D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet

D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet. Nancy I. Sanders. Illus. by E.B. Lewis. Chelsea: Sleeping Bear Press, 2007. 38 pages. $17.95 (Hardcover). ISBN 978-1-58536-293-6. Grades PreK-3.

 My Thoughts...

Although a celebration in its own right, I felt the D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet, would be much better used in conjunction with other materials due to the very brief descriptions and explanations offered within its pages. This book is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, and it is very interesting, but I found myself thinking it could have been done differently. The illustrations for this book were gorgeous. The full page and often double page spreads really catch the eye, and the pride and culture and significance of each illustration make it a piece of art. I did love how each letter represented a word within a larger, rhyming idea. I think this makes readers think about what the letter represents. At the same time, however, I felt that some of the letter selections were too generic or reaching. It was situations like this, however, that the column of further information really made the letter significant and important to African American history and culture. I was slightly disappointed read the brief mention of only Rosa Parks as the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but then again, this is what is most often taught. I was also confused on the page about Buffalo Soldiers, where it said Native Americans gave them this honorable name, when the Buffalo Soldiers were actually there to “offer protection from [the attacks of various tribes] on wagons trains, settlers, stagecoaches, and trains.” I think this book is great and does offer a ton of information about African American history. I think it would be best used or introduced along with other more detailed books. For example, several of the following books go in to further depth about ideas/times/people mentioned in this alphabet book:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

Martin's big words: the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport

Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson

I think together these titles could paint a better picture for students.