leader.
Brief biographies at the back add detail to the lives of the leaders celebrated through verse. When Thunder Comes is a great book to share with your children and introduce them to some of the major issues of the 20th century.
The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
January 28, 2013
J. Patrick Lewis, the 2011-2013 Children's Poet Laureate, does an excellent job with this handsome picture book featuring poems and bios about civil rights leaders.
This is not run of the mill, because the book is so well-written and eye-catchingly illustrated by five artists, and also because of the variety of leaders Lewis chose to feature. There is Coretta Scott King, Mohandes Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Jackie Robinson. But there is also Dennis Banks of AIM; Mitsuye Endo, of the World War II Japanese Internment camps; Muhammed Yunis, Bangladesh banker and Noble Peace Prize winner; and San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk ("They say I came before my time/but who else would redress/ unmitigated suffering due/ to such small-mindedness?").
Timely and highly recommended for young readers of the appropriate age.
This is not run of the mill, because the book is so well-written and eye-catchingly illustrated by five artists, and also because of the variety of leaders Lewis chose to feature. There is Coretta Scott King, Mohandes Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Jackie Robinson. But there is also Dennis Banks of AIM; Mitsuye Endo, of the World War II Japanese Internment camps; Muhammed Yunis, Bangladesh banker and Noble Peace Prize winner; and San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk ("They say I came before my time/but who else would redress/ unmitigated suffering due/ to such small-mindedness?").
Timely and highly recommended for young readers of the appropriate age.
October 28, 2017
J. Patrick Lewis always writes such interesting poetry books. In this one he writes a poem for each of 15 civil rights leaders, some of whom I'd never heard of (Mitsuye Endo, Helen Zia, Dennis James Banks). His poetic form varies from poem to poem. My favorites are "The Auntie" (Aung San Suu
Kyi), "The Innocent" (Mamie Carthan Till), and "Banker to the Poor" (Muhammad Yunus). The theme throughout is that ordinary people can rise to the occasion and do extraordinary things to help others. Lewis provides further information about these civil rights leaders at the end of the book. Young readers should feel inspired and filled with hope that they, too, can make a difference.
Kyi), "The Innocent" (Mamie Carthan Till), and "Banker to the Poor" (Muhammad Yunus). The theme throughout is that ordinary people can rise to the occasion and do extraordinary things to help others. Lewis provides further information about these civil rights leaders at the end of the book. Young readers should feel inspired and filled with hope that they, too, can make a difference.
May 9, 2013
A stirring collection of poems about global peacemakers and social activists, quite a few lesser-known but worth knowing. Brief biographical sketches follow the poems. A good collection of contributing illustrators, too,
April 7, 2019
My only complaint as I was reading this was that if I didn't already know about the person, I was confused by their poem. This was rectified at the end, however, when there was a short description of each person. I loved the diversity represented -- not just black civil rights and not just from America.
November 6, 2016
This is a beautifully illustrated book of powerfully written poems about civil rights leaders. The subject matter had me immediately interested and the illustrations and poems won me over. I read a library copy of this book and I went right out and bought one of my own for use in my future classroom. I thought this book was amazing. I wasn’t sure how civil rights leaders would translate through poetry, but the author, Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, did a phenomenal job of painting vivid and moving pictures through his words.
The poems in this book each speak to the life of a different leader in the movement for civil rights, not just in the United States, but all over the world. Subjects include Dennis James Banks, the cofounder of the American Indian Movement, Muhammad Yunus a banker in Bangladesh, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez the Mexican-Puerto Rican American civil rights leader whose case paved the way for Brown v. the Board of Education, and many more. Well-known and lesser known leaders are represented such that this book had me involved in multiple google and Wikipedia searches to learn more. That’s the point though, it piqued my curiosity and in a classroom I can see these poems piquing the curiosity and imagination of students. These poems could even serve as a great introduction to a lesson on one of the poetry subjects.
I think this book of non-fiction poetry is best suited for readers from 5th through 8th grade and possibly older. As a future teacher, I can see the poems used in a variety of ways. They could be used for the comprehension of literature and understanding figurative language and text structure, but I also see them providing an opportunity to contrast and compare literature with informational texts on the same subject. These poems could be the basis for a variety of reading comprehension lessons, the only limit is the teacher’s imagination. Students can compare and contrast texts in different forms and their approaches to similar themes and topics. Students could analyze how two or more authors write about the same topic and shape their presentations of key information emphasizing different evidence or interpretations of fact. Students could use the poetry to determine the meaning of words and phrases used in text including figurative and connotative meanings. Or, coupled with social studies, these poems could be a great starting point for a lesson on one of the individuals featured in the poems.
