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Harlem Summer
Myers is at his clever best in this witty and action-packed, coming-of-age story of a teenager's summer during the Harlem Renaissance and his run-ins with famous gangsters, writers, and musicians.
It's 1925 and Mark Purvis is a 16-yr-old with a summer to kill. He'd rather jam with his jazz band (they need the practice), but is urged by his parents to get a job. As an assistant at The Crisis, a magazine for the "new Negro," Mark rubs shoulders with Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. He's invited to a party at Alfred Knopf's place. He's making money, but not enough, and when piano player Fats Waller entices him and his buddies to make some fast cash, Mark finds himself crossing the gangster Dutch Schultz.
It's 1925 and Mark Purvis is a 16-yr-old with a summer to kill. He'd rather jam with his jazz band (they need the practice), but is urged by his parents to get a job. As an assistant at The Crisis, a magazine for the "new Negro," Mark rubs shoulders with Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. He's invited to a party at Alfred Knopf's place. He's making money, but not enough, and when piano player Fats Waller entices him and his buddies to make some fast cash, Mark finds himself crossing the gangster Dutch Schultz.
165 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
August 15, 2020
If I want to be transported to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Walter Dean Myers seems like a good author for the task. Having grown up in Harlem since age three, he knows it well, and his feel for portraying the artistic temperament of a community can be quite good. In the summer of 1925, sixteen-year-old Mark Purvis isn't sure what's ahead for him. He blows saxophone as part of a jazz trio with his buddies Henry Brown (guitar) and Randy Johnson (piano), but most musicians don't get paid much. Mark's parents work diligently in hopes of sending his eighteen-year-old brother Matt to college, but when a financial hardship emerges, Mark applies for an office job at The Crisis, a publisher founded by W. E. B. DuBois, to help make ends meet. The Crisis is a platform for black creative artists and intellectuals to establish themselves in urbane society, but Mark just wants a little pocket money and to improve his family's finances. So he takes a one-time gig on the side, doing a few hours of delivery work for jazz musician Fats Waller, even though Mark is suspicious the job might not be completely legal. He's got to eat, right?
"(W)hen you're playing with fire you've got to deal with the heat...And fire ain't particular about who it burns."
—Ralph, Harlem Summer, P. 142
The way things turn out, Mark wishes he hadn't pulled his friend Henry into the deal. A shifty contact man known as Crab Cakes apparently ran off with the shipment that Mark and Henry moved, and Dutch Schultz, a Harlem crime boss, is out for blood. He'll never believe Mark and Henry didn't cheat him. As summer progresses, Mark forms friendships at The Crisis office with poet Langston Hughes and a few others who treat him well, but editor Jessie Fauset has doubts that Mark is a "New Negro" type, part of the rising generation poised to steer the black community in the right direction. Miss Fauset has her eye on him, so Mark had best not mess up if he wants to continue drawing a paycheck. Dutch Schultz is a mounting threat, ready to make an example of Mark and Henry. Why did they get mixed up with criminals in the first place? Was it worth the stress, danger, and risk of shaming their families if Mark and Henry are jailed or worse? Getting out of this fix will require timely intervention, but Mark has built some useful contacts recently. If he escapes this summer with his body and reputation intact, he might be lined up for a decent future after all.
I think I see the message Harlem Summer intends to convey, but it doesn't come across clearly or with much emotional impact. The writing is listless, failing to evoke the passionate, sensuous landscape of the Harlem Renaissance. Maybe Mark should have assumed the job for Fats Waller wasn't legit—it offered a lot of money for one night's labor—but he wasn't asked to do anything obviously illegal, and he had no way of knowing how Crab Cakes would complicate matters. Harlem Summer is notable mostly for featuring leading players of the Harlem Renaissance: I enjoyed reading a novel with Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Stephanie St. Clair, and especially Fats Waller as characters. That Fats had a flair for jazz piano and singing. I'll rate Harlem Summer one and a half stars, and it's almost worth rounding up to two. With a more refined narrative and stronger philosophical foundation, this could be an excellent junior novel, but as is, it still has value.
"(W)hen you're playing with fire you've got to deal with the heat...And fire ain't particular about who it burns."
