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The Book of Rhythms
Rhythm is something we share in common, you and I, with all the plants and animals and people in the world, and with the stars and moon and sun, and all the whole vast wonderful universe beyond this wonderful earth which is our home. "
In this beautifully designed book, Langston Hughes shares an appreciation of the rhythms of life--from visual patterns that catch the eye to rhythms in nature like the beating of a human heart, the pulse of the ocean, and the turning of the planets.
With the keen eye of an artist and the perception of a poet, Hughes finds the seeds of rhythm in the slow flowing of the Mississippi River, the even slap-slap-slap of a jump rope, the swoop of a swing, and the steadiness of Grandma's rocking. He relishes the rhythms of nature in the opening of a
many petaled rose or the intricacy of a snowflake.
He calls up images and offers examples even the youngest reader will understand--clapping the rhythm of a favorite song, scrutinizing the lines and wrinkles of our hands, even examining the dining room chairs for "charming and graceful rhythms."
Originally published in 1954, this new edition offers original illustrations, an introduction by musician Wynton Marsalis, and an afterword by Hughes scholar Robert G. O'Meally. Read it aloud to the youngest children as they become aware of the diversity of the world. Older children will delight in
the varied and offbeat exercises and examples, and all ages will be touched by Hughes's zest for rhythm and for life itself.
In this beautifully designed book, Langston Hughes shares an appreciation of the rhythms of life--from visual patterns that catch the eye to rhythms in nature like the beating of a human heart, the pulse of the ocean, and the turning of the planets.
With the keen eye of an artist and the perception of a poet, Hughes finds the seeds of rhythm in the slow flowing of the Mississippi River, the even slap-slap-slap of a jump rope, the swoop of a swing, and the steadiness of Grandma's rocking. He relishes the rhythms of nature in the opening of a
many petaled rose or the intricacy of a snowflake.
He calls up images and offers examples even the youngest reader will understand--clapping the rhythm of a favorite song, scrutinizing the lines and wrinkles of our hands, even examining the dining room chairs for "charming and graceful rhythms."
Originally published in 1954, this new edition offers original illustrations, an introduction by musician Wynton Marsalis, and an afterword by Hughes scholar Robert G. O'Meally. Read it aloud to the youngest children as they become aware of the diversity of the world. Older children will delight in
the varied and offbeat exercises and examples, and all ages will be touched by Hughes's zest for rhythm and for life itself.
- GenresPoetryPicture BooksJazz
55 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
58 people want to read
About the author
Langston Hughes
616 books2,149 followersThrough poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include
Weary Blues
(1926) and
The Ways of White Folks
(1934).
People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...
People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 27, 2012
Very well written book! I have read many poems by Langston Hughes, and while I have enjoyed them all, this book was definitely a favorite when it comes to his work. We read in this book that rhythm is everywhere, all around us. It paints images in our heads that everything we pass has inner rhythm, almost like it is alive. This was an easy, enjoyable read, and the way Hughes used personification, metaphors and alliteration gave it an upbeat feel. While this book is not exactly written as a story, it introduces poetry in a positive light. I would definitely use this in a classroom as a fun way to introduce poetry and rhythm to young children, especially if they are not automatically excited when they hear poetry. This is an excellent book to show young children that poetry is exciting and enjoyable.
December 29, 2015
"Rhythm is something we share in common, you and I, with all the plants and animals and people in the world, and with the stars and moon and sun, and all the whole vast wonderful universe beyond this wonderful earth which is our home" (49).
A sweet new edition of Hughes' 1954 work of nonfiction as part of his "first book" series.
A sweet new edition of Hughes' 1954 work of nonfiction as part of his "first book" series.
February 11, 2022
I've always believed that poets must have a sense of rhythm and this book makes it clear that Hughes was a rhythmic connoisseur. The famed poet shares his musings on what rhythm is and the different natural (and sometimes unnatural) rhythms that we can appreciate in out everyday life.
Matt Wawiorka's simple illustrations strengthened and highlighted the text.
Matt Wawiorka's simple illustrations strengthened and highlighted the text.
February 13, 2012
SUMMARY: The Book of Rhythms by Langston Hughes is about all of the information you need to create a rhythm. It shows how to make one, talks about all of the different patterns, and tells where you can find rhythms in your everyday life.
CRITIQUE: There was no rhyme in this book until the sections "Rhythms of Music" and "Rhythm and Words", and those sections were using poems and songs by authors other than Langston Hughes as the examples.
There were certain images that were easy to see based on Langston Hughes's word choice. For instance, when he was describing what makes a rhythm it was easy to see the lines curving into the flowing shape.