I highly recommend this book for classroom libraries.
The poems in this book each speak to the life of a different leader in the movement for civil rights, not just in the United States, but all over the world. Subjects include Dennis James Banks, the cofounder of the American Indian Movement, Muhammad Yunus a banker in Bangladesh, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez the Mexican-Puerto Rican American civil rights leader whose case paved the way for Brown v. the Board of Education, and many more. Well-known and lesser known leaders are represented such that this book had me involved in multiple google and Wikipedia searches to learn more. That’s the point though, it piqued my curiosity and in a classroom I can see these poems piquing the curiosity and imagination of students. These poems could even serve as a great introduction to a lesson on one of the poetry subjects.
I think this book of non-fiction poetry is best suited for readers from 5th through 8th grade and possibly older. As a future teacher, I can see the poems used in a variety of ways. They could be used for the comprehension of literature and understanding figurative language and text structure, but I also see them providing an opportunity to contrast and compare literature with informational texts on the same subject. These poems could be the basis for a variety of reading comprehension lessons, the only limit is the teacher’s imagination. Students can compare and contrast texts in different forms and their approaches to similar themes and topics. Students could analyze how two or more authors write about the same topic and shape their presentations of key information emphasizing different evidence or interpretations of fact. Students could use the poetry to determine the meaning of words and phrases used in text including figurative and connotative meanings. Or, coupled with social studies, these poems could be a great starting point for a lesson on one of the individuals featured in the poems.
I highly recommend this book for classroom libraries.
October 1, 2014
I wish that I could give this book ten stars because I thought that it was amazing and honestly it gave me chills. The book "When Thunder Comes" holds a variety of poems based on the Civil Rights Movement period and tells the story of many leaders and victims during this time. One of the poems that really stuck with me was called "The Innocent". It was about a mother who had to bury her fourteen-year-old son, Emmett Till, because he was murdered. Emmett was an African American who supposedly either whistled at a white girl or called her baby. The poem says "They beat him bloody, oh, they made him pay. They kicked him, shot, then drowned him just in case--And justice could not find the words to say." The reason behind the poems is to talk about justice and many horrid true stories about this historical period of time. The pictures that go along with each poem are different as well. Some look like cartoon drawings and others look like well developed paintings.
I would say that this book is definitely for students who are older that are learning about the Civil Rights Movement. The book really puts the reader into that time period and gives examples of real life events that were so tragic, but at the same time hold such a strong importance to history itself. The teacher could read this book as a class and then have them pull out what they believe the meaning behind it is. Discussion as a group to what happened in the poems and what significance and change they brought about would be important for student comprehension, while allowing their minds to imagine some of the stories take place. Students could also compare the issues in the book to issues occurring throughout the world today--what has changed or stayed the same? Where are places in the world that are still struggling with racism?
I would say that this book is definitely for students who are older that are learning about the Civil Rights Movement. The book really puts the reader into that time period and gives examples of real life events that were so tragic, but at the same time hold such a strong importance to history itself. The teacher could read this book as a class and then have them pull out what they believe the meaning behind it is. Discussion as a group to what happened in the poems and what significance and change they brought about would be important for student comprehension, while allowing their minds to imagine some of the stories take place. Students could also compare the issues in the book to issues occurring throughout the world today--what has changed or stayed the same? Where are places in the world that are still struggling with racism?
Read
August 17, 2016This is definitely for older audiences. The poems are unflinching in what they look at- KKK murders (Freedom Summer), racially motivated murders (Emmett Till), deep seated hatred (Harvey Milk, Sylvia Mendez, Japanese Internment)- and the back matter includes more information.
I am reminded a bit of Rad American Women by this book, I think simply because it’s a book of activists and probably by the broad range of people examined. But the format it completely different. These are poems introducing children to people who have fought for civil rights all across the globe and for different groups of disadvantaged people. I didn’t personally click with a lot of them, but that’s just me. I think they will give kids exposure to a lot people they are probably not familiar with, but should have some awareness of- Harvey Milk and Aung San Suu Kyi to name two.
I don’t know why on my first pass through I didn’t realize that there were a number of illustrators including John Parra who I just saw in Marvelous Cornelius and who has a distinctive style. I really loved all the pictures here and I think they could serve as a good entree for reluctant poetry/nonfiction readers.