—Ralph, Harlem Summer, P. 142
The way things turn out, Mark wishes he hadn't pulled his friend Henry into the deal. A shifty contact man known as Crab Cakes apparently ran off with the shipment that Mark and Henry moved, and Dutch Schultz, a Harlem crime boss, is out for blood. He'll never believe Mark and Henry didn't cheat him. As summer progresses, Mark forms friendships at The Crisis office with poet Langston Hughes and a few others who treat him well, but editor Jessie Fauset has doubts that Mark is a "New Negro" type, part of the rising generation poised to steer the black community in the right direction. Miss Fauset has her eye on him, so Mark had best not mess up if he wants to continue drawing a paycheck. Dutch Schultz is a mounting threat, ready to make an example of Mark and Henry. Why did they get mixed up with criminals in the first place? Was it worth the stress, danger, and risk of shaming their families if Mark and Henry are jailed or worse? Getting out of this fix will require timely intervention, but Mark has built some useful contacts recently. If he escapes this summer with his body and reputation intact, he might be lined up for a decent future after all.
I think I see the message Harlem Summer intends to convey, but it doesn't come across clearly or with much emotional impact. The writing is listless, failing to evoke the passionate, sensuous landscape of the Harlem Renaissance. Maybe Mark should have assumed the job for Fats Waller wasn't legit—it offered a lot of money for one night's labor—but he wasn't asked to do anything obviously illegal, and he had no way of knowing how Crab Cakes would complicate matters. Harlem Summer is notable mostly for featuring leading players of the Harlem Renaissance: I enjoyed reading a novel with Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Stephanie St. Clair, and especially Fats Waller as characters. That Fats had a flair for jazz piano and singing. I'll rate Harlem Summer one and a half stars, and it's almost worth rounding up to two. With a more refined narrative and stronger philosophical foundation, this could be an excellent junior novel, but as is, it still has value.
September 16, 2018
This is a GoodRead! The Main character has the privilege of working around the Giants of the Renaissance & has the misfortune to also work with The Gangsters of the Underworld. This is my third read by Myers and I’ve come to realize tho Books are 4All, I believe he specifically is trying to reach the Young Male readers.
April 24, 2014
This is book left me with so many questions. Society conveys people's assumption and interpretation of the world when growing up. Mark is put into a situation were he's forced to get a job to help out his family raise money for his brother for college. To raise some extra money he takes on a job with a local musician Fats and gets himself into some trouble when his friend Crab Cakes runs off with the bootlegged wine, he returned it at the end of the book of course. After going through all that trouble to scramble up and get the money, he gets put in handcuffs anyways and when he gets there, notices how much respect Fats get and doesn't even get to take the blame for all that bs. But overall, it really had me thinking whose the "New Negro" of our generation?
July 3, 2013
This was a tremendous effort by Walter Dean Myers. I really enjoyed how he weaved real life Icons such as W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen etc. into this portrait of youth that shows us how even the best intentioned can get caught up in truly adult situations. Superb rhythm to this story!
February 23, 2015
I really loved the writing of this book: easy, straight forward, fun. The story was entertaining and I loved that it featured real people (I enjoyed reading the section in the back of the book). I enjoyed the characters and the setting of the book.
Overall a really good book.
Overall a really good book.
March 13, 2019
Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers is a humorous, action filled book which was set in the setting of the Harlem Renaissance. It’s 1925 and Mark Purvis who is 16 years old has a summer to spend. He would rather jam out with his jazz band but his parents urge him to get a summer job. Mark’s family is in financial problems with his brother in college which sets a big setback for his family. Mark wants to help which sets him up with a job at The Crisis which is a magazine for the “New Negro”. As he befriends the poet Langston Hughes, he is far long from playing jazz the his friends. He makes money, but not enough. But his friend Fats Waller helps Mark and his friend get some fast cash but is tangled up with the gangster Dutch Schultz. This book is a one of a kind. It shows the contributions that African Americans have made in this nation. Many of the pictures of these real people can be found in the back of the book. I give this book a 4-5. One of the best books I read.
September 20, 2017
This book was really good. This book is about days in Harlem and about the life of Mark Purvis. It also tells us about how there were "Gangster" and "Hoodlums" that sold illegal alcohol.
In the story mark.
In the story mark.
November 18, 2012
Reviewed by Christian C. for TeensReadToo.com
It's the summer of 1925 in Harlem, a summer that sixteen-year-old Mark Purvis will never forget. In just a months time, Mark will get to meet the best and the worst people of New York City.
Mark gets a job at The Crisis, a magazine that promotes and encourages "New Negroes." The magazine was part of a movement created during that time with a mission to discover talented persons of color -- poets, novelists, and musicians -- and show them to the world.
