God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog, Jr. Herzog, Jr., Arthu Herzog Arthur, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

The song "God Bless the Child" was first performed by legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday in 1939 and remains one of her enduring masterpieces. In this picture book interpretation, renowned illustrator Jerry Pinkney has created images of a family moving from the rural South to the urban North during the Great Migration that reached its peak in the 1930s. The song's message of self-reliance still speaks to us today but resonates even stronger in its historical context. This extraordinary book stands as a tribute to all those who dared so much to get their own. A free CD of Billie Holiday's timeless recording of "God Bless the Child" is included to enjoy along with the book.

Publishers Weekly

Diverse selections of poetry celebrate culture and history. In the latest addition to a series of books based on song lyrics, God Bless the Child, the words of the song co-written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. and made famous by Lady Day give rise to breathtaking watercolor scenes, many of them wordless spreads, by Jerry Pinkney. In a dedication he credits Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series as his inspiration for a visual narrative about a family's move North in the 1930s; Pinkney begins with a family gathered around the Bible at a time when education for African-Americans was not encouraged ("Them that's got shall get,/ Them that's not shall lose,/ So the Bible said,/ And it still is news"). The children find joy in a dousing at the water pump or chasing a butterfly ("God bless the child/ That's got his own"). Poignant consecutive wordless spreads show the home the family has left behind, then Chicago's elevated train stretching to the horizon; here "Mama may have,/ Papa may have" takes on another dimension, as the parents work in factories with a promise of hope. A final image shows their son at school-a dream fulfilled. Repeated viewings reveal an extraordinary level of detail and a visual and narrative movement that echoes the family's journey. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

KenMarantz and Sylvia Marantz - Children's Literature

Using the few words of the Billie Holiday song as his text, Pinkney has drawn on its message that God blesses the child "that's got his own" for his recreation of African American life in the 1930's. Beginning on the farm, he depicts the hard life and poor living conditions of the share-croppers along with some of the family fun and togetherness. Then as part of the Great Migration north, we follow the family to the city where both their work and their living conditions change, but where they stay together. The migration is symbolized on the end-papers: the front pages depict the rough wood planks of a share-cropper's cabin while the back pages display the floral wallpaper likely to be found in a city apartment. Pinkney's drawings, tinted with transparent watercolors, are remarkable in their ability to evoke a time and a place and the genuine human beings who live and work there. All the details of local neighborhoods are there, but the paintings are sensitive to story-telling, highlighting those aspects most significant for the narrative. The pictures parallel the lines of the song, but illustrate in a spiritual sense, with many double pages telling the story with no text at all. A lengthy note by the artist not only adds information about the Great Migration, but describes his personal involvement in collecting the information and relevant visuals. He notes that his final illustration, of a child in a classroom, emphasizes the importance of free public education as the great equalizer. A bonus is the inclusion of a CD of the rich voice of Billie Holiday herself singing the title song with jazz accompaniment. 2004 (orig. 1941), Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 6 up.

Library Journal

K-Gr 5-A moving visual interpretation of Holiday and Herzog's swing spiritual based on the proverb, "God blessed the child that's got his own." The song serves as the inspiration for Pinkney's depiction of the Great Migration of the 1930s. Through evocative images, the artist tells the story of one family's move north. The warm and sweeping illustrations are masterful, completely filling each spread. Although the pages are rich in detail, the well-composed paintings never seem cluttered or overwhelming. There is something new to attract readers, even after several readings. The sense of the family members as a unit, as well as their emotions of hope, anxiety, and relief, are all beautifully conveyed. A CD of Holiday performing the song is included, and while the book can be enjoyed without it, listening to the nostalgic and somewhat bittersweet music does elicit an emotional response. While a fine choice for independent reading, this title is particularly poignant when shared with a group, turning the pages in conjunction with the CD. An author's note provides background about Pinkney's inspirations and research. This offering makes an excellent tie-in to units on African-American history.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

With Holiday's music and Pinkney's art, this package sets expectations high-and doesn't disappoint. The simple words are mournful, yet matter-of-fact; the refrain "But God bless the child / That's got his own!" keeps the focus on the young audience. Pinkney's inspired decision to illustrate this hymn-like lament with images of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the Deep South to the industrial north truly brings the words to life. He signifies the historical setting first in the endpapers: those at the beginning show a pattern of wood boards evocative of the walls of a sharecropper's cabin; and those at the end show what looks like flowered wallpaper. Images of dignified figures first picking cotton, then packing the car, then sewing in a factory, eventually buying ice cream from a truck, and, finally, gathered around a piano and making music together, alternate with landscape scenes of a field of workers, an abandoned cabin, and the elevated train tracks in Chicago. The evocative recording on the CD ends too quickly; there is much to pore over and discuss here, and this remarkable work is worth picking up (and listening to) more than once. (Picture book. 4-8)

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