Book Description
for Wake Up Our Souls by Tonya Bolden
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Tonya Bolden provides a dynamic introduction to a wide range of Black American artists in a volume that is visually dazzling and intellectually stimulating. Bolden has chosen artists to represent “a range of human experiences and mediums used.” Each chapter explores a selection of artists as the narrative moves chronologically from the late eighteenth century to contemporary times. Rather than creating biographical profiles for each artist, Bolden has woven elements of their life story into her exploration of the art created during each period in the history of African American art that she outlines. She examines the lives of selected artists more fully in sidebars. She also provides thoughtful narratives about the works of art reproduced in the volume, encouraging readers to think about the connection between art and life. Among the works of art shown is a photograph of August Savage’s marvelous sculpture Lift Every Voice and Sing , created for the 1939 World’s Fair. The piece was destroyed after the fair along with the temporary building in which it had been housed because Savage did not have the resources to move and store her monumental work. That story alone underscores the importance of this volume that introduces young adults to important voices and visions in African American art. (Ages 11–16)
CCBC Choices 2005 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005. Used with permission.