Black Hands: Builders of Our Nation

Beginning each boldly illustrated spread with the phrase “Black hands,” previous collaborators Boston Weatherford and Christie (Freedom in Congo Square) present a history, both passionate and sobering, of how the African diaspora has shaped America. Pages begin with hands that “survived the Middle Passage.../ only to face the auction block” and end with those that “point the way/ for more to follow.” All-caps phrases describe hands that built infrastructure (“laid the foundation,” “plowed this land”), revolutionized art (“penned,/ literary testaments”), nursed the sick (“comforted,/ and consoled”), and more, while illustrations and supporting lines provide further detail. On one spread, Black laborers erect a municipal building as a frocked figure observes (“Black hands... forged iron for gates closed to them” and “fashioned ball gowns/ for First Ladies”). Elsewhere, scents of soul food emanate from pots, hands birth the blues and jazz, and figures innovate and elect politicians. Textural artwork, created with acrylic gouache on illustration board, combines collage-style composition with stylized patterns and portraiture. A list of historical references concludes. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)