When Thunder Comes would be so worth putting on our shelves and I will add it to the collection development list, but it’s going to be a damn hard sell. It’s for older readers; it’s a picture book with picture book trim size; and it’s poetry. Those are three types of literature that do not leave our shelves all rolled into one. But I also very strongly believe that marketability can be created. I know there are teachers that would use this and with good readers advisory kids will pick it up. If you talk to your children about civil right struggles or if your school does anything with civil rights I suggest looking into adding this to your library purely for the range of people introduced here.
I am reminded a bit of Rad American Women by this book, I think simply because it’s a book of activists and probably by the broad range of people examined. But the format it completely different. These are poems introducing children to people who have fought for civil rights all across the globe and for different groups of disadvantaged people. I didn’t personally click with a lot of them, but that’s just me. I think they will give kids exposure to a lot people they are probably not familiar with, but should have some awareness of- Harvey Milk and Aung San Suu Kyi to name two.
I don’t know why on my first pass through I didn’t realize that there were a number of illustrators including John Parra who I just saw in Marvelous Cornelius and who has a distinctive style. I really loved all the pictures here and I think they could serve as a good entree for reluctant poetry/nonfiction readers.
When Thunder Comes would be so worth putting on our shelves and I will add it to the collection development list, but it’s going to be a damn hard sell. It’s for older readers; it’s a picture book with picture book trim size; and it’s poetry. Those are three types of literature that do not leave our shelves all rolled into one. But I also very strongly believe that marketability can be created. I know there are teachers that would use this and with good readers advisory kids will pick it up. If you talk to your children about civil right struggles or if your school does anything with civil rights I suggest looking into adding this to your library purely for the range of people introduced here.
December 9, 2014
This book includes many poems that essentially give a voice to civil rights leaders. The voices are of Coretta Scott King, Harvey Milk, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mamie Carthan Till, Helen Zia, Josh Gibson, Dennis James Banks, Mitsuye Endo, Ellison Onizuka, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Yunus, James Caney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Readers reflect on these poems through intrigue. Every poem involves some major “hot button” topics whether they are present today or not. Readers are able to learn about what it was truly like and how things have changed or how things are actually still changing. Overall they can analyze these poems and place themselves into these leaders’ shoes to see how and where it all started so we can be where we are now. This had to be very challenging to put together. Tons of research had to be done on specific civil rights movements, the people chosen, and the perspective of that person. This is high quality work which I am impressed with. The only thing I can't decide on liking is the cover of the book. It was not entirely captivating, though the title of the book is fitting. It is presented in a way that makes readers want to know what it is about, but they would definitely need to actually pick it up and flip through it and even read the back before they would probably ever choose to read it. A classroom application is obvious for this one, when learning about the civil rights movements, students would benefit from reading this as it contains some legitimate personal perspectives from people during that time.
Lewis, J., & Burke, J. (2013). When thunder comes: Poems for civil rights leaders. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Lewis, J., & Burke, J. (2013). When thunder comes: Poems for civil rights leaders. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
March 16, 2013
This book is very useful for classrooms. It utilizes the magic and music of poetry with the perseverance, strength, struggle and beautiful stories of Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Coretta Scott King. Lewis also includes lesser-known names, such as Mitsuye Endo, a Japanese American woman interned during World War II, and Dennis James Banks, who cofounded the American Indian Movement.
Each poem tells about a civil rights leader or leaders. A sense of dignity and weight that suits their topics weaves through each.
Five artists illustrate the poems: Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra and Meilo So. This creates a rich feel to the series of page spreads. The pictures bring richness to the illustrations that highlight the unique qualities of each civil rights leader. I especially like Meilo So's illustration for "The Auntie," Jim Burke's illustration for "The Slugger," Tonya Engel's illustration for "The Innocent," John Parra's illustration for "The Captive," and R. Gregory Christie's illustration for "The First."
Brief biographies at the back add detail to the lives of the leaders celebrated through verse. When Thunder Comes is a great book to share with your children and introduce them to some of the major issues of the 20th century.
J. Patrick Lewis has done justice to this list of amazing stories. They speak of true heroes. Lewis's poem about Gandhi focuses on his work in behalf of the outcast "untouchables." The poem concludes majestically:
For we are not the ones to say
What will erode and what endure,
Where the iron, where the clay,
Who the foul and who the pure.
I highly recommend this heartwarming and inspirational text.
Each poem tells about a civil rights leader or leaders. A sense of dignity and weight that suits their topics weaves through each.
