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Jan 02, 2012

Destinee rated it:

Five stars for art, no doubt. Kadir Nelson is really a genius of an illustrator, particularly his portraits, which are captivating and have this epic quality. How can an illustration just seem important in and of itself? I don't know, but these illustrations do. They're powerful.

Now on to the text: I love that Nelson took over 400 years of history and told the story in under 100 pages. To sit and read this book in one go feels like the entire history of this country is flashing befo More...

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Jan 31, 2012

David rated it:

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson is an overview of African American history in the United States, with gorgeous illustrations.

Nelson uses the concept of an elderly grandmother figure talking about African Anerican history and her family's part in it to give an overview of the African American experience in the United States. The War of Independence, Slavery, the Underground Railroad, Abolition, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the KKK, Buffalo More...

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Jan 20, 2012

Peyton rated it:

A gorgeously rendered history of our nation, its scars, and many of its heroes, Heart and Soul belongs on every child's bookshelf. Nelson's Rockwell-esque paintings are a delight to study (my favorite is the cover illustration, which captures the full strength and delicacy of the book's title). The decision to adopt a fictional, grandmotherly voice for the book's narration may rattle some non-fiction purists, but the prose feels like it is being read to you by a loved one.

My only co More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Kris rated it:

Absolutely stunning. This is a real treasure. And yes, as others have mentioned, its difficult to squeeze over 500 years of history into 100 pages. But this work isn't meant to be comprehensive. It's a beautiful tribute to the African-American story, with visuals that add so much feeling, so much understanding. Each portrait demands scrutiny; the more you look, the more you will appreciate what Mr. Nelson is trying to convey: strength -- hope -- courage -- passion -- resiliance -- determina More...

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Dec 27, 2011

Annie rated it:

In my opinion, if there is one aspect of American history that is ignored and shoved under the rug, it's African American history. That's why a book like Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans is so essential and invaluable.
The author, Kadir Nelson, creates a fictional female narrator, a grandmother type, who tells not only her ancestors experience but also her own story throughout American history. The recounting includes large historic events, like the Emancipation More...

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Dec 17, 2011

Sharon rated it:

It is a little hard to evaluate the text of this book independently from the images, just because the paintings are *so* arresting. I have to say, and maybe I'm the only one, but I was quite taken with the writing and voice as well. I think Nelson accomplished something that looks simple but actually must have been quite difficult, which is condensing really significant African-American historical events into just enough detail that they are understood from that culture's perspective. The famili More...

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Dec 14, 2011

Penny rated it:

An unnamed female narrator recounts the history of African-Americans as if she were speaking to her grandchildren, in this emotional narrative nonfiction book for a wide age range. The warm text is the “heart” of the book, and at times uses colloquial speech such as “When the slaves were set free, they didn’t have nothin’, and ol’ masters didn’t give ‘em nothin’.” The author is able to convey some harsh realities while still being general enough to be appropriate for younger children, beginnin More...

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Nov 22, 2011

Shazzer rated it:

As posted on Outside of a Dog:

It's a rare conundrum when I find myself wondering, which award should this book win? Newbery or Caldecott? The question came up with Brian Selznick's visionary The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which eventually went on to win a Caldecott medal. I asked it again with Selznick's latest, Wonderstruck (though I don't think Caldecott lightning will strike twice. Hugo's medal was a departure for the award, a statement, and I don't see it happening again). An More...

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Oct 30, 2011

Barbara rated it:

If this book doesn't win multiple honors when it's time for those to be doled out, I'll be surprised and disappointed. In this introduction to the history of African Americans, Nelson cleverly relies on the voice of a female narrator, a sort of Everywoman who describes for her descendant(s)how her ancestors came to this country on slave ships, and then how the parts they played in history, all the way through the civil rights movement and the 2008 election. This narrative device is just as effec More...

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Oct 14, 2011

Bethany rated it:

This is the story of the United States. It starts nearly at the beginning, with the arrival of African slaves in Spanish colonies, and finishes with the election of Barack Obama as president. It is the story of Kadir Nelson's family, told as a 1st-person account from a person who would be Nelson's grandmother, though of course, he has written the story. This book can't tell everything, can't tell every story, and so those most famous names, names like Booker T. Washington and Medgar Evers and More...

