Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

by Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul is the winner of numerous awards, including the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor, and the recipient of five starred reviews.

The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs.

Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Picture Books, African American, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical

108 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2011

About the author

Kadir Nelson is a Los Angeles–based painter, illustrator, and author who is best known for his paintings often featured on the covers of The New Yorker magazine, and album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake. His work is focused on African-American culture and history.

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 he doesn't really care when it comes to the various celebrities he's created books for over the years (Spike Lee, Debbie Allen, Michael Jordan's sister, etc.) when it's his own book, though, THAT is when he breaks out the good brushes. Nelson wrote We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball a couple years ago to rave reviews. Now he's dug a little deeper to provide us with the kind of title we've needed for years. Heart and Soul gives us a true overview of African Americans from start to near finish with pictures that draw in readers from the cover onwards. This is the title every library should own. The book has heart. The pictures have soul.

An old woman stands in front of a portrait in the Capitol rotunda in Washington D.C. Bent over she regards the art there, recounting how it was black hands that built the Capitol from sandstone. "Strange though . . . nary a black face in all those pretty pictures." Looking at them you would swear black people hadn't been here from the start, but that's simply not true. With that, the woman launches into the history of both our nation and the African Americans living in it, sometimes through the lens of her own family. From Revolutionary War soldiers to slavers, from cowboys to union men, the book manages in a scant twelve chapters to offer us a synthesized history of a race in the context of a nation's growth. An Author's Note rounds out the book, along with a Timeline, a Bibliography, and an Index.

Kadir Nelson, insofar as I can tell, enjoys driving librarian catalogers mad. When he wrote We Are the Ship some years ago he decided to narrate it with a kind of collective voice. The ballplayers who played in the Negro Leagues speak as one. Normally that would slip a book directly into the "fiction" category, were it not for the fact that all that "they" talk about are historical facts. Facts upon facts. Facts upon facts upon facts. So libraries generally slotted that one into their nonfiction sections (the baseball section, if we're going to be precise) and that was that. Now "Heart and Soul" comes out and Nelson has, in a sense, upped the ante. Again the narrator is fictional, but this time she's a lot more engaged. The Greek chorus of baseball players in the last book spoke as a group and so the normally fastidious catalogers could look the other way. The old woman telling the tale in this book, in contrast, mentions family members, her opinion on various matters, and all kinds of personal details. She also, however, gives a good historical encapsulation of the past. With her voice, Nelson makes the book personal and gives it a bit of child-friendlier zing. In doing so, though, he's going to drive folks who like books to sit squarely in one section or another nuts.

One criticism lobbed at the book is an opinion that Nelson's encapsulation of history is too slight. Too oversimplified or overgeneralized. I think instead that what we're dealing with here is an overview. An overview, mind you, of the overlooked. I don't know about your children's library shelves but mine aren't exactly full to bursting with encapsulations of the vast swath of African-American American history created in as engaging a matter as this little number. In making this book, Nelson has had to boil down great complex moments and ideas into their simplest forms. It's wonderful to see what's taken his attention here too. The choice to open with "The Baptism of Pocahontas" in the Capitol rotunda of Washington D.C. is an inspired choice. From there Nelson starts right off by pointing out that for as long as America has been colonized, black people have been there alongside the colonizers. You get to see George Washington with one of his slaves (a nice visual companion piece to other 2011 books like Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley), and blacks who fought in the Revolutionary War (pair with Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson). The book hits a lot of the usual history like slavery, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement but it also finds time for things like The Great Migration (a topic I know I never heard mentioned when I was a kid), the role of WWI in the lives of black people, and how people were divided over Booker T. Washington. I was particularly taken with a section that gives attention to black women's roles in getting women the vote. Nelson's selections cannot possibly please every reader, but I'd say that when it comes to pinpointing the top moments, he has good taste.