Five artists illustrate the poems: Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra and Meilo So. This creates a rich feel to the series of page spreads. The pictures bring richness to the illustrations that highlight the unique qualities of each civil rights leader. I especially like Meilo So's illustration for "The Auntie," Jim Burke's illustration for "The Slugger," Tonya Engel's illustration for "The Innocent," John Parra's illustration for "The Captive," and R. Gregory Christie's illustration for "The First."
Brief biographies at the back add detail to the lives of the leaders celebrated through verse. When Thunder Comes is a great book to share with your children and introduce them to some of the major issues of the 20th century.
J. Patrick Lewis has done justice to this list of amazing stories. They speak of true heroes. Lewis's poem about Gandhi focuses on his work in behalf of the outcast "untouchables." The poem concludes majestically:
For we are not the ones to say
What will erode and what endure,
Where the iron, where the clay,
Who the foul and who the pure.
I highly recommend this heartwarming and inspirational text.
October 28, 2013
This book of 17 poems about a variety of people engaged in civil rights is designed for the older reader. The language in these poems would be too challenging for younger children and the subject matter would be unlikely to appeal to kids under ten.
The goal appears to be to inspire the reader and to teach kids about some of the great freedom fighters in the last century. I found many of the poems required more than one reading in order to get the meaning; but the biographies included in the back of the book were very helpful. The inclusion of resources at the back was also helpful.
The poems can be read in any order and the titles were interesting in that they didn’t identify the person by name but rather by their role. Five different illustrators provided the artwork so there was a variety in the images that made reading each poem fresher. I think the artists did a good job of matching the style of illustration with the subject matter. The art did not so much as explain the text as complement it.
The fact that there was was no table of contents bugged me. Frankly I would have liked one. I also would have preferred to have the biographies with the poems. I didn’t find this poetry as accessible as the other books of poetry we read. This book required a lot more work on the part of the reader, especially if you didn’t know anything about the subject of the poem. That said, I think Lewis did an admirable job of changing his style to fit the subject about whom he was writing. Hats off. I think it must have been a challenging task. I also liked the way Lewis included people from different parts of the world, not just from the United States.
The goal appears to be to inspire the reader and to teach kids about some of the great freedom fighters in the last century. I found many of the poems required more than one reading in order to get the meaning; but the biographies included in the back of the book were very helpful. The inclusion of resources at the back was also helpful.
The poems can be read in any order and the titles were interesting in that they didn’t identify the person by name but rather by their role. Five different illustrators provided the artwork so there was a variety in the images that made reading each poem fresher. I think the artists did a good job of matching the style of illustration with the subject matter. The art did not so much as explain the text as complement it.
The fact that there was was no table of contents bugged me. Frankly I would have liked one. I also would have preferred to have the biographies with the poems. I didn’t find this poetry as accessible as the other books of poetry we read. This book required a lot more work on the part of the reader, especially if you didn’t know anything about the subject of the poem. That said, I think Lewis did an admirable job of changing his style to fit the subject about whom he was writing. Hats off. I think it must have been a challenging task. I also liked the way Lewis included people from different parts of the world, not just from the United States.
December 1, 2015
J. Patrick Lewis’s When Thunder Comes is a unique book. Lewis writes fifteen poems to honor figures from the history of civil rights—not only the American Civil Rights Movement—which are individually illustrated by one of five different collaborating illustrators. The poems themselves are simple fare, and on their own could be read by middle schoolers (more on this in a minute). In them Lewis tries to hone in on the most essential or memorable elements of a particular person’s contributions to civil rights, adding drama and sometimes a hint of transcendence. The illustrations are hit and miss, with some really capturing something of the drama and gravity of the individual’s struggles and triumphs, and others looking childish and frankly ugly. This is made worse by the variety of illustrators, since there is no consistency in the look and feel of the illustrations.
Although it is a book of poems for children, its subject matter may make it more appropriate for older readers. The format and genre do not lend themselves to learning about these figures for the first time, but seem more suitable for artistic impressions of figures one already knows about. This realization moved the publishers to include an index of blurbs on each of the figures highlighted in the poetry. Even so, I could only recommend this book for high school readers, as I suspect that middle schoolers would be a bit mystified by it. It might even be appropriate for adults with a particular interest in civil rights and poetry.
Although it is a book of poems for children, its subject matter may make it more appropriate for older readers. The format and genre do not lend themselves to learning about these figures for the first time, but seem more suitable for artistic impressions of figures one already knows about. This realization moved the publishers to include an index of blurbs on each of the figures highlighted in the poetry. Even so, I could only recommend this book for high school readers, as I suspect that middle schoolers would be a bit mystified by it. It might even be appropriate for adults with a particular interest in civil rights and poetry.
