“Ashley Bryan’s ABC of African American Poetry”

Ashley Bryan’s ABC of African American Poetry
Author: Ashley Bryan

Illustrator: Ashley Bryan

Genre: Poetry

Grade Level: K to 4^th grade

“If I could imagine the shaping of Fate,

I would think of blackmen

Handling the sun,”

-          Raymond Patterson

The moment you open the book you are welcomed by this warm bright color that instantly grabs your attention. As you flip through the page, you will notice alphabetic letters from the start to the end of the book. Each of these letters represents poems that either start with that letter or have that letter within the poem. The book features 26 poems that are all written by African-American poets. The poems are short and well versed. Some of the poems students will need help from adults to really explain the poem but some are to the point. Like the poem by Lucille Clifton “the lesson of the falling leaves”. It signifies leaves as being love, faith, and grace. An easy yet for students to grasp. Another poem to teach students will be “Augustus Observes the Sun” by Rita Dove. It mentions “Ketchup, marshmallows, the tub of ice, Bacon strips floating in pale soup”. As soon as you mention this verse you know that younger students will automatically pay attention!

Thoughts:

I love love LOVE this book. The poems are all fantastic and what makes it more amazing is the Vincent Van Gogh like art, a post-impressionistic art. You can see strokes of color on top of each other. It’s fantastic. I know that students will love this book because they will be drawn by the beautiful illustration (I know I did) Some of the poems have hidden meaning behind it which might take a while for younger students to understand BUT since I will be reading them the poems from this book. I will be more than happy to explain them the meaning behind it, allowing and equipping students towards higher level thinking. Ah the power of poem. An excellent book!