But Mark is not so sure that he wants to become a "New Negro." What he really wants to do is become a famous jazz player and play the saxophone with his band. So when "Fats," a well known piano player who made records, offers him and his friend, Henry, what sounds like an "innocent" job loading trucks in New Jersey, Mark and Henry don't think twice. This could be the opportunity they were looking for, their big break, a golden chance to be with "Fats" and tell him all about their jazz band. Maybe he could even help them get a record deal.
What Mark didn't know is that the job was actually for the most dangerous man and leading bootlegger, Dutch Schultz. And Mark didn't know that what they helped load was illegal alcohol, and that the truck driver was going to drive away, all of a sudden, with the merchandise. And now Dutch Schultz wants his money back, and he wants Mark and Henry to pay for it.
Will Mark get the money for Dutch Shultz? Will Mark become a "New Negro?" Will he be able to keep his job at The Crisis? Or will Mark end up traveling the wrong path? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Every single word in Walter Dean Myers' book flows effortlessly in this entertaining novel. He makes writing look easy.
HARLEM SUMMERS is a book that will strike a chord with all readers. Parents will love the lack of cursing and sex often seen in young adult literature. (Although, to be honest, I think that the author could have used some more cursing to make the dialogue sound a little more realistic.) Teachers and librarians will LOVE this novel that complements perfectly what we studied in 8th-grade social studies. I'm sure that this book will soon be part of many recommended summer reading lists. nd teens will love the story, because after all... who wouldn't want to meet the head of a notorious gang?!
The end of the book contains a section with biographical information of real individuals that appear in the book and lived in New York City during that period, like Alfred Knopf, Langston Hughes, "Bumby" Johnson, and others.
It's the summer of 1925 in Harlem, a summer that sixteen-year-old Mark Purvis will never forget. In just a months time, Mark will get to meet the best and the worst people of New York City.
Mark gets a job at The Crisis, a magazine that promotes and encourages "New Negroes." The magazine was part of a movement created during that time with a mission to discover talented persons of color -- poets, novelists, and musicians -- and show them to the world.
But Mark is not so sure that he wants to become a "New Negro." What he really wants to do is become a famous jazz player and play the saxophone with his band. So when "Fats," a well known piano player who made records, offers him and his friend, Henry, what sounds like an "innocent" job loading trucks in New Jersey, Mark and Henry don't think twice. This could be the opportunity they were looking for, their big break, a golden chance to be with "Fats" and tell him all about their jazz band. Maybe he could even help them get a record deal.
What Mark didn't know is that the job was actually for the most dangerous man and leading bootlegger, Dutch Schultz. And Mark didn't know that what they helped load was illegal alcohol, and that the truck driver was going to drive away, all of a sudden, with the merchandise. And now Dutch Schultz wants his money back, and he wants Mark and Henry to pay for it.
Will Mark get the money for Dutch Shultz? Will Mark become a "New Negro?" Will he be able to keep his job at The Crisis? Or will Mark end up traveling the wrong path? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Every single word in Walter Dean Myers' book flows effortlessly in this entertaining novel. He makes writing look easy.
HARLEM SUMMERS is a book that will strike a chord with all readers. Parents will love the lack of cursing and sex often seen in young adult literature. (Although, to be honest, I think that the author could have used some more cursing to make the dialogue sound a little more realistic.) Teachers and librarians will LOVE this novel that complements perfectly what we studied in 8th-grade social studies. I'm sure that this book will soon be part of many recommended summer reading lists. nd teens will love the story, because after all... who wouldn't want to meet the head of a notorious gang?!
The end of the book contains a section with biographical information of real individuals that appear in the book and lived in New York City during that period, like Alfred Knopf, Langston Hughes, "Bumby" Johnson, and others.
April 20, 2008
Mark picks up a summer job at "Crisis," an African American publication. But he also wants to get closer to famed musician Fats Waller, and quickly agrees to assist Fats in a sidejob. Unfortunately, things go wrong in this job, and soon Mark and his friends find themselves in hot water with the local gangsters. Combines an engaging and often humerous tale with actual historical figures such as the aforementioned Fats Waller, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois and Dutch Schultz. The appendix, with a brief biographical description and pictures of the people and places mentioned, were a nice touch.
September 16, 2007
This was an OK book about life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance (1920s). It wove actual people through the novel and gives an explanation about who they are at the end. Good for middle school discussion or for black history month.