Langston Hughes made a lot of observations about the different ways that rhythms are used in our lives. It really makes you think about rhythm and what an impact it has on everything you come across. For example, I had never considered perfume and other odors to be rhythms until I read this book.
There was really no word play in this story. Also, it did not appeal to children's more mischievious sides. It did have observations, like I mentioned above, but it did not achieve what I would call a positive stretch.
The only real time that you could associate this book to an occasion is if you are studying poetry or music in the classroom. There is not a holiday or specific event that this book would fit into.
RESPONSE: I did not like this book. I would not consider it poetry because it reads more like an informational novel. However, I would use it in the classroom if we were having a music lesson. There are a lot of examples of rhythms that I would have never considered if I had not picked this book up and it could help my students to understand how rhythm works and how to have sounds flow smoothly. They could use some of the examples and write thier own songs as part of the lesson.
CRITIQUE: There was no rhyme in this book until the sections "Rhythms of Music" and "Rhythm and Words", and those sections were using poems and songs by authors other than Langston Hughes as the examples.
There were certain images that were easy to see based on Langston Hughes's word choice. For instance, when he was describing what makes a rhythm it was easy to see the lines curving into the flowing shape.
Langston Hughes made a lot of observations about the different ways that rhythms are used in our lives. It really makes you think about rhythm and what an impact it has on everything you come across. For example, I had never considered perfume and other odors to be rhythms until I read this book.
There was really no word play in this story. Also, it did not appeal to children's more mischievious sides. It did have observations, like I mentioned above, but it did not achieve what I would call a positive stretch.
The only real time that you could associate this book to an occasion is if you are studying poetry or music in the classroom. There is not a holiday or specific event that this book would fit into.
RESPONSE: I did not like this book. I would not consider it poetry because it reads more like an informational novel. However, I would use it in the classroom if we were having a music lesson. There are a lot of examples of rhythms that I would have never considered if I had not picked this book up and it could help my students to understand how rhythm works and how to have sounds flow smoothly. They could use some of the examples and write thier own songs as part of the lesson.
March 4, 2012
The Book of Rhythms is about where you can find rhythm in everday life and how it can be used. There aren't really any poems in it except for the section of the book that is about using rhythm with words, which forms poems. There are sections of the book that describe how to make rhythm, how rhythm varies, and the beginnings of rhythm.
Sounds: In the section of Rhythm and Words, there are poems that have rhyming words in them. These rhythms are consistent and allow children to see a pattern in the poems as they read them.
Images: The pictures throughout the book go along with the words and help the explanations of rhythm to be clear and understood. There are pictures that go along with the words of the poems and pictures that go along with the songs in the section of rhythms in music.
Insight: This book has information that will definitely expand the awareness of children the rhythm and how poems are formed. The pictures will lead children to observe what is being explained to them.
A positive stretch: There weren't enough poems in this book that would appeal to children's mischevious side. Some of the information might interest children as they are reading because there are topics in the book that they might not think about when the hear the word rhythm.
Appropriateness for occasions: The information in this book will deepend the awareness of readers but when it comes to some kind of celebrstion, there really isn't any poems that fit this criteria.
I found this book to be interesting because it wasn't a typical poetry book. It explained where rhythm can be found and I think that children can learn from the information and become introduced to new things. This book can relate to everyone's life because there is rhythm all around the world, you just have to listen and look for it.
Sounds: In the section of Rhythm and Words, there are poems that have rhyming words in them. These rhythms are consistent and allow children to see a pattern in the poems as they read them.
Images: The pictures throughout the book go along with the words and help the explanations of rhythm to be clear and understood. There are pictures that go along with the words of the poems and pictures that go along with the songs in the section of rhythms in music.
Insight: This book has information that will definitely expand the awareness of children the rhythm and how poems are formed. The pictures will lead children to observe what is being explained to them.
A positive stretch: There weren't enough poems in this book that would appeal to children's mischevious side. Some of the information might interest children as they are reading because there are topics in the book that they might not think about when the hear the word rhythm.
Appropriateness for occasions: The information in this book will deepend the awareness of readers but when it comes to some kind of celebrstion, there really isn't any poems that fit this criteria.
I found this book to be interesting because it wasn't a typical poetry book. It explained where rhythm can be found and I think that children can learn from the information and become introduced to new things. This book can relate to everyone's life because there is rhythm all around the world, you just have to listen and look for it.
