Mr. Williams
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 3–Recounting stories told by J. W. Williams, a friend of her mother's, Barbour captures the essence of a black Louisiana farmer's life in the early 20th century. In this first-person narrative, Mr. Williams describes his childhood, depicting an austere daily routine of hard work punctuated by Sundays and seasonal changes and embellished by his joy in the natural world. On summer evenings, I'd lie on the porch with a pillow…[and] listen to the owls hollering…and foxes barking their funny little dog barks. Racism was a fact of life, but the text does not dwell on it. Williams does recall the young white men who regularly tried to run him over as he walked to school: I was scared of some white people. They'd scare you up pretty good. If you ever saw white people you'd go way around them. The words are succinct but evocative of a larger picture, which Barbour leaves for readers to paint for themselves. The ink-and-gouache illustrations, punctuated with well-placed bits of fabric collage, are perfect. Polka-dotted cotton fields, unpainted raw floorboards, skin tones ranging from tan to gray to blue, and a radiant sun add texture and temperature to the pictures. The beauty of this book comes from the synergy of the spare narrative and rich artwork. The contrast makes each one more compelling; together they are powerful. This exquisite piece of oral history will surely elicit conversations about race, but it also provides a terrific opportunity to discuss the beauty of a simple life lived well.–Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, MECopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.