NPM 2020 Day 21: Lullaby (for a Black Mother)

Today’s picture book is one I had to track down.  I saw Sean Qualls’ dummy of it at the SCBWI LA Conference three summers ago and had forgotten to look it up until this year.

“Lullaby (for a Black Mother)” is a poem by Langston Hughes.  Illustrator Sean Qualls’ decided to make it into a picture book and illustrated it beautifully.  He had a workshop at the LA SCBWI Conference three summers ago and was kind enough to let us see (and touch!) his original dummies for some of his first books.  I’d always meant to look it up, but had forgotten about it until this year when thinking about Langston Hughes (one of my favorite poets).

It’s harder for me to highlight a book that is a poem, versus a collection of poetry in a picture book, but I had to try.  I tried to pick just one page or one picture of the book (just like yesterday’s) that would highlight some of the best of the book.  This is the page I chose:

I love Langston’s word choice and Qualls’ color palette. It’s a fantastic combination.

And if you’re looking for more poetry fun this month, be sure to check out the Kidlitosphere Event Roundup!