Publishers Weekly
06/24/2024
Staples and Boston Weatherford collaborate to recount the extraordinary musical life of Mavis Staples (b. 1939). Raised in a strict household rooted in faith, Staples began singing gospel music alongside family at her uncle’s church. Pages that reference tunes (“Freedom Highway”) encompass the family’s performances at various churches, beside Martin Luther King Jr., and at the Apollo, alongside the challenges of racist policies on the road, and eventual success in Hollywood. Staples’s love for her hometown Chicago and gospel music and dedication to civil rights recur throughout the book, while Walthall’s illustrations, employing portraiture and era-specific images, complement the direct narrative. Back matter includes recommended listening and viewing, and a timeline. Ages 6–9. (July)
From the Publisher
"A resonant profile of the great singer and Civil Rights activist. A moving look back at a long and storied career." —Kirkus Review
★ “This engaging picture-book biography offers especially rich insights into Mavis Staples of the legendary Staple Singers gospel group. The lyrical text includes lines from gospel classics and flows freely; the vivid illustrations aptly capture the closeness and passion of the Staples family. A fitting tribute to an inspiring legend." —Booklist, starred review
"Staples’s love for herhometown Chicago and gospel music and dedication to civil rights recur throughout the book, while Walthall’s illustrations, employing portraiture and era-specific images, complement the direct narrative." —Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2024-04-05
A resonant profile of the great singer and Civil Rights activist.
Cast in third person despite the lead-author credit, Staples’ tale goes back to the Great Migration, when Roebuck “Pops” Staples left Mound Bayou, Mississippi, for Chicago. There, he taught his four children to sing in harmony—with little Mavis standing on a chair to reach the microphone. They performed in churches, later broadening their repertoire as the Staple Singers to include “message music” for the Civil Rights Movement, then venturing into soul, R&B, and other styles. Gifted with “a voice as deep as a river / and as dusky as the night,” Mavis describes her musical growth in architectural terms, with family the “foundation,” Chicago’s South Side a “cornerstone,” and singers such as Mahalia Jackson “bronze pillars of living inspiration.” In the reverent illustrations, the singer grows to adulthood and then iconic elder amid swirls of musical notes and song titles, plus cameos of associated stars and celebrities from Lena Horne to Martin Luther King Jr., from Elvis to Prince, and from Barack Obama to Whodini and Ice Cube. On a more personal note, she closes with a statement of values: “Put your heart in anything you do. / Keep the faith.”
A moving look back at a long and storied career. (timeline, recommended films and recordings) (Picture-book biography. 7-9)
