Praise Song for the Day

Gr 3–5—Much has been written, both good and bad, about the poem Alexander wrote for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, but since this is a book designed for children, it is worth another look. Based on the form of African praise songs, the poem is made up of short descriptive sentences that are at once simple and evocative. From an acknowledgment of our shared American experience ("A woman and her son wait for the bus./A farmer considers the changing sky./A teacher says, Take out your pencil. Begin"), to a remembrance of the social struggle that led up to the election ("Say it plain: that many have died for this day"), this is a poem whose accessibility is its strength. Ending with a recognition of the hope felt by much of the nation ("On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,/praise song for walking forward in that light"), this book gives readers the opportunity to revisit the importance of the day when Barack Obama became our 44th president. The glowing, computer-generated art utilizes Diaz's signature cut-paper look. Central to these illustrations are a mother and son who travel through the text as though memorializing the president and his own mother. With the 2012 presidential election coming up, it is good to look back and recall the historical significance of the 2008 vote that resulted in the election of our first African American president. This is a book that can and should make that happen.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library