December 9, 2013
This book has poems about various civil rights leaders written by the former children's poet laureate, J. Patrick Lewis. Among the leaders included are some well known figures in history, such as Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, and Gandhi. Lewis also includes poems for some lesser known activists, such as Mitsuye Endo, Dennis James Banks, and Aung San Suu Kyi. In the back of the book, the author includes mini biographies of each of the leaders who appear in the book. Although many of the poems follow some sort of rhyming pattern, Lewis uses a variety of poetry structures throughout the book.
I found this book of poems very intriguing because the author chose to write about some lesser-known civil rights leaders who have done great things. Reading these poems sparked my interest in learning more about the people who I had never heard of and whose work was unfamiliar to me. I appreciated that the author included the biographies at the end so I could read about the people and then re-read their poems to gain greater meaning. After reading each poem a few times I think my favorite one is "The Crusader," a poem about Harvey Milk. I could see a middle grade teacher using these poems as a way to introduce a biography unit, showing that there are multiple ways in which an author can present information about a person's life and work. I could also see these poems being used as a way to introduce multiple styles of writing poetry.
I found this book of poems very intriguing because the author chose to write about some lesser-known civil rights leaders who have done great things. Reading these poems sparked my interest in learning more about the people who I had never heard of and whose work was unfamiliar to me. I appreciated that the author included the biographies at the end so I could read about the people and then re-read their poems to gain greater meaning. After reading each poem a few times I think my favorite one is "The Crusader," a poem about Harvey Milk. I could see a middle grade teacher using these poems as a way to introduce a biography unit, showing that there are multiple ways in which an author can present information about a person's life and work. I could also see these poems being used as a way to introduce multiple styles of writing poetry.
March 20, 2015
This book was simply amazing, but I will not lie, when I first saw the cover of the book I did not have any intentions for this book to be as good as it was. This book is not just dazzling with color, but the pictures speak a thousand words to the reader.
This book is not just one book to me, it is a book filled with several different poems based around the time of the civil rights movement. That by far was the most fascinating thing I had seen, which makes the book itself unique. It at the same time just brought back some things from the past that made me sad, and angry at the same time, it gave me many mixed emotions. One of the poems that stuck out to me and probably a lot of readers was the poem "The Innocent", many people probably know the story, but it was about an African American boy who was murdered and his own mother had to bury him because he supposedly whistled at a white girl. "They beat him bloody, oh, they made him pay. They kicked him, shot, then drowned him just in case--And justice could not find the words to say." I think this was put in here to raise awareness of our past, that it is not forgotten, that poem just really stuck out to me.
I think this was very important that this was a children's book, so that we can educate the younger generations who are unaware of their history. Though at the same time I hope we can soon someday come to a realization that it is not worth it, to treat any color like that.
This book is not just one book to me, it is a book filled with several different poems based around the time of the civil rights movement. That by far was the most fascinating thing I had seen, which makes the book itself unique. It at the same time just brought back some things from the past that made me sad, and angry at the same time, it gave me many mixed emotions. One of the poems that stuck out to me and probably a lot of readers was the poem "The Innocent", many people probably know the story, but it was about an African American boy who was murdered and his own mother had to bury him because he supposedly whistled at a white girl. "They beat him bloody, oh, they made him pay. They kicked him, shot, then drowned him just in case--And justice could not find the words to say." I think this was put in here to raise awareness of our past, that it is not forgotten, that poem just really stuck out to me.
I think this was very important that this was a children's book, so that we can educate the younger generations who are unaware of their history. Though at the same time I hope we can soon someday come to a realization that it is not worth it, to treat any color like that.
January 9, 2019
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders is a children's poetry anthology and picture book written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So. It is a collection fifteen poems about seventeen civil rights leaders with a wonderful illustration from one of the illustrators about each civil right leader.
The poems are directed to children or young readers so the poems are rather straightforward and direct with very little artistic symbolism. At the end of the book, there is a paragraph to give extra information on the people the poems are trying to shine. The illustrations, for the most part, are wonderful and while each illustration has different styles – it did not lessen the flow or enjoyment of the collection.
The fifteen poems are focused on Josh Gibson, Harvey Milk, Aung San Suu Kyi, Jacki Robinson, Coretta Scott King, Sylvia Mendez, Mitsuye Endo, Dennis James Banks, Mamie Garthan Till, Nelson Mandela, Helen Zia, Muhammad Yunus, Mohandas Gandhi, Ellison Onizuka, and the group of James Chaney, Andrew Goddman, and Michael Schwerner.
