Synopses & Reviews
Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are accessible, fully-drawn narratives offering the subjects' childhood influences, the time and place in which they lived, their accomplishments and motivations, and the legacies they left for future generations as links in the "freedom chain." This book will be the definitive family volume on the subject, punctuated with dynamic full color portraits and spot illustrations by two-time Caldecott Honor winner and multiple Coretta Scott King Book Award recipient Brian Pinkney. Backmatter includes a civil rights timeline, sources, and further reading.
Profiled:
Benjamin Banneker
Frederick Douglass
Booker T. Washington
W.E.B. DuBois
A. Philip Randolph
Thurgood Marshall
Jackie Robinson
Malcolm X
Martin Luther King, Jr
Barack H. Obama II
Review
"In Hand in Hand, Pinkney presents profiles of ten very different African American men who have had a profound impact on American society and culture. She outlines the backgrounds and achievements of each man in ten chapters, complete with beautiful illustrations by Brian Pinkney and descriptive poetry to introduce each chapter....She begins each chapter with a description of the person's childhood and how he or she was raised. Writing the chapters this way provides a nice segue from each person's struggles to their eventual successes. Brian Pinkney's illustrations are beautifully rendered and add color and whimsy to a wonderful historical tribute. This is a must-have for every library and classroom." VOYA
Review
"Pinkney uses an upbeat, sometimes colloquial writing style that kids will appreciate." Booklist Online
Review
"Addressing the appetites of readers 'hungry for role models,' this presents compellingly oratorical pictures of the lives and characters of 10 African-American men who exemplify a 'birthright of excellence.' ...A feast for readers whose eyes are (or should be) on the prize, in a volume as well-turned-out as the dapper W.E.B. Dubois, who was 'more handsome than a fresh-cut paycheck.'" Kirkus
About the Author
Andrea Davis Pinkney has written several acclaimed books for middle grade readers, including the novels
Bird in a Box, a Today Show Al Roker Book Club pick
, and
With the Might of Angels, a book in the Dear America series. She is also the author of the nonfiction book
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner. Andrea's many picture books include
Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, a
New York Times best-seller and a Jane Addams Honor Book, which was
illustrated by her husband, Brian Pinkney. She and her family live in Brooklyn, New York.
Brian Pinkney (www.brianpinkney.net) has frequently collaborated with his wife, Andrea Davis Pinkney. Some of their other books include, Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride, Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation, and Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, for which Brian was awarded a Caldecott Honor. Brian was also a Caldecott Honoree for The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci , and he won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for In the Time of the Drums by Kim L.Siegelson.