May 2, 2023
This book takes place during the summer of 1925 in Harlem. 16 year old Mark Purvis is looking for anyway he can make money this summer, even if it means he can make a quick 5 dollars doing an unknown delivery for a friend. The delivery wouldn't only get him 5 easy bucks but he would get to talk to Fats, a really good local jazz player in Harlem, about playing with him sometime. It was a win, win situation until the delivery went south. Now Mark was stuck trying to pay back a big time gangster because of something he didn't even do. While he is figuring out this situation he gets a job at The Crisis publishing office working for Dr. DuBois and Langston Hughes getting paid 14.50 a week. His brother is getting ready for college and his mom is perpetually disappointed in him because jazz is not gods music. Throughout this story you experience Mark Purvis's summer in Harlem while he goes after his dreams of being a professional saxophone player, goes about making some summer cash, and getting into a little trouble being a hoodlum working for Dutch Schultz, a local gangster.
Teaching Idea: I would offer this in my classroom library as a Historical fiction option. I would maybe book talk it or suggest it to a student who is into music or learning about the 1900's.
Teaching Idea: I would offer this in my classroom library as a Historical fiction option. I would maybe book talk it or suggest it to a student who is into music or learning about the 1900's.
June 7, 2020
I greatly enjoy stories like this. It's a glimpse into the life of a young man growing up in Harlem. A day in the life almost. Despite the main characters interactions with gangsters being unrealistic I still had a good time listening to it. Everything else, what with his mom and father, his friends and even the people he spent time with around town, were perfectly authentic.
In saying that, I would like to read or listen to a similar story written for an older audience. This one was definitely toned down. It's for grades 6-12 so I'm not at all surprised, nor do I hold it against the story. It managed to convey plenty without digging too deeply into the stark realities of life.
I enjoyed this one a lot and will certainly look out for more Walter Dean Myers books.
Also, wait until you hear how many real life people were woven into the story. What a trip. So very cool.
In saying that, I would like to read or listen to a similar story written for an older audience. This one was definitely toned down. It's for grades 6-12 so I'm not at all surprised, nor do I hold it against the story. It managed to convey plenty without digging too deeply into the stark realities of life.
I enjoyed this one a lot and will certainly look out for more Walter Dean Myers books.
Also, wait until you hear how many real life people were woven into the story. What a trip. So very cool.
February 16, 2022
I enjoyed this book very much. Mark is a sweet main character who is so funny and just the right amount of stupid to make him a believable teenage boy. His story has him rubbing shoulders with all sorts of celebrities of the Harlem Renaissance, like Forest Gump. It's fun to see them pop up here and there. There was even a passing reference to Marian Anderson, which I enjoyed very much. His family, the dynamic with his friends, the Harlem community where he lives, and the NAACP world where he works create a world that is enchanting and fun to navigate, although sometimes feels like there's too much squeezed in. I first picked up the book on the library's Black History Month kids/YA shelf to see if it would be a good read-aloud book for my boys, but I think they are a bit too young to appreciate it. I will recommend it to them to read when they're older.
January 1, 2018
"Harlem Summer" by Walter dean Myers is a great book. The story revolves around Mark Purvis, a 16 year old who wants to become a musician. He really looks up to Fats Waller who is a famous musician and he couldn't say no when Fats asked him to help with a transporting job but he doesn't know that by helping Fats he was going to get on the bad side of Dutch Schultz, a gangster. I really enjoyed "Harlem Summer" because it takes place in 1925 and some of the characters are based on real life historical figures that lived in Harlem during this time.
January 10, 2018
This book attempts to expand young readers' imaginations about exactly what the Harlem Renaissance looked like by showing them a range of characters. I liked that this book made the editors and writers of The Crisis as real as the everyday churchgoers and the bootleggers. It felt really sweet to see Langston Hughes as a central, positive force in the protagonist's life. This book will work well in classrooms.
June 12, 2019
Enjoyed this . . . great fun to run into historical characters, such as W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Fats Waller, and Adam Clayton Powell (Senior and Junior) through the 16 year old main character, Mark, who is a summer intern at the Crisis Magazine (the NAACP publication) in 1925. Good story about Mark and his family.
March 13, 2018
this was good. It was one of my favorite books about the Harlem Renaissance so far!
March 27, 2018
I really enjoyed the way the author included historical figures in the story. However, I did not understand how the 16 year old main character took the fall for the bootlegging.
September 18, 2020
Pretty fun read. I could see this as a movie. It paints a picture in your mind as if it could have been a real life scenario. Beautifully written.
