Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/01/2012 Gr 4–8—Grady combines the tradition of American folk-art quilting with a series of original poems written in unrhymed verse that depict the hardships of American slaves. On each spread, a full-page illustration on the right depicts a scene from a slave's life, while a corresponding poem appears on the top left-hand page, with corroborating historical facts listed below. Fourteen traditional quilt patterns are used, and the name of the particular pattern appears above each poem. Some selections are more powerful than others. In particular, the last poem, "Basket," poignantly describes the feelings of tiredness and oppression as well as the solace and hope that embody the slave's harsh existence, "I lay my stitches down and troubles fall away…I'm breathing with the rhythm of my quilting…the threads that weave the fabric of my life." The author notes that she has included a biblical, spiritual, and musical reference in each poem to reflect the three layers of a quilt and used 10 lines of 10 syllables to mimic the square shape of the quilt block. Using acrylics on canvas, Wood has created striking illustrations that add a masterful visual component to the volume. She successfully draws readers in and brings the characters and their stories to life. She presents the strength and determination of people who have endured unspeakable injustice and hardship with a grace born out of spirituality. This ambitious work offers a bit of poetry, history, folk art, quilting, religion and more. It will definitely fill a niche in libraries.—Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 02/01/2012 There are many different books, from biographies to historical narratives, from folklore to picture books, that share stories of African-American slavery with young people. Here’s one that takes a new approach: using the art of quiltmaking as both a structural and thematic motif, Grady has penned a series of fourteen poems to describe “the metaphorical patchwork of circumstances encountered by enslaved people in America.” The result is a rich and eloquent exploration of isolated moments in the lives of slaves, resonant with specific details rooted in the African-American experience. Like quiltmaking itself, the poems are carefully structured. Each poem is named for a traditional quilt pattern; the form is unrhymed but tightly metered lines of ten syllables apiece (“to mimic the square shape of a quilt block”), and each includes three references (because a quilt has three layers): a spiritual reference, a musical reference, and a sewing reference. The rhythm is deftly executed, echoing the cadences of speech much as its blank verse kin does, and the device actually functions to draw the reader into the poems and make this a work that only gets more rewarding as readers pore over the many facets of meaning in text and art. The verses aren’t merely cleverly formed, either: each poem speaks in a voice full of clarity and conviction. Several poems shine on moments of joy, such as “Traditional Fish,” about a boy who spends his summer days canoeing with the master’s son, or “Schoolhouse,” wherein a compassionate white teacher delivers her lessons a little bit louder for the sake of the two girls thirsty for forbidden learning who listen outside her window (“she twitch the curtain at the window, teach/ her lessons loud and clear—her voice, a prayer/ with wings. It give us hope; it sing us home”). Others recount the enduring of fear and suffering, as in “Tree of Life,” where a man, tied to a tree and raw from lashes, conjures up the memory of a preacher’s words of strength and solace, or “Wagon Wheel” where a girl is taken from her family (“Her mama moaning low, long burying/ songs: greedy wheels groaning, drag my heart clean/ out of my chest, leaving only the grief”). Together, they provide readers with minute, focused glimpses of the historical experience, singular moments in the lifetimes of individuals who stand for a multitude. Visually, the book is an elegant work, with a tall portrait-oriented shape that enhances the album feeling and a repeated use of creams and browns in background and font. Wood, recipient of a King Award for her illustrations of Igus’ I See the Rhythm (BCCB 7/98), provides a single acrylic painting opposite each poem. The paintings are strikingly vibrant, with human figures in eloquent silent portraiture, careful symmetry and near-symmetry adding grandeur to many scenes, and exquisite modeling often makng the surfaces seem three-dimensional. Extensive patterning, including the quilt patterns titling the verses, drives the energy of the art, but compositions escape overbusyness with a skillful balance of elements and colors. The palette favors jewel-toned blues, greens, yellows, and reds in combination with the deep browns of faces and hands, but the compositions vary enough to give each painting fresh impact. In addition to the poems and paintings, brief historical commentaries are included with each pairing, which touch upon the intended symbolism as well as delivering additional information to the reader. This is truly a work in which the sum is greater than the parts, and, like the pieces of a patchwork quilt, the individual elements of verse, art, and background information come together to tell a much greater story. (See p. 306 for publication information.) Hope Morrison, Reviewer - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 02/01/2012 In a preface, Grady points out the similarities of quilt-making and poetry. In one, you arrange colors and shapes into a pattern; in the other, you arrange sounds and structures. Each of her free-verse poems about the African slave experience consists of 10 lines of 10 syllables that, as laid out on the page, mimic the square shape of a quilt block. They also include three references—to spirituality, music, and fabric arts—that reflect the three layers of a quilt. The vivid poems, written in colloquial language, tackle subjects from the Underground Railroad—A slave to greed, the hunter aine no match for this old pilgrim in the woods—to schoolhouse lessons. Kids struggling to decipher the meaning in some of the phrases will find help in the additional information about each poem, written in more straightforward, contemporary language, that appears in footnotes. Wood’s intricate illustrations reflect folk art motifs and vibrantly express the rich culture of African American slaves. Author and illustrator notes as well as a list of suggested further readings conclude. - Copyright 2012 Booklist.

Loading...