He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

The familiar spiritual is reinvigorated by the child-like perspective of Nelson’s illustrations. Luminous scenes show a child’s view of the world and how one handsome boy can literally hold it in his hands.

Other books by this author

Handsome illustrations of Shange’s evocative poem, “Mood Indigo,” pay homage to the many African American icons and visionaries who came to the author’s house when she was a child. From W.E.B. DuBois to Duke Ellington, the people we now know as luminaries are seen from the perspective of a young girl. This book is sure to generate discussion.

Ellington Was Not a Street

Ntozake Shange, Kadir Nelson

Illustrator:

Kadir Nelson

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Nonfiction, Biography, Poetry

Heart & Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Kadir Nelson

Age Level:

9-12

“This picture-book biography matches Mandela’s outsize achievements with large, powerful images, resulting in a presentation that will seize and hold readers’ attentionNelson’s paintings range from poignant, when Mandela’s mother tells him good-bye as he leaves home for more education at the age of nine, to exuberant, when Mandela and 100 men arrested for protesting apartheid respond by dancing and singing, to inspiring, when people organize rallies demanding his release. When freedom finally comes, ‘a colorful sea of people’ celebrate.” — School Library Journal