That said, while I didn't find the book to oversimplify as a whole, I did find individual sections would winnow down a moment or a person too far to be wholly understood without already having some history under your belt. One instance of this is when Nelson discusses Abraham Lincoln. After bringing up the Kansas-Nebraska Act Nelson's narrator says, "It put fire in the bellies of abolition folks all over the Union, including a country lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. Because of it, that fellow decided to run for president." I'm not saying that statement is necessarily untrue, but it sure does sound as if that was the sole reason the man decided to run for office. We know this is not the case. A perhaps more egregious passage was pointed out to me by a teacher friend of mine who found the book's explanation of why we entered WWII confusing to say the least. First, we learn that the Nazis were occupying much of Europe and hurting people. Fair enough. Then the book says that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. "We couldn't stay out of it anymore, honey. It was time to saddle up and fight." Now let's say I'm a kid reading this book on my own with only the barest understanding of WWII. I've just read that the Germans were taking over Europe. Japan bombs us and now we're at war with them. So what, if anything, does that have to do with the Germans? As an adult with a little history under her belt (very little) I know the connection, but Nelson kind of slips this one by. Passages like this need a bit more if they're going to stand on their own.

As with any Kadir Nelson book, it's the art that grabs you first. The cover sports an image that reminds you of classic Andrew Wyeth Americana. On it a strong young woman sits in a field, a baby in her arms. She sits in such a way that you get the impression that she is posing for her portrait. Her expression is neither happy nor sad, and as she looks at you she takes you in. Her hands belie the work she has had to do over the years. On her lap the baby is less guarded, but his eyes don't focus on the viewer exactly. It's like they're tracking just the slightest bit to the left. A person could read whole tomes of novels in these two. This could well be our narrator on the jacket, though Nelson never identifies her as such. What's more, I've just used about 146 words to describe a single solitary picture in this book. Now flip it open and see how many more await you inside. Some, like the burning KKK cross, are rough, and the canvas pokes out strongly beneath the paint. Others, like the portrait of Rosa Parks, belie Nelson's delicate hand and tendency to play with shading and light. Two page spreads of images appear at times and some have suggested that these take you out of the narrative. Personally I disagree. I find them a smooth transition from text, back to text.

As for the subjects in the pictures, Nelson makes some choices that surprised me. White people do appear from time to time, and it's interesting to note what they're doing at a given moment. They don't move much, y'know. Nelson's style is more comfortable with portraiture than action (violence is implicated here with lonely whipping trees, fiery crosses and houses, or foggy images on old televisions), so when you see white people they are usually standing and regarding black people. The slavers on a ship or the customers at a sit-in in Greensboro stand and stare. Their faces are usually blank, though on occasion one will sport an angry expression. Then there are folks like George Washington who sit staring into the distance, utterly unaware of their servants and slaves, Lincoln, posing with tired eyes looking into the distance, or the National Guardsmen in Little Rock, Arkansas. Finally, by the end of the book, white people walk with arms interlinked with those of blacks in an effort to break down American injustice. Theirs is a journey too, albeit a much easier one.

Discussing whether or not children will enjoy reading a work of nonfiction is difficult when you don't know the context in which they'll be reading it. It's my guess that nine times out of ten this book will be read by a student assigned it in school. They will scrunch their noses at the size but relax slightly when they see that it is only 108 pages or so. Then they may flip through and look at the pictures first. I know if I was ten and was handed this book that would be the first thing I'd do. And for the pictures that looked particularly interesting I might start to read. The kid who does that may then finally flip back to the beginning and go from there. If they do, they'll encounter a book that with warmth and good humor manages to catalogue injustice after injustice without bitterness. They'll learn about a portion of American history too little covered in the history books, even today. And in doing so they'll be the hope and soul of the future of our nation. Nelson has done us a great service in creating this book for us. Let's see if we've the guts and the moxie to take what he has given and put it to good use.

For ages 9-12.

[Dest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars for art, no doubt. Kadir Nelson is really a genius 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 before your eyes. The scope of it is awesome.

Of course, you can't really squeeze the whole "Story of America and African Americans" into 100 pages, can you? Not without leaving the reader feeling a little dizzy. And that's where I think the text runs into trouble. You have to skip over big stuff, and not really explain most things to satisfaction. It can be a little confusing and it has some bumpy transitions. Despite my complaints, the overall impact of the book is impressive.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kadir Nelson. He's the best. I could look at his paintings all day.

Nelson takes on the persona of an elderly African-American woman sharing stories of her family from the time of their arrival in America through the era of Martin Luther King Jr. to write this mesmerizing history of America and African-Americans.

