From Miss Ida's Porch - Hardcover

Belton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027089150 ISBN 13: 9780027089158

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1993

Synopsis

Two African-American girls are treated to a cluster of personal reminiscences and true stories about Duke Ellington and Marian Anderson during the nightly gathering of the families of Church Street on Miss Ida's porch.

About this title

About the Author:

Floyd Cooper received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his illustrations in Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land. Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. Cooper received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. In 1984 he came to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator of books and now lives in Easton, Pennsylvania, with his wife and children.

From Publishers Weekly:

"There's a very best time of day on Church Street. My street. It begins when the sky and my feelings match, both kind of rosy around the edges." So begins Belton's lyrical first book about the stories that unfold as neighbors gather to share the twilight on Miss Ida's front porch. In a leisurely, poetic style that evokes the sights and sounds of the nameless girl narrator's neighborhood block, Belton uses the gathering as a jumping-off point to introduce readers to two African American icons--Duke Ellington and Marian Anderson--and their importance in the lives of a generation of black Americans. Against the background of the darkening sky, Church Street's older residents pass on to the children their most cherished recollections: one neighbor tells of a visit to his town by the legendary jazz master, another movingly recalls attending Anderson's famed recital at the Lincoln Memorial. Like the rapt children on the porch, readers will receive a memorable and personal introduction to the larger issue of racial segregation. Cooper's ( Grandpa's Face ; Chita's Christmas Tree ) full-page paintings affectingly capture the fading light on the young and old faces and complement the nostalgic quality of the story. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0027089150
• ISBN 13: 9780027089158
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40