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When I Hear Spirituals

Published
Jan 2025
Main Genre
General Fiction General Fiction
Rating
Pages
40

About This Book

Your spirit will soar! A girl connects with heritage, history, and a higher power through the lyrics of twelve beloved spirituals and four seminal events in African American history.

A beautiful keepsake to be shared by multiple generations.


When I hear spirituals 
Sometimes
A big, full feeling
Grows in my chest . . .


Her heart pounds, she gets a lump in her throat, and tears flow down her cheeks. She wants to clap her hands and stomp her feet. There is healing, tenderness, strength, pride, and above all, hope.

The author of the classic picture book Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, Cheryl Willis Hudson, has woven together lyrics of twelve timeless, Black spirituals with a moving exploration of how music holds memories, emotions, and empowerment.

Songs include "Go down, Moses," "Nobody Knows the Troubles I See," "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," "Rock-a-My Soul," "Get on Board, Little Children," and more.  

Evocative illustrations by award-winning artist London Ladd depict important people and places in Black history and culture: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr.,  the Great Migration, and the Enslaved People's Uprising of 1811. 

Journey through Black history and music in this layered picture book.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

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Formats & Editions

Browse the different covers, formats, and publication history for this title.

Hardcover

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Hardcover
First Edition Jan 2025 Holiday House ISBN 0823453804
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eBook

eBook edition cover
eBook
Jan 2025 Holiday House ISBN 0823462196
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eBook edition cover
eBook
Jan 2025 -- Not Selected ISBN B0DGK5KKQ6
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