Lift Your Light a Little Higher: The Story of Stephen Bishop: Slave-Explorer - Hardcover

Henson, Heather

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 148142095X ISBN 13: 9781481420952

Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2016

Synopsis

Grab your lantern and follow the remarkable and world-famous Mammoth Cave explorer—and slave—Stephen Bishop as he guides you through the world’s largest cave system in this remarkable homage to the resilience of human nature.

Welcome to Mammoth Cave. It’s 1840 and Stephen Bishop is the perfect guide.

By the light of his lantern, the deepest, biggest cave in all of the United States is revealed. Down here, beneath the earth, he’s not just an enslaved person. He’s a pioneer. He knows the cave’s twists and turns. It taught him to not be afraid of the dark.

And watching all the visitors write their names on the ceiling? Well, it taught him how to read.

About this title

About the Author

Heather Henson lives on a farm in Kentucky with her husband and three children, is the managing director of the Pioneer Playhouse, and is the author of several critically acclaimed picture books and novels, including Wrecked, Dream of Night, The Whole Sky, Sunnyside Winter, and the bestselling, Christopher Award–winning That Book Woman.

Bryan Collier is a beloved illustrator known for his unique style combining watercolor and detailed collage. He is a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient for Trombone Shorty, Dave the Potter, Martin’s Big Words, and Rosa. His books have won many other awards as well, including six Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards. His recent books include By and By, Thurgood, The Five O’Clock Band, and Between the Lines. He lives in New York with his family.

Reviews

Gr 1–4—In 1840s Kentucky, Stephen Bishop, a slave, gave public tours of Mammoth Cave for his master's profit. Henson takes this factual piece of history and weaves a germane and trenchant story. Written in the first person, with Bishop leading readers through a tour, this book packs intricate meaning into each line. For example, when describing the cave, Bishop says, " 'Specially when you're searching out a path that's hardly been lit, a trail that's never been smooth or flat or plain to follow," implying that the path of the cave is much like that of a slave. Collier's superb watercolor and collage illustrations are painterly and grainy and complement the text perfectly. Bishop, who also becomes known as "Guide," cleverly learns to read by showing people how to make marks on the cave with a candle. They write their names; he learns to read. Readers follow Bishop as he showcases his skill and reflects on his seemingly incompatible roles in life—the limits of slavery and his unlimited exploration and knowledge of Mammoth Cave. The work ends with Bishop warning readers that there is little information on his life beyond the cave, explaining that history books do not record his death and that sometimes "you just got to go beyond what's written down to get to what's been left untold." VERDICT Complex and just waiting for an in-depth discussion, this is a solid purchase for biography and U.S. history collections.—Jennifer Steib Simmons, Anderson County Library, SC

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 148142095X
• ISBN 13: 9781481420952
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Collier Bryan
• Number of pages: 32