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Dec 21, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

AAPLD Blog Entry:
Imagine: You’re standing in the Capitol Building in Washington D. C., looking at the paintings depicting the forming and history of our nation, the United States. After a few moments, you start looking quickly from picture to picture as you begin to notice not one person in those paintings looks like you or the people in your family – not one of them is black. Now, you know black Africans have been part of our history – there was a whole war that happened in part to end th More...

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Feb 15, 2012

Angie rated it:

Kadir Nelson's illustrations are gorgeous. I love his portraits and they are definitely worthy of their illustrator honor awards. I also think this book deserves the Coretta Scott King author award. It is a wonderful summary of African American history boiled down into 100 pages. I love the grandmother narrator who is telling the story of her families journey from slavery through modern times. Sure it is a stretch to believe one family could have experienced every aspect of African American hist More...

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Jan 15, 2012

Donna rated it:

The work of Kadir Nelson's heart and soul, this beautifully illustrated summary of American history from an African American perspective is told with the voice of an older woman who weaves personal stories from Nelson's own family into the narrative.

Kadir Nelson's paintings of events and historical figures are stunning. The act of telling American history from a personally meaningful perspective of one's own family and culture gives the story intimacy and moving impact. It reminded More...

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Jan 24, 2012

Laura rated it:

A beautiful, wonderfully illustrated book. Kadir Nelson voices American history from the African American perspective. I have some 'buts' about this book -- Why isn't it non-ficiton? Why does it end with Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement? What challenges do African Americans face today that could and should be included in the book.

Highly recommended for grades 5 - 7 as a nonfiction or history text. A wonderful text for read aloud during Social Studies instruction. More...

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Jan 23, 2012

Nicole rated it:

Coretta Scott King Author Winner, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. This is a beautiful book. The author interviewed many his elder family members and completed a lot of research to go along with the narrative. He located family photos of his slave ancestors standing in the fields for a photograph. The artwork in the book are oil paintings, some based on these photographs and all on the African American experience. The story is written as if a older person is sharing the tales of his/her gra More...

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Oct 07, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Nelson' Heart and Soul is an ambitious undertaking--distilling nearly 500 years of history into barely 100 pages of storytelling and illustrations for children. And, oh, what illustrations! Kadir's tableaus of everyday life for African Americans and portraits of African Americans both famous and unknown (or fictitious, in this case) are simply breathtaking. Each person's face tells a story in itself. You can actually feel the power of MLK's words in a two-page spread, his hand stretched out t More...

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Oct 25, 2011

Abby rated it:

Hmmm. This book. It's true that there's nothing quite like it and for that it is valuable. It's also true that Kadir Nelson is an artistic genius and the book's well worth paging through for the art alone. I guess it comes down to whether you approach the book as nonfiction (and if you don't approach it as nonfiction, how do you approach it?). To boil down hundreds of years of history into 100 pages is no small feat and it's led to some oversimplifications that I feel are misleading. With detail More...

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Jan 02, 2012

Tpretz rated it:

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem won the Society of Illustrators gold medal this year and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans took the silver. Although, the scratch board technique was unique I absolutely loved Heart and Soul's illustrations. I've read or browsed through just about every book that has been listed as a potential Caldecott winnner and Heart and Soul gets my vote. This is a book I wish had existed when I was a kid. I will definitely be More...

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Oct 23, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

Humans tend to be a highly visual species. When folks tell you not to judge a book by its cover, that's an optimistic sentiment rather than a rule. People like to judge by covers. Often we haven't time to inspect the contents of all the books we see, so the jackets bear the brunt of our inherent skepticism. With this in mind, Kadir Nelson has always had an edge on the competition. If the man wants to get you to pick up a book, he will get you to pick up a book. You often get a feeling that while More...

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Jan 26, 2012

Zandra rated it:

What first attracted me to this book were the paintings. So striking, so bold, so brilliant. Nelson is an expert at capturing light in just the right way and the minute details of faces and hands. In my opinion, all of the paintings in this book are worthy of being admired any art gallery. However, the paintings alone are not what are so great about Heart and Soul. The story itself is educational and inspiring. It is narrated by an old, unnamed African American woman who candidly talks abo More...

