Houghton Mifflin, 1998. This book is as beautiful as it is important. Twenty-five African American poets are represented in this collection, including Lucy Terry, Phillis Wheatley, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, and Rita Dove. For each poet there is a short biography and a sampling of his or her work, accompanied by an illustration. I used this book in read alouds in the library and the kids loved it.
Children love poetry in general, especially younger children with short attention spans.
The illustrations are striking, powerful, and thought-provoking. Children were entranced by them in my library. All the poems in here are astonishing. It's hard to pick just one. Maybe it just sags Like a heavy load.