Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual
by Carole Boston Weatherford; illus. by Frank Morrison
Primary, Intermediate     Crown    32 pp.     g
9/22     978-0-593-30634-5     $18.99
Library ed.  978-0-593-30635-2    $21.99
e-book ed.  978-0-593-30636-9    $10.99

This is a moving walk through African American history, via Weatherford’s expansion of the lyrics of a well-known Negro spiritual and Morrison’s powerful, imagistic art. In his distinctive illustrations, Morrison employs innovative perspectives and unusual visual compositions to encourage readers to make connections between historical events, while ­Weatherford’s poetry, per the author’s note, “integrat[es] historical and contemporary events that summoned courage and faith.” The book’s first, wordless double-page spread looks down on the bare back of an enslaved man emerging from the bowels of a slave ship, facing a white enslaver who holds a whip. From there, the book represents significant historical and contemporary Black heroes such as Nat Turner, Ruby Bridges, Florence Joyner, and Colin Kaepernick; it also portrays important eras such as the Harlem ­Renaissance, the civil rights movement, the Great Migration, and the Black Lives Matter movement. A richly illustrated, informative picture book that will leave readers humming and spark a desire to learn more.

From the September/October 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.