Toyomi Igus

Possibly the coolest little free library find I've come across!

There are so many layers to this book: Michele Wood's beautiful paintings, which she created after conducting interviews and while listening to the music of each era; Toyomi Igus's ekphrastic poems inspired by those paintings, which describe the emotional origins and intents of each style and sprinkle in the names of major contributors; summaries of each type of music that occasionally point out features in the paintings and cite any lyrics quoted in the poems so that a reader could go look up the songs; timelines running across each page highlighting key moments in African American history and music, not giving up the former to focus comfortably (for a white audience) on the latter; and an interactive element in Wood's hidden self-portrait on every page.

It sounds like a lot, but the page layout is never overwhelming: pictures take up one full page, while the text of the poetry on the opposite page is large enough to clearly show that it's the main feature. The text is laid out in a variety of font types and sizes, even directions, but all are clear and easy to read and follow from one line to the text. The summaries are tucked up top just across the gutter from the paintings, while the timeline runs along the bottom of the page, both in small but clear font that doesn't distract from the poetry.

Beautiful, informative, fun to read...is there anything this book isn't? And kids could grow into it, focusing on the poetry and pictures until they're old enough to be interested in the timelines.… (meer)