To Be a Drum

Plot Summary

Daddy Wes helps his children hear the rhythm of the earth. And with the rhythm begins a story of the "drum," the pulse which has moved through the African people and through time and place.

Awards

2000 Honor Award Skipping Stones, A Multicultural and Ecological Children's Magazine; Pointer, Kirkus Reviews

Reviews

"The drum is a mytho-poetic symbol that links people to their African roots and to the rhythm of the earth, or so Daddy Wes tells his children, Mat and Martha. In broad sweeps of history–covering slavery, war, civil rights–and in the struggle ofr intellectual and artistic pursuits, Daddy Wes declares that the underlying heartbeat of a people is the drum....That's the moment, in this joyful and robust chronicle, to turn to the art, where the energeticmontages bustle with multi-textured backgrounds and figures, employing cloth, cotton old buttons, sisal, wool, clay, and more, in theatrical, pulsing setting." POINTER, Kirkus Reviews

"An unusual combination of history, exhortation, and tactile images, the text offers a dramatic read-aloud opportunity, given the right teller's voice. The art, too, combines many elements (paints, vintage fabric, cotton fibers, clay, buttons) to create a vibrant, eclectic series of scenes. An original." Booklist

"While the book explicitly addresses African American readers, its strong emotional charge is universal." Publishers Weekly

"Incredible textural collages become the drums of Coleman's story, beating out the history, beauty, and a richness of movement and color."
Children's Literature

Associated Keywords
African-American, social studies, slavery, multicultural