January 19, 2023
Good book
January 23, 2023
Loved all the name drops… this was a very interesting story!
February 6, 2023
If you like books that have action and adrenaline take in while trying to get home or Harlem.
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February 17, 20233 Copies
September 19, 2023
Great
January 23, 2024
I love how Meyers teaches a lesson while making the story so entertaining and easy to read.
February 2, 2025
Cute story
May 7, 2025
Hilarious. Nostalgic. Entertaining.
August 16, 2020
The best part of the book was meeting some of the people who actually went through that historic period of time...including pictures.
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October 24, 2010I didn't really have any expectations of the story, I just wanted to get a better idea of what Harlem was like during the 1920s and on that front this book did not disappoint. I could feel the heat rising off the sidewalk and imagine all the nightclubs and aspiring musicians lining up to perform in the clubs. One of the most fascinating things about this book (for me anyway) was the characterization of DuBois. Many of you may know that there was a huge rift between W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. Basically Washington wanted Black Americans to focus on being teachers, farmers, etc. He didn't really have a problem with segregation either. DuBois wanted Black Americans to enter politics, business and higher fields of education. He abhorred segregation. Both Washington and DuBois believed in education, they just wanted to sue the power of education differently. Anyway, I'm firmly on DuBois' side but this book portrays him in a mostly unflattering light. Everyone was terrified of him and he's seen as demanding and cold. I thought it was very interesting but I still love him for his ideas and starting The Crisis (one of the main Black newspapers of the time).
The story is funny, Mark tends to exaggerate and he doesn't always realize how grave a situation he's in. I did find it annoying how his luck always seemed to be good. Everything worked out for him, but the book could have been really sad if that wasn't the case. However I didn't mind it too much since I'm not in the mood for sad reads right now. Each chapter has a engaging title that makes you want to keep reading to figure out what it means. My personal favorite was "I Am Taken To Jail Like A Common Thug, Given The Third Degree, But Am Saved By My Reputation As An International Gangster, Bad Man, And The New Breed of Criminal." (pg. 134) The characters aren't as well developed as I would have liked. It very much seems to be written for young readers as an introduction to Harlem during the '20s, Mark meets some of the most famous people of the time. He also visits famous places, reads famous newspaper, etc. I just wish we learned more about the characters, instead they are simply commented upon as they pass by.
Harlem Summer is a lively story about a little known period of American history, the Harlem Renaissance. The fact that it reads like an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance both helps and hurts it. Older readers may roll their eyes at Mark's convenient connections to everyone famous in Harlem, but it's a great way to whet readers appetite for more. I wish the novel was longer so I could have learned more about Queenie (a Black female gangsta), Countee Cullen, Dubois, etc. I also wanted to know more about mark's family, his father is hilarious but his brother Matt remains a shadowy figure. I did like that Mark's mother and father both played a prominent (often amusing) role in his life. Prepare to visit Harlem and meet a character who has the best luck and gets in the wackiest scrapes.
Love this quote from Mark's father "Mark, you are a young black man. Sometimes, living here in Harlem, we walk on the sunny side of the street and sometimes we walk on the shady side. I know that because I've been black a whole lot longer than you. Anything you've seen-I've lived. But I also know that you got to be careful on both sides of the street."
The story is funny, Mark tends to exaggerate and he doesn't always realize how grave a situation he's in. I did find it annoying how his luck always seemed to be good. Everything worked out for him, but the book could have been really sad if that wasn't the case. However I didn't mind it too much since I'm not in the mood for sad reads right now. Each chapter has a engaging title that makes you want to keep reading to figure out what it means. My personal favorite was "I Am Taken To Jail Like A Common Thug, Given The Third Degree, But Am Saved By My Reputation As An International Gangster, Bad Man, And The New Breed of Criminal." (pg. 134) The characters aren't as well developed as I would have liked. It very much seems to be written for young readers as an introduction to Harlem during the '20s, Mark meets some of the most famous people of the time. He also visits famous places, reads famous newspaper, etc. I just wish we learned more about the characters, instead they are simply commented upon as they pass by.
Harlem Summer is a lively story about a little known period of American history, the Harlem Renaissance. The fact that it reads like an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance both helps and hurts it. Older readers may roll their eyes at Mark's convenient connections to everyone famous in Harlem, but it's a great way to whet readers appetite for more. I wish the novel was longer so I could have learned more about Queenie (a Black female gangsta), Countee Cullen, Dubois, etc. I also wanted to know more about mark's family, his father is hilarious but his brother Matt remains a shadowy figure. I did like that Mark's mother and father both played a prominent (often amusing) role in his life. Prepare to visit Harlem and meet a character who has the best luck and gets in the wackiest scrapes.
