Genre or Category
Coretta Scott King winner
Target Age Group
PreK – 3rd Grade
Summary
This is the biography of Aretha Franklin told through a picture book. It touches on different aspects of her legacy including her background, music career, and fight for civil rights.
Justification
2 words—Aretha. Franklin. She is an icon! When I was searching for a Coretta Scott King winner and saw this book I had to choose it. I am a huge fan of Aretha Franklin. When I was a little girl, my mom introduced me to her music and I loved it from the very first note. I believe she has the greatest voice of any female singer. No one can compare to the Queen of Soul.
Evaluation
For this review, I will be evaluating illustrations, design and layout, and accuracy.
This book is filled with striking illustrations that contain rich colors and multi-page images. The pictures help tell the story of Aretha Franklin. The artist was able to capture emotions on the character’s faces in such a believable way that it brought the scenes to life. When Aretha was singing, I could almost see her moving.
The design and layout go hand in hand with the illustrations of this book and add to the visual appeal of the story. My favorite thing about the design is each page begins with a word written out like the title of her most beloved song: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The first page starts with B-L-E-S-S-E-D followed by words told in rhyme. This gives a lyrical feel to the story. Each page starts with a word spelled out in the same pattern. The layout also contains a list of her biggest hit songs and a more detailed biography for parents or older readers.
This biography is accurate. The story begins in her childhood as the daughter of a pastor singing gospel music in church and touches on several important aspects of her life—her impressive music career, being crowned the queen of soul, her fight for civil rights, and her singing at President Obama’s inauguration. Since this is a picture book for young children it cannot give detailed stories or cover every aspect of her life. I found it very age appropriate while mentioning the most meaningful chapters. I can imagine a child reading this book and wanting to listen to some of her chart-toppers. This is an engaging way to introduce children to the legendary Aretha Franklin.
References
Weatherford, C. B. (2020). R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.