All in all, When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders is a wonderful collection of poems about important civil rights leaders around the world.
The poems are directed to children or young readers so the poems are rather straightforward and direct with very little artistic symbolism. At the end of the book, there is a paragraph to give extra information on the people the poems are trying to shine. The illustrations, for the most part, are wonderful and while each illustration has different styles – it did not lessen the flow or enjoyment of the collection.
The fifteen poems are focused on Josh Gibson, Harvey Milk, Aung San Suu Kyi, Jacki Robinson, Coretta Scott King, Sylvia Mendez, Mitsuye Endo, Dennis James Banks, Mamie Garthan Till, Nelson Mandela, Helen Zia, Muhammad Yunus, Mohandas Gandhi, Ellison Onizuka, and the group of James Chaney, Andrew Goddman, and Michael Schwerner.
All in all, When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders is a wonderful collection of poems about important civil rights leaders around the world.
March 7, 2013
These poems celebrate heroes who have fought for civil rights. Each poem focuses on one person, tells their story in imagery and strength. Seventeen men and women are on the pages here, people from around the world and from the American Civil Rights Movement. These are heroes who fought for justice and for equality. Their stories and these poems are filled with courage, vision and a sense of doing what is right. They will serve as inspiration for future generations who will have their own civil rights struggles to face.
Lewis has created poems that are both art but also informational. He offers critical details in understanding what these heroes have been through and what they have accomplished. At the same time, he reaches the heart of the person through his poetry too, showing the humanity about them as well.
The art in this book of poems was done by five illustrators. The images range from the bright colors of Chinatown to the darkness of murder in Mississippi. In every image though, readers see a leader who radiates courage. The different art styles come together to form a tapestry of that courage.
Strong and powerful, this book of poetry deserves to be shared widely and these names known and understood. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Lewis has created poems that are both art but also informational. He offers critical details in understanding what these heroes have been through and what they have accomplished. At the same time, he reaches the heart of the person through his poetry too, showing the humanity about them as well.
The art in this book of poems was done by five illustrators. The images range from the bright colors of Chinatown to the darkness of murder in Mississippi. In every image though, readers see a leader who radiates courage. The different art styles come together to form a tapestry of that courage.
Strong and powerful, this book of poetry deserves to be shared widely and these names known and understood. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
December 15, 2014
From activists to baseball players to children to politicians, civil rights in our world have been advanced in different ways by extraordinary individuals. In this collection of short poems, we get a strong impression of each of these people who fought to change the world for the better. You might already know Mohandas Gandhi, Coretta Scott King, Jackie Robinson, and Nelson Mandela. But you'll also be introduced to Aung San Suu Kyi, Dennis James Banks, Sylvia Mendez, and Muhammad Yunus. Hear a little about how each of them made an impact, and you will likely be inspired to learn more about these amazing heroes.
I thought this was an interesting and well done approach to celebrating civil rights pioneers. The poems are short but powerful, and the people depicted represent a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. The extra info about each person that is provided in the back is great, but I do think that it may not be enough information for many people. I think that these poems work best if you already have a background on the person. On the other hand, though, readers might be intrigued enough to seek more information after the fact. An excellent addition to learning more about the history of civil rights issues.
I thought this was an interesting and well done approach to celebrating civil rights pioneers. The poems are short but powerful, and the people depicted represent a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. The extra info about each person that is provided in the back is great, but I do think that it may not be enough information for many people. I think that these poems work best if you already have a background on the person. On the other hand, though, readers might be intrigued enough to seek more information after the fact. An excellent addition to learning more about the history of civil rights issues.
May 14, 2015
*NCTE Notable Poetry*
J. Patrick Lewis highlights the lives of seventeen men and women who fought to break barriers with a collection of unforgettable poems.
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders highlights activists such as Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King and Dennis James Banks who fought for racial, sexual, and economic equality. Through this collection, Lewis is able to not only tell the story of these hero's but also relay to readers what a hero truly is. Using a variety of poetic forms such as sonnets and free verse poetry, each poem is unique yet captivating.
In terms of illustration, this book used a collaboration of five different illustrators who each added a different sense of importance to the work.
My favorite feature in this book is the small biographical section located at the back that gives a brief history on each of the seventeen mentioned activists.
Overall, I believe that this would be best adapted in classrooms K-1 sue to the level of complexity in language. Also, I would give this book 3/5 stars. Although it was informative, it was not captivating enough to hold my attention and make me want to keep reading.
