Grimes, Nikki, and Bryan Collier. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4169-7144-3.
Brief plot summary:
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is a picture biography of the United States’ 44th president. The story begins with a young boy, David, and his mother watching President Obama on the television set. David is curious about the man and why people are shouting his name, so his mother tells him Obama’s story. She begins by telling of “Barry’s” childhood, his mother “white as whipped cream” and his father “black as ink.” Barry lived in many places, beginning in Hawaii. When he was a young boy, his parents divorced and his mother remarried. As Barry grew up, he began to take an interest in helping others and to do that, he strived to get a great education. During his studies, he went out of his way to help people and bring them together. He eventually became a celebrated senator and then president of the United States. Throughout the telling of Obama’s story, David asks good questions and makes comments that tell readers how much he has in common with the president.
Critical analyses:
Overall impression: Informative and told in a unique way, making it meaningful for children.
In this picture biography, Grimes and Collier work together to create a story of hope. From the very beginning, Grimes refers to “Hope” as if personified (“One day Hope stopped by for a visit”). She tells Obama’s story from his childhood up until he is elected president, showing the struggles he faced throughout his journey and how “Hope” kept him going. Grimes uses Obama’s story to touch on some important cultural issues that children could learn from. First, she addresses Obama’s family roots. He is biracial, his mom a white native Kansan and his dad a black native Kenyan. As a young boy, he did not particularly notice this because there was so much diversity in Hawaii (kids from “Portugal, China, India, and Japan… never once did he ask if all those people could get along. They just did.”). As he grew older and saw more of the world, he began to feel out of place (“Who am I?...I don’t look like my mother. I don’t look like my father. I only look like me.”) Children of all kinds can relate to this feeling, whether they, too, are multiracial or if they are dealing with other issues such as poverty or disabilities. Grimes also addresses the issue of racial slurs (“some called him an ugly name”) but she explained how Obama rose above such things and did not give up. This is important for children to know. First, that ugly things are being said to people just for being different and, second, that they must find it in themselves to bring about change. Lastly, Grimes uses Obama’s story to emphasize the importance of education. Obama wanted to have the power to make changes in the world and to do that he knew (with the encouragement from his family) that he would need a good education. Both of his parents were highly educated (his mom had a Ph.D. and his dad nearly had one). It’s important for children to know that anything can be accomplished if they put forth the effort and learn as much as they can.
On top of the cultural markers, Grimes lays out the story in a unique way. Rather than presenting the story to readers in a typical biography fashion, she begins the book with an African American mom and her young son, David, watching Obama on the television. The mom is the narrator of the story, telling David all about Obama and why he is successful. Throughout the story, the mom’s narration is in normal-sized print off to the side of the illustrations and David’s comments and questions are presented in small print on nearly every page as if peeking up from the bottom of the book. The illustrations are done using water colors and collage-style presentation. Collier states that this “acts as a metaphor for piecing different parts of issues together to make something new, whole, or complete.” Each illustration fills up practically the entire page and does a wonderful job of representing Obama, his family, and the settings he is placed in. If readers were to compare his illustrations with real pictures, they would notice that authenticity was obviously important to the illustrator. Not only are the facial features spot-on, the demeanor and body language of Obama is familiar to those who have watched him on television or in person.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope speaks volumes for children of all backgrounds. Kids (like David) can relate to “Barry” whether they are from a broken family, biracial, or just looking for something to believe in. Obama’s story inspires “Hope” to enter each reader’s life.
Review excerpts:
"Still, of the three candidates' picture-book biographies out this season, this stands as the one most likely to communicate to children on a visceral level.”
--Kirkus, August 2008
“Grimes stirring words and Colliers watercolor-and-collage pictures convey the power of diversity to make a new whole.”
--Booklist, October 2008
Connections (related books, activities, children’s responses, etc.):
Kids could discuss the impact Obama has made on the U.S. and/or what they have in common with him (like David). Related readings could include other biographies and picture biographies on other presidents. The author and illustrator included an author’s note, and illustrator’s note, important dates, and a family tree at the end of the book that could be read and discussed with children.
I had forgotten about these until I read about it again in Multicultural Literature and Response: Affirming Diverse Voices but KWL charts would be a great addition to many multicultural books. For this particular one, children could add what they already know about Obama, then what they want to know. Then after reading the book, they could add to the “learned” section of the chart.
No comments:
Post a Comment