Riveting is the word I would use.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conceit of using the voice of an Elder to tell an Integrated history of the US makes the story come alive. The amazing paintings are the icing on the cake. Both are so rich it will take a lot longer than February for a youngster to learn everything taught here, as each section suggests so much further research.

Includes timeline, bibliography, author's note, and index.
Ends with Obama's election (no BLM etc.)

[Adriana Villagomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to know your family history? Have you wondered whether your ancestors were a part of a big event in history that took place? Heart and Soul is a story about the author’s family history that stretched back all the way to when his great-grandfather came to the newly found and settled America to serve as a slave. In this powerful and touching story, the author leads us through key points in history that embody the African-American spirit and their strives to be free. He timelines the great strives slaves had made from first arriving in the United States to the present, how he himself cast a vote to elect Barrack Obama as the first African-American president in 2008. His family had fought in the many wars this country was a part of and eventually made their way throughout the heartland of the U.S. Though this book doesn't go into great detail about the certain events that took place, it does well at introducing these events to cause further research and discussion.

This story is such a great book to have on hand because although it is only one account of the author’s family history, it does a great job at highlighting the main events that occurred that affected them in some way. These events shaped the course of U.S. history to where it is today. This book would be a great way to introduce and guide discussion of race and how it applies even today. Heart and Soul has touched my heart because rather than reading all of these events in a history textbook, we were able to read it through a family’s perspective and through their emotions and thoughts. It was an engaging story that kept my interest as it should to many of the students who will read this.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 familiar authorial voice kept it from becoming too condescending because it felt like it was speaking from a long experience, and the balance of hope was never lost even though the book is honest about times in history that were very difficult for this culture.

Here's a couple of examples of what I'm talking about: on p. 53, the "now, it's not particularly easy to describe what was happening in Europe at the time, but I can tell you that in 1914, Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated..." etc. By conceding that history is often viewed through a personal lens, Nelson gives the story the power to convey clearly just the details relevant to African-American and personal history. The sections on Harlem and inventors in particular are so bright and hopeful, but I love how Nelson also shows how people found hope in the worst of times, like singing the spirituals in the section on slavery. Honestly, I found the voice very warm and moving most of the time with all the "honeys" and "chiles" thrown in there, but it never felt too overly sentimental, either.

It's almost a shame because I know this book is going to be recognized more for the stellar illustrations (as it probably should be), and it would be interesting what I'd think of the text alone and I'll never have that chance, but to me it achieved a lot in a deceptively simple way and definitely met the CSK criteria for promoting an understanding and appreciation of the culture. Last year, in February, an African-American mom was in the library looking for a book to give her son that went over a lot of the cultural history in a way he could understand and that would instill some pride. I did give her some books they could share, but I really wish I had been able to give her this book at the time. I think it's so beautiful and probably exactly what she was looking for.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short, succinct and very informative book on African American history. I listened to it as an audiobook and would recommend to adults and children.

[Emily Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my informational text I read the book “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans” by Kadir Nelson. This book is written through the perspective of an unnamed narrator. The book shows the injustices and struggles that African American’s faced throughout history. It travels from slavery, to Jim Crow laws, and through the civil rights movement. This book was a WOW book for me as it was an inspiring account of the injustices faced by African Americans in America. While being inspiring, the book was also raw and realistic and this really drew me in as a reader.
I think that this book would be most appropriate for 5th or 6th graders, and the book needs to be heavily supported by the teacher to ensure that students are getting as much out of it as they can. I think that this book would be good for a student to read during a more in-depth unit on the civil rights movement. This book would also help to give context to students both due to the story and the illustrations in the book. Activities that can be done while reading this book include the creation of timelines to keep track of the history the book covers, or group discussions. I think that the topic of this book is so important to discuss in a respectful manner, so organized small group discussions or whole group socratic seminars would work well with this text.

[Jenny Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The paintings are beautiful, and the writing carries you along. It's a solid book for the elementary years. Nelson covers the hard topics of race from the beginning of the country through the Civil Rights act of 1964. If I have any complaints, I wish there'd been one more chapter to touch on recent history - at least Obama's election, if not the ongoing issues. It's mentioned in passing in the epilogue but not by name.