February 6, 2012
This book was about all the different rhythms of the world. It showed how there are rhythms everywhere and there are ones that we do not even notice. It put the many ways of things into a perspective that most people do not recognize.
The words in this book do not rhyme. Langston Hughes matches the words for the emotions and feelings of the book. The illustrations in this book matched the words that were wrote. It also gave mental images while reading. This book expanded the awareness of the reader for the many types of rhythm in the world. The Book of Rhythms gives a different outlook on the world and how we perceive it. The book definitely had a postive stretch. It gave a positive outlook on the rhythms of the world. It provided the reader with illuminating observations. The appropriateness of the occasion for his book could be a music lesson in which the students are learning rhythms.
I personally disliked this book because it was a very dry read and had the format of a textbook. However the way he used the average happenings of the world and related them to rhythm was rather interesting. This book could be related to anyone's life because everyone goes through rhythm. Such as the earth spinning, and the seasons change, to the furniture you sit on. I personally would not use this book in my classroom because I did not like it. Although, it could be used opening a poetry lesson to assure students that poetry is not the only thing in the world that has rhythm, it also could be used in a music lesson for the same reason.
The words in this book do not rhyme. Langston Hughes matches the words for the emotions and feelings of the book. The illustrations in this book matched the words that were wrote. It also gave mental images while reading. This book expanded the awareness of the reader for the many types of rhythm in the world. The Book of Rhythms gives a different outlook on the world and how we perceive it. The book definitely had a postive stretch. It gave a positive outlook on the rhythms of the world. It provided the reader with illuminating observations. The appropriateness of the occasion for his book could be a music lesson in which the students are learning rhythms.
I personally disliked this book because it was a very dry read and had the format of a textbook. However the way he used the average happenings of the world and related them to rhythm was rather interesting. This book could be related to anyone's life because everyone goes through rhythm. Such as the earth spinning, and the seasons change, to the furniture you sit on. I personally would not use this book in my classroom because I did not like it. Although, it could be used opening a poetry lesson to assure students that poetry is not the only thing in the world that has rhythm, it also could be used in a music lesson for the same reason.
February 27, 2012
The Book of Rhythms by Langston Hughes is about what is used in order to make a rhythm. It also about finding rhythm in your day to day life. The Book of Rhythms has no rhyme for the most part, until the "Rhythm of Music" and Rhythm of words" section. Hughes uses other authors' works as examples for these sections. Hughes' imagery is presented clearly and simply, using techniques such as drawing a squiggly line to explain the patterns in the rhythm. Hughes' words made me consider things to be rhythms that I had never considered to be a rhythm before, like drawing a pattern onto a paper or our own heart beat.
This book was well written, but I didn't think it had the most interesting word play. It is definitely not my most favorite poetry book, but it may come in handy if we choose to bring music into the classroom. Hughes gives lots of examples of rhythm, and children can use these examples to better understand the meaning of rhythm.
This book was well written, but I didn't think it had the most interesting word play. It is definitely not my most favorite poetry book, but it may come in handy if we choose to bring music into the classroom. Hughes gives lots of examples of rhythm, and children can use these examples to better understand the meaning of rhythm.
December 22, 2012
As much as I love Langston Hughes, I just didn't "get" this book. It felt like he was just writing a really long-winded version of the statement "Rhythm is all around us," he was just finding hundreds of different ways to say it.
Then again, I'm very much someone who feels my way through things like music and rhythm so I don't want to analyze it to death.
My main motivation for reading this book is that Blue Balliett mentioned at NCTE 2012 in Las vegas it's part of her inspiration for her newest book, Hold Fast. Since I love Langston Hughes, I had to investigate before I read the book. Maybe reading Balliett's book will give me a greater appreciation for this one.
Then again, I'm very much someone who feels my way through things like music and rhythm so I don't want to analyze it to death.
My main motivation for reading this book is that Blue Balliett mentioned at NCTE 2012 in Las vegas it's part of her inspiration for her newest book, Hold Fast. Since I love Langston Hughes, I had to investigate before I read the book. Maybe reading Balliett's book will give me a greater appreciation for this one.
November 22, 2010
An amazing book about rhythms of all sorts--not just the rhythms of music and dance, but the rhythms of words, of art, and of nature.
"Rhythm is something we share in common, you and I, with all the plants and animals and people in the world, and with the stars and moon and sun, and all the whole vast wonderful universe beyond this wonderful earth which is our home."
"Rhythm is something we share in common, you and I, with all the plants and animals and people in the world, and with the stars and moon and sun, and all the whole vast wonderful universe beyond this wonderful earth which is our home."
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews