Children of Promise: African-American Literature and Art for Young People

The work of more than 60 writers, poets, painters, photographers and historical figures forms this richly diverse and well-chosen introduction to African American culture. Accompanying a loose chronology of political milestones from the colonial era to the present are songs of the field and chain gang, a Benin bronze and folk sculpture and more. Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois and Jacob Lawrence shine brightly here, as do paintings by John Copley, George Bellows and Thomas Eakins, representing a sympathetic white viewpoint. Captions for the old photographs attest to hope prevailing in bad times, but ultimately the pride inherent in Martin Luther King Jr.'s ``I Have a Dream'' speech and Florence Griffith Joyner's Olympic medals succumbs to frequent hints that matters are worsening for many of today's African Americans. Concluding this lovingly produced volume, Gwendolyn Brooks's poem, ``To the Young Who Want to Die,'' becomes a moving plea to live for a brighter day. All ages. (Nov.)