  | Sing, Aretha, sing! : Aretha Franklin, "Respect," and the civil rights movement Author: Abdurraqib, Hanif | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
An empowering picture book biography of Aretha Franklin and her role in civil rights, perfect for Women's History Month and Black History Month.
| Illustrator: | Evans, Ashley |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (12/15/21)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 11/01/2021 Rather than tell Aretha Franklin’s entire story, this focused biography concentrates on her trailblazing song “Respect” and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Short passages relate Aretha's musical background in the church and on tour with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These experiences laid the foundation when 24-year-old Aretha composed “Respect” in 1967. As Abdurraqib describes how the song became an anthem for people protesting racism and war, he includes an acrostic poem based on Aretha’s choral R-E-S-P-E-C-T and uses the weather metaphorically to convey the cloudy skies of oppression and the light that the song brought to marches and homes. Evans’ vibrant and expressive full-page digital illustrations with people of varying skin tones reinforce this imagery. Among the concluding illustrations are Aretha receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom (unspecified by the text) and renderings of today’s young people continuing Aretha’s call by protesting for #BlackLivesMatter, clean water, and more social justice. An author’s note fills in more details. Carole Boston Weatherford’s RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2020) offers another look at the artist's life. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
