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Summary
Summary
With evocative black-and-white illustrations and moving prose, readers are introduced to jazz-music legend and civil-rights activist Nina Simone.
A stunning picture-book biography of the High Priestess of Soul and one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. Shared as a lullaby to her daughter, a soulful song recounts Simone's career, the trials she faced as an African American woman, and the stand she took during the Civil Rights Movement. This poignant picture book offers a melodic tale that is both a historic account of an iconic figure and an extraordinary look at how far we've come and how far we still need to go for social justice and equality. A timeless and timely message aptly appropriate for today's social and political climates.
♦ "A good introduction to Simone's life, from her early love of music to her rise to the status of legend" -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review
♦ "Strikingly illustrated" -- Booklist , starred review
♦ "Hauntingly beautiful illustrations" -- Foreword Reviews , starred review
"Stirring and powerful. . . " -- BookPage
Author Notes
Alice Brière-Haque t teaches high school literature and has published several books for children, including ONE Very Big Bear (Abrams) and Zebedee's Balloon (Auzou). She lives in France.
Bruno Liance is an illustrator, dad, and music lover. He has been making art full-time for fifteen years after studying decorative arts in Paris. He lives in France. http://brunoliance.blogspot.com/
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Less a biography than a meditation, Brière-Haquet's take on Nina Simone is structured as a bedtime story told by the legendary musician to her daughter. In lyrical prose, the book reflects on Simone's early musical education and racial awareness as they grow hand in hand. From the black-and-white keys of the piano to the divisions that young Simone experienced among white and black people in her community, the book frames Simone's career as a mission to make "the notes...mingle and dance together in the air so these lies would disappear," erroneously asserting that "Music has no color." The telling abruptly shifts from Simone's early life to the influence of Martin Luther King Jr., whose dream is described as "my symphony. Black and white people...together in the big dance of life." Simone cautions that "the dream is fragile" and the book ends where it began, the singer lulling her daughter to sleep. As a firm but oversimplified telling, the text leaves something to be desired. In addition, though the illustrations are gently fantastical, Liance's choice to portray Simone as a light skinned, almost white, figure is deeply problematic. VERDICT An ambitious though unsuccessful work.-Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
[add subject: women--civil rights; musical instruments--piano; women--singers]From the cover showing young African American Nina reaching black piano keys to the spread of adult Nina playing piano surrounded by white musicians, this book is simultaneously quiet and powerful. In a fictionalized first-person voice, Brière-Haquet frames Simone's tale through Nina's bedtime story to her child, introducing seminal moments in the activist and jazz legend's life. Liance's pixilated black-and-white illustrations are highly resonant. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A biography about the legendary singer told as a lullaby from Simone to her daughter.With black-and-white illustrations that evoke a dreamy, old-time feel, Simone (appropriately portrayed with an Afro) sings her daughter a lullaby interspersed with the story of her life. At 3, Simone starts piano lessons, connecting the appearance of the piano keys to the oppression of black people in the U.S. Music offers Simone an escape ("Music has no color"), though the fact that the "important men in powdered wigs from past centuries" whose music she plays are all white is addressed only in the illustration. (Here young Simone is also depicted with white hair, which will probably require some assistance from caregivers to unpack.) When 12-year-old Simone gives a church performance, she refuses to play until her mother, who had given up her front-row seat for a white attendee, is reseated in the front row, setting a precedent for her activist future. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is cited as an inspiration (though without the honorific), and a spread with protest signs adds humor with Simone happily pointing to her own sign, which reads, "Young, Gifted, and Black," a nod to her future song. Though the softly textured illustrations in this French import are sometimes obscure, they are always beautiful. A good introduction to Simone's life, from her early love of music to her rise to the status of legend. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Nina Simone probably won't be a familiar name to primary graders, but that doesn't matter much in this captivating book focusing on the young Nina and how early events in her life shaped her adult passions. This begins with Nina singing a lullaby she's written to her daughter. At bedtime, she tells the child stories of her own youth. When she first saw a piano, she noticed the black keys were smaller than the white ones and that could have become a metaphor for the world. Black people were nothing but half notes on a huge ivory keyboard. But no. I did not agree with this. Another incident, after she's become an accomplished musician: at a concert, her mother is seated up-front until white audience members arrive. But Nina won't play if her mother must move, so her mother stays put. Later, Martin Luther King becomes her symphony. But his dream must be nurtured, she murmurs as her daughter sleeps. This French import is strikingly illustrated in black-and-white. A two-page spread in which white people sit, while black people stand behind them, arms raised, conveys a historical drama made even more powerful by the medium. Perhaps because of its French origin, there's no author's note, nothing that further details Simone's career. But this stands on its own.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2017 Booklist
Excerpts
Excerpts
Dream, my baby, dream,until you spread your wings. . . .Hey my child, my sweet child . . . you are havinga hard time falling asleep tonight, so listen to my story.Go Excerpted from Nina by Alice Brière-Haquet All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