Pages - 44
Tags - Civil Rights, Leaders, Hero's, Poetry, Equality, Immigrants, Race, Sex, Class, Religion
J. Patrick Lewis highlights the lives of seventeen men and women who fought to break barriers with a collection of unforgettable poems.
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders highlights activists such as Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King and Dennis James Banks who fought for racial, sexual, and economic equality. Through this collection, Lewis is able to not only tell the story of these hero's but also relay to readers what a hero truly is. Using a variety of poetic forms such as sonnets and free verse poetry, each poem is unique yet captivating.
In terms of illustration, this book used a collaboration of five different illustrators who each added a different sense of importance to the work.
My favorite feature in this book is the small biographical section located at the back that gives a brief history on each of the seventeen mentioned activists.
Overall, I believe that this would be best adapted in classrooms K-1 sue to the level of complexity in language. Also, I would give this book 3/5 stars. Although it was informative, it was not captivating enough to hold my attention and make me want to keep reading.
Pages - 44
Tags - Civil Rights, Leaders, Hero's, Poetry, Equality, Immigrants, Race, Sex, Class, Religion
November 6, 2012
NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award Winner J. Patrick Lewis has crafted fifteen poems celebrating the lives of seventeen social activists. Some of them, such as Coretta Scott King, Mohandas Gandhi, and Aung San Suu Kyi, will be familiar to readers while others, like Mitsuye Endo and Helen Zia, won't be as familiar. But they will be now, thanks to the efforts of Lewis to honor them through his words. One of my favorite poems "The Slugger" celebrates baseball slugger Josh Gibson who never got the chance to play in baseball's major leagues because of the color barrier and "The Child," which describes Mexican-Puerto Rican-American civil rights leader Sylvia Mendez who began fighting for the right to a high quality education as a girl. Her determination and the subsequent court case paved the way for the better-known Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The title offers poetic snippets that illustrate the many ways the battle for civil rights has been fought across the world. The oil, acrylic, and watercolor illustrations add enormously to readers' enjoyment of the poems. This is another must-have treasure for the classroom from Lewis.
June 15, 2017
Filled with 10+ poems, this book dives into the major issues and even some of the unheard of stories of civil rights leaders in the past. We learn about black children, killed for flirting with white women, and about businessmen who were attacked for no reason besides the color of their skin. Not only dealing with racism, this book also includes poems on gay rights, staying current with the times. The poems are all told by different authors, and the style of the writing reflects it. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations that I think really capture the despair of the poems.
This would be a great book to read a poem or two from each day during a civil rights unit. I used this novel in a text set for civil rights and made sure to mention it when discussing The Lions of Little Rock, due to their connections of some of the people from history.
As a class assignment, I might ask students to examine all the aspects of a certain poem. They could also do the historical reasearch behind the poem! (The back of the book is the best place to start for the research as it gives little bits of information for each poem).
This would be a great book to read a poem or two from each day during a civil rights unit. I used this novel in a text set for civil rights and made sure to mention it when discussing The Lions of Little Rock, due to their connections of some of the people from history.
As a class assignment, I might ask students to examine all the aspects of a certain poem. They could also do the historical reasearch behind the poem! (The back of the book is the best place to start for the research as it gives little bits of information for each poem).
May 17, 2014
Written by J. Patrick Lewis, 2011-2013 Children's Poet Laureate, with illustrations by four illustrators done in oil, acrylic, and watercolor with maroon marbled end papers. These poems about civil rights leaders in many countries are paired with full-bleed portraits. Short bios in the back about these seventeen leaders, including Coretta Scott King, Harvey Milk, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez, aung San Suu Kyi, Mamie Carthan Till, Helen Zia, Josh Gibson, Dennis James Banks, Mitsuye Endo, Ellison Onizuka, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Yunus, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.
Pair this poetry text with biographies and use as a mentor text. This could also be used to study the relationship between information presented in different stanzas of a poem, see CCSS. Ask students, " how can we present information about a hero or extraordinary person in poem form? How much detail do we need to let our readers know about to clearly present the essence of this person?"
Pair this poetry text with biographies and use as a mentor text. This could also be used to study the relationship between information presented in different stanzas of a poem, see CCSS. Ask students, " how can we present information about a hero or extraordinary person in poem form? How much detail do we need to let our readers know about to clearly present the essence of this person?"
September 9, 2013
I find Lewis's poetry to be inconsistent in quality: sometimes I love it, other times I'm on the fence. This book has both in it. Some poems are better than others. I like that he includes a wide variety of civil rights leaders from all over the world, but I'm not sure all of them have the same historical weight. (African American baseball players and segregation fighters, Chinese- and Japanese-Americans who've felt prejudice, international leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Ghandi, the first gay politician in California, etc.)