I'll be using selected chapters in my 2/3rd grade classroom

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can get swept up in the illustrations alone, but the text is just as beautifully written.

[Sara Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational text- In this book, Kadir Nelson tells the story of African Americans' struggle for equality in American through captivating literary nonfiction text and beautiful oil paintings. Nelson was able to provide a succinct summary of 400 years of American history in less than 100 pages. Told through the perspective of a grandmotherly type figure, the book recounts important historical events for African Americans from the start of slavery to the election of Barach Obama. I learned so much from this book that I felt like was not taught to me effectively in school growing up. By chronicling the struggles and hardships African Americans went through, including slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Great Migration, Jim Crow laws, and the Civil Rights Movement, the book really enlightened me to what the African American people have been through. I had never really thought about all of these times in history at once and was sort of astounded by what African Americans have been through and how this people group has persisted. I found myself in tears while reading, thinking about this long journey. Kadir Nelson's art style is so gripping. The art in this book is probably my favorite illustrations of any children's book I've read. I found myself feeling guilty turning the pages, thinking I had not admired each picture for long enough.

I think this book would be most appropriate for fifth graders. Using this book in a classroom would be a great way to integrate social studies and literacy. Students can learn so much about historical topics covered in the North Carolina upper elementary social studies standards like slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Teachers could take chapters from this book that relate to what students are learning about in social studies. Using this book in this way could provide students with a different perspective, by reading about African Americans' roles in these times. This book may give them a better sense of what African Americans felt during the time period they are learning about. I think it would be cool to use this book at different times throughout the year for different periods in history that are being taught.
This book could be used for students to practice recognizing the text structures of nonfiction: description, sequence, cause & effect, compare & contrast, problem & solution. I think all of these text structues are somewhat present in this book. There are definitely a lot of clear examples of description, sequence, and cause & effect present in "Heart and Soul." Teachers could take excerpts or chapter from this text for students to read and then figure out which text structure or structures are being used. Teachers could require students to explain their reasoning or underline words that indicate which text structures are being used. Students could even make a graphic organizer of some kind to present the information being conveyed with the text structure. For example, a Venn diagram for compare & contrast.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the United States from colonial days through the election of President Obama, and how the various historical events affected and shaped African Americans. It is narrated by an African American woman who details her ancestors’ stories throughout time. As someone who has always had difficulty remembering historical events and when they occurred, I really liked that the book has a brief summary of each major time period to spark the reader’s interest, without going into an overwhelming amount of detail. I also liked that it didn’t just tell facts and dates, but through the reading one could actually learn about the lives of groups of people and the significance of the historical events for them. It flows very smoothly from one Chapter to the next, each Chapter representing a time period. I feel this book could be very effective to use in any history or Social Studies class for older elementary, middle, or high school students.

Even though this recollection of stories was told from a narrator’s perspective and she used her family stories as examples, as a reader I could easily feel how this could have been any African American’s story. I feel it accurately represented what so many African Americans went through and the struggles that the population as a whole faced throughout history. I listened to an audio version of this book, and for me, hearing the narrator’s voice as she told the stories through the historical events was powerful because I could visualize what was taking place and feel the emotion of the hardships that occurred. I have not had a chance to see the illustrations, but as someone who typically prefers to read the words myself and see the pictures, it says a lot about how this story is told, as I was engaged and captured for the entire narration.

Though this book does emphasize hardships that African Americans faced, which is critical in order to understand their story, I like that it also focused on the small celebrations throughout history and ended on a positive note. I believe overall that it was a celebration of those who struggled and overcame obstacles and discrimination, and as the book states, those struggles became the “heart and soul” of America’s history. In addition, many other groups of people who also had to overcome injustices and inequality were highlighted, such as Native Americans, women, and Jewish people in Europe. By the end of the book when the narrator joyfully describes the election of Barack Obama, I could feel all her emotions through the years of history described come to life and feel what that significant moment must have meant to so many people in a way that someone like me would never be able to understand completely. I highly recommend this book not just for Social Studies teachers, but for anyone who wants to read an inspiring and moving story and learn more about African Americans’ role in United States history.

