Horn Book Review
A first-person narrator addresses readers conversationally (sometimes irritatingly so) in this biography of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century African American poet. Dunbar's poems are placed throughout the book, introducing both his work and life story. Qualls's black-and-white illustrations are full of action and emotion, enhancing the informative text. Timeline. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* One of the most attractive features of Derby's sprightly biography of the great African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar is what she calls the grandma voice in which it is written (You never heard of the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar? Child, where've you been?) and which, in its light use of dialect, evokes Dunbar's enduringly popular poems. Dunbar was born in 1872 to two former slaves who made sacrifices for their youngest son's education. He showed an early talent for writing, publishing his first poem at 16 and, encouraged by Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, his first book at 20. As a writer, Dunbar was, Derby says, two different people, a colored from Dayton, Ohio, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, who wrote poems, plays, and novels. The former life gave him his musical dialect; the latter, his standard English. As a poet, he used both voices to splendid effect. Derby uses her grandma voice equally well, evoking the spirit of Dunbar's work and humanizing the man behind his poems, many of which are integrated with the text. She is quick to acknowledge the occasional surmise, but her story has the ring of truth, nicely enhanced by Qualls' expressionist drawings. Jump back, reader, here's a biography to remember.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Derby asks, "Did you ever hear anyone whose way of talking was kind of like that poem? I'm guessing not. Seems to me, first thing you know we're all going to talk like the reporters and the pretty people they call anchors on TV-everybody all the same." Paul Laurence Dunbar's numerous poems were not "all the same": many were formal and even quaint, written in standard English, while other, more popular pieces were set down in dialect. Both sorts are deftly inserted into Derby's chatty, grandmotherly narration, which nicely blends a bit of conjecture and detailed explanations of Dunbar's life, times, and poetical influences. Taken from the familiar repetition in Dunbar's "Negro Love Song" ("Jump back, honey, jump back."), her title becomes a handy repeated exclamation ("Only sixteen years old and already a published writer! Jump back!"). In his brief but remarkable life, Dunbar (1872-1906) encountered rampant racism following the Civil War and the resulting Emancipation Proclamation, and Derby covers plenty of ground in just seven readable chapters. Her book is a short but rich introduction to American history as well as to Dunbar's personal and working life. His early love of poetry, prolific writing, popularity, encounters with Frederick Douglass and other famous figures, romance with Alice Moore, and early death from tuberculosis are recounted and depicted in full-page and smaller black-and-white scenes, skillfully sketched and shaded in pencil and acrylic by Qualls. VERDICT This multifaceted account is likely to require some introduction and context. However, it offers fine possibilities for middle school teachers and some inspiration for young writers and readers of poetry.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Paul Laurence Dunbar's words serve as a cornerstone for much of black literature and everyday lit-dropping conversations among black folks. But when they cross the color line. Veteran author Derby has her heart in the right place. She states that she wanted to write a biography about Dunbar, with whom she shares the hometown of Dayton, Ohio, "for years." Giving her narrator a "grandma voice," the author molds the poet's life story around his allusive verses. She explains his understanding why the caged bird sings when he takes a job as an elevator operator because the Dayton Herald refused to hire him due to their racist employment practices and Dunbar's racial "mask" after working as Frederick Douglass' personal assistant, and she covers his rising popularity as a correspondent and poet. What's unfortunate is that the narrator's affectationfrom using variations of "jump back," "honey," and " 'bout" to "scoot back," "mama," and "hmph"makes readers wonder how the author envisioned the grandmother, specifically her race. Dialect is tricky, and well-intended voice can backfire, especially for parents of black children seeking books for them. While the author is otherwise quite respectful toward this beloved black poet, as many grandmas of various races and ethnicities would say, it's not what's said but how it's said. (timeline, source notes, selected bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
