When I Hear Spirituals.             PW Pick

Cheryl Willis Hudson, illus. by London Ladd. 

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Willis Hudson movingly exalts the power of African American spirituals in a lyrics showcase that pairs existing verses with feelings they can evoke. On the first page, a Black child watching doves circle narrates on the verso: “When I hear spirituals,/ Sometimes,/ A big, full feeling/ Grows in my chest.” The recto, meanwhile, supplies italicized lyrics: “Over my head, I hear music in the air.” A page later, a Black adult in a pew bows their head, “A big lump/... stuck/ In my throat,” while lyrics read, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” Other spreads foreground a church congregation raising their hands in worship, a child dancing in a white dress, and Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King marching in a crowd, mixing historical scenes with everyday vignettes. Ladd’s ethereal acrylic, colored pencil, and cut paper illustrations render each characters’ heartfelt emotions visible, while personal-feeling text underlines how “spirituals speak/ To something tender/ And gentle/ And reverent/ And ‘sho’nuff’/ And ‘can-do’/ Inside of me.” Back matter includes an author’s note and glossary. Ages 6–9. (Jan.)