[Martha Bizzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first drawn to Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans because of his artwork. After reading the text, I am at once impressed with not only the artwork, but his careful research and presentation of America's Story through the lens of an African American. You felt like you were sitting with someone's grandma as she told you the story, and you didn't fall asleep! This rich text can easily be a 5th grade read-aloud as it nearly covers our entire social studies curriculum! Each of the twelve chapters has beautiful, moving artwork. Teachers will enjoy the historical quotes included with each chapter, too. Two bonuses are the chronological Time Line and Bibliography. In the Author's Note, the author/illustrator (Nelson) describes that History was not his favorite subject, and this book grew out of his paintings of historical subjects. He devoted much research, time and energy gathering the information together that he portrays stunningly in Heart and Soul! The Bibliography can be used as accessible videos and websites for the students.

As a future fifth grade teacher, Heart and Soul is a definite read-aloud for my class. Reading one chapter a day, you could cover this in a little more than two weeks. Since, it really is a nice review of 5th grade NCESS, I would read it in the spring as a review and pair it with writing, poetry and art. Students could research topics from each chapter and add to a class jigsaw Google Doc. We may even create a poem from our research and Nelson's textual information. How cool would that be!? The students' artwork can accompany our poetry and be published together digitally.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, wonderful book. I must own it for my personal library. The art is exceptional and the synopsis of each snippet of history gives just enough info to whet the appetite of young minds regarding America and African American history.

[Allison Taft]

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans is an informational text about men, women, and children who were living during the colonial times through the Civil Rights Movement. These people fought against discrimination and other adversities. The book is told through a one-hundred-year old African American female that emphasizes all of the hardships that were endured as these people mentioned worked to gain freedom and equal rights. This would be a great book to read in all classrooms, with adequate scaffolding for younger grades.

If I were to use this book in my classroom, I would have my students create a poster about a person who stuck out to them. Students would need to include the most important information along with any other facts that they might want to look up from other platforms. This would be a great time to introduce charts that help them pick out the most important information to help them make these posters. Another way that I could use this book is in a discussion about this time period. I would read about a few people and have students talk about what each person faced, and how they contributed to today’s society. This book could also be used to compare the way the author describes each person, and how their writing style stays consistent throughout or changes.

This was a WOW book for me because I think that educating students about people who were prevalent during this time is important. I think that growing up my curriculum did not do the best job teaching me about specific people, so I am eager to help my students learn more about them! I am also so interested in history and people who fought for social justice. My grandparents were married (White and Asian) during the height of racial segregation, and helped fight the social climate then. So, anything about fighting for equality is interesting.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really excellent overview of American history through the lens of African Americans. It is brief but inclusive, covering all the major historical events, but with a focus specifically on how African Americans were affected by and responded to the events. I like how the story is told as if through a narrator, an older woman or grandmother, talking to a young person, perhaps a grandchild, and is given a sense of familiarity because she refers to the reader often as “chile” or “honey.” It’s told from the perspective of personal, family history, starting with her grandfather who was one of the last African-born slaves. This lends a much more personal touch to the story and the history because she recalls family members who had active rolls in the major events, rather than the events being objective history. Because of this, there is a lot more emotion that comes through, both good and bad, and therefore more empathy and understanding. There are many lesser known, but very interesting historical events featured as well.

The full-page illustrations throughout are excellent, boldly colored and detailed. There are many very realistic portraits of historical figures like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., among others.

I think this would be an excellent complement to any history class and would provide a much needed perspective that is often left out, overlooked, or quickly passed over.

[A'Niye Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson is a beautifully illustrated book that presents a formal arrangement, with text on one side of each page and an illustration on the other. The narrative of the story unfolds through the voice of a wise, older African American woman who reflects on the struggles and successes of her people. The plot shows the historical conflict of racial injustice and the search for equality. This book also earned the 2012 Coretta Scott King Award. The author’s powerful storytelling is paired with his detailed illustrations that bring history to life. The first double-spread illustration in the book is what caught my eye first. It was a detailed drawing of a slave ship. Slave ships were known for their cramped and cruel conditions, and this illustration clearly shows the suffering of the enslaved people, uncomfortable on this small ship. This is important because it shows and helps us understand the brutal reality of the slave trade, which was a dark chapter in American history. The second illustration I enjoyed looking at was on page 36, which was a freedom quilt. These quilts were used as a code for enslaved people on the Underground Railroad. Along the railroad, a quilt would be seen hanging from a clothesline or windowsill, indicating this was a safe house. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about my African American history. I look forward to adding this book to my classroom library so that my students can explore and better understand this important part of our nation's past.

