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Only Passing Through
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 14:02:41 -0600
It's great to have Denise and Susan's substantial comments about Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Knopf, 2000).
I agree with what each wrote about Mr. Christie's powerfully expressive artwork. In his illustrations, elongated arms emphasize Sojourner Truth's oratorical skills, hands larger in perspective than the rest of her body indicate what the power of what she was doing or feeling, and exaggerated facial expressions draw attention to high tempers and opinions.
Perhaps you remember seeing The Palm of My Heart (Lee & Low, 1996), Christie's astonishing debut in books for the young. That collection of poetry written by African American children can be read in the conventional manner or - alternatively - only by reading the boldface type on each page spread.
What a surprise to see Christie's startling artwork combined with Anne Rockwell's writing! At first glance the two might seem to be an odd couple, but this is a new dimension of Rockwell as a writer. Although it might appear to be a picture book at first glance, Only Passing Through is definitely written, illustrated and designed for a young audience - young, yes, but older than Rockwell's typical preschoolers.
Using Sojourner Truth's autobiography as her main source, Rockwell tells about this "self-made woman" in moving prose. Here's an excerpt from the final paragraph: "She wandered for many years, a tall, dark figure in plain gray clothes, wearing a white cap on her head. She'd stop for a while, say what needed saying, then move on. She was a sojourner, only passing through. When people threatened to burn down the place where she planned to speak, she vowed angrily that she'd still be heard, speaking from the ashes..."
Only Passing Through is a handsome book. The endpapers extend the power of Christie and Rockwell's collaboration by quoting Sojourner Truth's own words within a repeated design, " Children, who made your skin white? Was it not God? Who made mine black? Was it not the same God?..."
This particular tribute to Sojourner Truth lives up to the name she chose for herself when she determined to serve no master but the truth. Christie and Rockwell make it possible for this sojourner's essence and words to speak truth to power while speaking to new generations.
- Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ A Library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin Madison
Received on Mon 12 Feb 2001 02:02:41 PM CST
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 14:02:41 -0600
It's great to have Denise and Susan's substantial comments about Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Knopf, 2000).
I agree with what each wrote about Mr. Christie's powerfully expressive artwork. In his illustrations, elongated arms emphasize Sojourner Truth's oratorical skills, hands larger in perspective than the rest of her body indicate what the power of what she was doing or feeling, and exaggerated facial expressions draw attention to high tempers and opinions.
Perhaps you remember seeing The Palm of My Heart (Lee & Low, 1996), Christie's astonishing debut in books for the young. That collection of poetry written by African American children can be read in the conventional manner or - alternatively - only by reading the boldface type on each page spread.
What a surprise to see Christie's startling artwork combined with Anne Rockwell's writing! At first glance the two might seem to be an odd couple, but this is a new dimension of Rockwell as a writer. Although it might appear to be a picture book at first glance, Only Passing Through is definitely written, illustrated and designed for a young audience - young, yes, but older than Rockwell's typical preschoolers.
Using Sojourner Truth's autobiography as her main source, Rockwell tells about this "self-made woman" in moving prose. Here's an excerpt from the final paragraph: "She wandered for many years, a tall, dark figure in plain gray clothes, wearing a white cap on her head. She'd stop for a while, say what needed saying, then move on. She was a sojourner, only passing through. When people threatened to burn down the place where she planned to speak, she vowed angrily that she'd still be heard, speaking from the ashes..."
Only Passing Through is a handsome book. The endpapers extend the power of Christie and Rockwell's collaboration by quoting Sojourner Truth's own words within a repeated design, " Children, who made your skin white? Was it not God? Who made mine black? Was it not the same God?..."
This particular tribute to Sojourner Truth lives up to the name she chose for herself when she determined to serve no master but the truth. Christie and Rockwell make it possible for this sojourner's essence and words to speak truth to power while speaking to new generations.
- Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ A Library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin Madison
Received on Mon 12 Feb 2001 02:02:41 PM CST