This is a book teachers and parents will enjoy looking through to find the poems that work best for their teaching purposes. It's worth noting, too, that there are paragraphs for each person featured in the back that give more information. Art is well done.
I do have a book design complaint: why are some stanzas within some poems set off-kilter? That bugs me...
This is a book teachers and parents will enjoy looking through to find the poems that work best for their teaching purposes. It's worth noting, too, that there are paragraphs for each person featured in the back that give more information. Art is well done.
I do have a book design complaint: why are some stanzas within some poems set off-kilter? That bugs me...
January 3, 2016
It is too bad that the cover of this book shows what most American expect to see when the topic of Civil Rights is discussed - Blacks in the 1960s, because this book is so much more. This book contains 15 poems, by J. Patrick Lewis, and 15 paintings, by 5 different artists. Although 5 of the poems are about African-Americans, the other 10 poems are about people who fought for their Civil Rights, either in the United States or across the world. This view of Civil Rights is needed in the American classroom.
I think I would give the poems in this book 3/5 stars, but the coverage of the topic brings up the rating. There are short biographies of the men and women who appear in the poems at the back of the book. This is a needed resource because many of the poems do not give a historical context, and a young person who does not know the history would not understand the poem otherwise.
I think I would give the poems in this book 3/5 stars, but the coverage of the topic brings up the rating. There are short biographies of the men and women who appear in the poems at the back of the book. This is a needed resource because many of the poems do not give a historical context, and a young person who does not know the history would not understand the poem otherwise.
February 20, 2014
When Thunder Comes is a great book for another looking for poems about civil rights activists. This book is not only great for Black History month, it is a great book to talk about ALL civil rights leaders. The book includes poems about Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, Gandhi, Harvey Milk and many more. My favorite poem of the book is about the baseball hall of famer, Josh Gibson. The poem talks about how Gibson smashed the Jim Crow laws and hit over 800 home runs. I especially like the alliteration that Lewis uses in this poem. "He hit a mile the Jim Crow snub, no coloreds in a white man's club, all anyone could do was name him to the Hall of Fame, A tower in the tarnished game that Gibson never knew."
December 5, 2017
This is a book of poetry looking at important people through the history of the Civil Rights Movement. It is very powerful and shows individual instances in which these people were discriminated against, no matter if it was an act more recently where people were killed or if it was back at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, perhaps even before. It is a great poetry book for older readers, especially in close reading, because the illustrations depict the people and are perhaps not the most captivating for a read-aloud in front of a class, unless one or two wanted to be read.
Lewis, J. Ill. Burke, J. (2012, December 26). When Thunder Comes. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Lewis, J. Ill. Burke, J. (2012, December 26). When Thunder Comes. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
May 20, 2014
This book has poems written from the perspective of seventeen different fighters for equal rights of all mankind. At the bottom of each poem is the name of the poem's voice, who they were, and when they lived. Each poem has a bit of a different rhythm, or flow, and some stanzas are printed "crooked" to give the book this off-kiltered feel of something being not right, or unsettling. Paired with beautiful, colorful, and culturally different illustrations to add to the style of the text and illustrators' unique flair, this book would be great to use with middle school students about civil rights and having a voice.
July 31, 2014
I feel like this had the potential to be quite impactful, but the poems themselves were hit and miss. About half were quite good, and others didn't clearly portray what the impact of the individual was. There were a few that felt a bit forced the rhymes and structure.
I thought the illustrations were well suited for the book.
I do wish the poems had been presented by timeline, or even just listed the date of the accomplishment. It would have been more impactful, for example, knowing that Sylvia Mendez paved the way for integrated schooling, in the body of this book the only clue is that her birth year is listed (1936).
I thought the illustrations were well suited for the book.
I do wish the poems had been presented by timeline, or even just listed the date of the accomplishment. It would have been more impactful, for example, knowing that Sylvia Mendez paved the way for integrated schooling, in the body of this book the only clue is that her birth year is listed (1936).
August 4, 2014
When Thunder Comes is an informative collection of poems paying tribute to seventeen heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Each day my daughter and I read three poems, then read the paragraph in the afterward about each individual; which aided in understanding the message the author was trying to convey. I wouldn't recommend reading this book straight through; instead flipping between the poems and the afterward information. Educators can easily incorporate these poems in when discussing Civil Right with their class into a hands on assignment. My daughter is going to copy her favorite poem out and illustrate it with images the verse elicits.
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