Love this quote from Mark's father "Mark, you are a young black man. Sometimes, living here in Harlem, we walk on the sunny side of the street and sometimes we walk on the shady side. I know that because I've been black a whole lot longer than you. Anything you've seen-I've lived. But I also know that you got to be careful on both sides of the street."
October 6, 2011
Appropriate Age: 7th grade and above
This poem takes the reader through a soulful journey about life in Harlem. The connective theme is song and voice, and how these people have taken their song from Africa, and changed/added to it through slavery and finally in their life in Harlem.
Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem, which gives him credibility to write in this genre. The cultural details are neatly integrated into the text and pictures through the readers exploration of Harlem. Although the overall tone of the text is not traditional to this culture, specific words and relations are established throughout the use of authentic language. The poetic nature of the text took over for the need to write in the dialect traditionally prevalent in Harlem.
The pictures in this book were the first thing that really caught my attention. Each piece of the picture is segmented- almost like it was cut and paste- into a beautiful mural. The contrast of colors really helps to accentuate the writer's motive on each page. After I read the book, I went back and looked at just the illustrations, which were created from a combination of ink, gouache, and collage, and was able to "read" the story just by viewing the artwork. It takes an incredibly strong illustrator to portray the meaning and passion without the text.
The text in this book was incredible as well. It actually took me a second time through the book to really understand the meaning of the book. It is written in poetry form, which has always been more difficult for me to analyze. However, I found that reading the text aloud (just as if I were reading to my students) really helped with my own comprehension. This book took me thorough the different aspects of a black adolescent's daily life in Harlem. It really made me think about how this was so different from my life growing up. For example, young children would routinely play in a fire hydrant on the street for entertainment, whereas I would have most likely been found in the park district swimming pool with my family and maybe a friend. The text also displayed the importance of religion in one's life, and how being bold and loud in your practice was expected. In my religious experiences, we were taught about religion in the form of lessons or Sunday school. We weren't included in the mass practices of the adults. The aspects of community demonstrated in this book really allow the reader to juxtapose this life to their own, which would make this a great read-aloud book for older students. I am always looking for "picture books" to read to my students. I really believe there is never a student who is too old to have a book read aloud. I typically read aloud novels to aide in understanding, but to have a book with such meaningful and strong pictures is amazing!
This poem takes the reader through a soulful journey about life in Harlem. The connective theme is song and voice, and how these people have taken their song from Africa, and changed/added to it through slavery and finally in their life in Harlem.
Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem, which gives him credibility to write in this genre. The cultural details are neatly integrated into the text and pictures through the readers exploration of Harlem. Although the overall tone of the text is not traditional to this culture, specific words and relations are established throughout the use of authentic language. The poetic nature of the text took over for the need to write in the dialect traditionally prevalent in Harlem.
The pictures in this book were the first thing that really caught my attention. Each piece of the picture is segmented- almost like it was cut and paste- into a beautiful mural. The contrast of colors really helps to accentuate the writer's motive on each page. After I read the book, I went back and looked at just the illustrations, which were created from a combination of ink, gouache, and collage, and was able to "read" the story just by viewing the artwork. It takes an incredibly strong illustrator to portray the meaning and passion without the text.
The text in this book was incredible as well. It actually took me a second time through the book to really understand the meaning of the book. It is written in poetry form, which has always been more difficult for me to analyze. However, I found that reading the text aloud (just as if I were reading to my students) really helped with my own comprehension. This book took me thorough the different aspects of a black adolescent's daily life in Harlem. It really made me think about how this was so different from my life growing up. For example, young children would routinely play in a fire hydrant on the street for entertainment, whereas I would have most likely been found in the park district swimming pool with my family and maybe a friend. The text also displayed the importance of religion in one's life, and how being bold and loud in your practice was expected. In my religious experiences, we were taught about religion in the form of lessons or Sunday school. We weren't included in the mass practices of the adults. The aspects of community demonstrated in this book really allow the reader to juxtapose this life to their own, which would make this a great read-aloud book for older students. I am always looking for "picture books" to read to my students. I really believe there is never a student who is too old to have a book read aloud. I typically read aloud novels to aide in understanding, but to have a book with such meaningful and strong pictures is amazing!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews