WOW! Such a magnificent book-- and ode to the author's people, the Black community. Langston Hughes's words with Charles R. Smith Jr.'s photography set the tone that the author is so proud of their roots and sees the beauty in all of them. Langston shares this with the reader, and you can feel each line's admiration and strength. An excellent poetic read! ( )

This book is great for first graders due to its vibrant incorporation of visual aid that brings its story to life and appeals to a young audience. My People is a celebration of the African American community in all of its glory in a world that has consistently neglected its culture. Diversity seen within the black community is brought to the forefront as people of all shades under the spectrum are represented and meant to be shown in a positive light. ( )

pre school - 1st, there is minimal words and mainly pictures so it would be great for young children. It is a book that empowers African American people and tells them that they are beautiful, and represented. Great to have in a classroom to support your students who may be struggling with their identity.

This book is a Langston Hughes book set amongst portraits of the faces of African American people. There is nothing as brilliant as the simplicity of Langston Hughes' voice in one's mind as one reads his poetry. The photography of African American faces, young and old, different shades, different features to accompany the poem is a natural pairing. However, there is only one very dark skinned person in the book. The majority of the faces seem bi-racial and very light skinned. In the photographer's notes, Charles R Smith, Jr. writes of the difficulty in determining who exactly Hughes meant by 'hs people', and Mr. Smith decided to choose the breadth of the African American identity rather than limiting or restricting it, as is his right s an artist. I know that within African American culture in MY city, New Orleans, there is a very real pecking order in the African American experience according to the lightness or darkness of one's particular shade of brown. I cannot speak to the existence of such a concept in other cities. So in my mind, I imagine a very dark skinned girl looking at this book and not feeling as if she is included, does not see her image mirrored there in the pages. The darkest skinned person is an elderly gentleman. To add to the imbalance of representation, fewer of the portraits feature strong African American facial features. Now, this, I believe, is the author's intent, and I am changing my own mind as I write...but I still can't help of that very dark skinned young girl flipping through these pages, getting the message that lighter skin is more beautiful than hers. ( )