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Feb 13, 2012

Betsy rated it:

I don't really know how to classify this book: picture book (for the GORGEOUS full page or double page spreads which occur for every page of text), nonfiction (because Nelson provides, in marvelous prose, a sweeping account of America and African Americans--just like it promises to do), historical fiction (since Nelson tells the story through the "voice" of an old African American grandmother figure and that "voice" is a huge part of the strength of this telling), chapter boo More...

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Nov 13, 2011

Toby rated it:

A beautiful book of painterly portraits of individuals, each representing a time and place in African-American history. This book is obviously a labor of love by the author, and although the stories are fictionalized, the book includes nonfiction text features such as a timeline, bibliography and index. Surely students will want to know more about the many people and events that are introduced here, for example, Cowboys and Indians: Native Americans and Westward Negroes or Black Innovators, su More...

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Oct 15, 2011

Cathy rated it:

I feel fortunate to have witnessed Kadir Nelson speak of his craft on several occasions. His work is masterfully exquisite. His latest book, a true labor of love, tells the story of America from the important viewpoint of African Americans. Told through a fictional narrator, based on Nelson's own female ancestors, Heart and Soul is a painfully breathtaking account of the good and the bad of American History. "You gotta take the good with the bad, I guess. You have to know where you come fro More...

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Feb 04, 2012

Stephanie rated it:

This is a beautiful book full of wonderful illustrations or portraits that can be used for upper elementary or high school as a mentor text. The story is powerfully written through the recollections of narrator (the great-great- great grandmother), whose family was very closely tied to the American story and even though it is a recollection of this families story it reflects the time line of great event in American History. This story is full of information and is written in a very understand More...

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Dec 11, 2011

Phil rated it:

While Nelson had been telling the story of African-Americans in various forms already, this book puts together his various perspectives. Nelson blurs the distinction between fiction and history in that he tells his stories through a fictional narrator, but has the old woman tell stories based on actual historical occurrences. The illustrations in this book are much more detailed and magnificent than those he created for his celebrity biographical works, which suggests that he put much more heart More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Peg rated it:

5-star art, naturally, from Kadir will hopefully draw younger readers to this well-written overview of African Americans in America. Telling the story through some obviously older woman who is speaking to a child is an excellent device to move the narrative along. But it also allows much "picking and choosing" and emphasis (or lack thereof) on certain events. This could be a problem for children with not much historical knowledge of their own. That said, the conversational tone mak More...

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Feb 12, 2012

Lauren rated it:

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans is an amazing story with beautiful illustrations!!
The story covers hundreds of years of American history in just 100 pages. Told from the point of view of an elderly grandmother.

Classroom Application:
Best for a unit on America and African American history. I would read this book to first/second grade and higher. This would be a great book to read aloud for a unit on African American history and have the students More...

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Nov 16, 2011

Ofilia rated it:

Similar to We are the Ship, Nelson takes a first person narrator with a direct connection to major events in history that affected African Americans. Moving, fascinating and exquisitely illustrated, this first person point of view really makes the struggles personal and powerful to read. Historical accounts can often be dry or bordering on preachy, two traits that never surface within this narrative. As usual the artwork is stellar and filled with Nelson's signature bold style. A beautiful book More...

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Dec 07, 2011

Jess rated it:

I love Nelson's artwork and it really does make this a beautiful book. I felt that trying to include all that history within 100 pages make it a little watered down for my liking. A detailed resources page would have made me happier about this book, since it would be a great jumping point to lead to other books, but there was a small bibliography. Written in a conversational tone, I think kids might enjoy reading this one more than your average stuffy textbook (I know I would have) but they will More...

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Feb 13, 2012

Rachel rated it:

Heart and soul is a very well done history of African Americans in the United States (1700s - present day), narrated from the point of view of a Southern African-American woman (in a conversational tone) whose family history stretches from the 1850s to the present day. It includes a timeline and historical note from the author. The illustrations are phenomenal paintings, modeled by the author himself and portrait of some of his family members, and definitely the best part of the book. Recommende More...

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