[Miki]

Heart and Soul was featured on my library's homepage for Black History Month, and it sparked my curiosity as I usually check middle grade books that are featured during Black History Month and hadn't recalled seeing it in previous years. As a shorter audiobook (about one hour and 45 minutes), I thought I'd try it out.

This is the story about black people in America told through a woman's history and her family's histories. It's what I wish history lessons were like in school: more ethnographical and less BOOORING. It's history told by the people who endured the hardship, but yet it is told with hope, positivity, and motivation. Readers learn about key figures like Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, and Abraham Lincoln. They also learn about movements like abolishment and emancipation. Lastly, readers are informed of geopolitics, like the Mason-Dixon line and Jim Crow laws.

I think that if you're looking for a text for a younger reader that is full of historical detail that's told in an engaging manner, then this is the book. The narrator is fantastic, and the story is so well told that I'd happily buy this for my friends' kids!

[Audiobook, borrowed from library]

[Whitney Illing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans took me through history in America and as the author stated, it truly painted a picture and “the American story came alive to me.” The author and illustrator, Kadir Nelson, researched his information for the book from interviewing his family members who lived through these moments in history, listening to the stories they have to tell, and pictures that tell their own story. The book takes you from the very start of American history, the Declaration of Independence, to slavery, the Great Migration, World War II, up to Barack Obama becoming president. It tells the story of how African Americans helped build our country to what it is today. This was a WOW book for me because history was not my favorite subject in school, but this book made me want to read more and inspired me to learn more about these topics and my own family history.

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans is an engaging and inspirational informational text. I would use this book in 5th grade as a read aloud while studying American history. The teacher could read a chapter and that could be the topic of the day. This book could be used to assign students a chapter to read and research the topic to present to the class. This book could also be used throughout Black History Month to guide discussion of Black or African American role models. Lastly, I would use this book as an inspiration for students to research their own family history. I would allow my students to interview their family members and find pictures that tell their own family story.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book, The Underground Railroad, and Homegoing in quick succession. Perfectly complimentary. This book will be a family treasure forever.

[Reina Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork and a compelling narrative, as told by a fictional (I think?) version of the author's grandmother. My son liked it more than just reading a history text.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kadir Nelson narrates the story of America and African Americans with perfectly melded word and illustration. I am so drawn to his beautifully rendered portraits of both the famous and the forgotten that it’s hard for me to turn the page. In the prologue, his slightly cheeky narrator tells the whole story—the good the bad and the very, very ugly. An essential introduction for 8-12 year olds.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to enjoying the amazing art of Kadir Nelson I learned some very interesting facts about our country's history.

[Ammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audio paired with this book was the perfect combo. J never wanted it to end. She felt like she had an afternoon with a long lost grandmother and she just curled up and sighed throughout.

[Katie Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly art/story telling. Absolutely gorgeous paintings/illustrations. Perfect for elementary kids learning the history of our country through the black experience.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kadir Nelson's art is fabulous.

America's historical events affect and the influence of Black people told from the perspective of a personal narrative from a Black elder.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kadir's paintings are magical. What a beautiful book.

[Heather Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a MUST read for every American History class in Elementary school!!
To have the history compiled in one book really sheds light on everything we do not know.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly beautiful book to celebrate Black History month. The magnificent artwork of Kadir Nelson throughout the book highlights the stories of the struggles and journey of African Americans from slavery on through to the election of our nation's first black President.
Highly recommended for everyone.

[Janessa Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to buy a copy of this for when my children are older after listening to the audio, especially for the artist's illustrations. The 100 year old grandmother was the perfect narrator choice as she touches on the big moments in American history through the lens of her own family's history. And my toddler already loves the pictures and begs to look at them.