Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin & Turn It Out!

Reviewed by: Margy Soule - Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 14, 2018

Review

The book's subtitle summarizes the book well - Games, Songs, & Stories from an African American Childhood. Patricia McKissack who died this past year has given American children, librarians, and folklorists a loving collection of the jump rope chants, hymns, folksongs, hand claps, circle games, superstitions, "Mama Sayings", proverbs, and folktales from her African-American childhood in 1950s Missouri and Tennessee. With pen and ink and watercolor illustrations that dance across the pages, Brian Pinkney has captured the joy and movement of the songs, chants, and stories. The could be enjoyed by public school teachers, librarians, American history and folklore scholars (including detailed and background note for each of the nine chapters), and ministers. However, children who love to dance, clap, and shout will be true beneficiaries of McKissack's final work.

Overall Book Score: excellent