Week 6

Week 6: A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson

Book Summary:  

Ella Sheppard Moore inspired a Band of Angels. Aunt Beth, the “treasure keeper,” tells the narrator a story of her great-great- grandmother, Ella. The story begins as Ella gains her freedom and saves money to attend Frisk, a school for African Americans. She arrives with six dollars, only enough for three weeks, but works late hours doing odd jobs to pay for her tuition. When the school can no longer support itself, Ella and the school chorus head north to earn money by holding concerts. One of the many obstacles they faced was finding an audience interested in their music until Ella sings an old slave song. Members of the audience said it was, “like listening to a band of angels.” Through several years of touring, the Jubilee Singers were able to raise the funds to rebuild the school, which later became known as Frisk University.

My Impressions:

My favorite line of the book is, “Everyone said singing was part of that child the way swallows are part of the sky.” What a beautiful way to describe a songbird like Ella! Music is such an important part of African culture and the book highlights this. Ella’s determination to stay in school is inspiring and something so many of our children have little concept of. What I found thought provoking was how songs about African-American experiences in our society were as popular then as they are now.

Professional Review:

 “Using the device of a family storyteller and a child narrator brings immediacy to the tale and a personal connection to the events. Colon's soft watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations are full of gentle greens and browns. The sepia tones add an antique look to the book. This heartwarming presentation is not a historical account, but rather a human look at recorded facts. A fine read-aloud with a good story, uplifting pictures, and fascinating information.?” Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY

Library Uses:

Storytime: I would read A Band of Angels and then have the school choir or local church choir sing songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” Many Thousand Gone,” and “Steal Away.”

or

Create a display titled “Music that Saved the World” with images of the original Jubilee Singers and Frisk University. I would include images of the artists creating the 1985 song “We are the World” and the 2010 “We Are the World, Haiti.”

APA Reference: 

Hopkinson, D. (1999). A band of angels. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

[Review of the book A band of angels by D. Hopkinson]. (2009). Amazon. Retrieved from

http://www.amazon.com/A-Band-Angels-Deborah-Hopkinson/dp/0689848870.