How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace

(Hardback)

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Description

An incredibly moving picture book biography of the man behind the hymn Amazing Grace and the living legacy of the song by New York Times bestselling author Carole Boston Weatherford and award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison.

One stormy night at sea, a wayward man named John Newton feared for his life. In his darkest hour he fell to his knees and prayedand somehow the battered ship survived the storm.

Grateful, he changed his ways and became a minister, yet he still owned a slave ship. But in time, empathy touched his heart. A changed man, he used his powerful words to help end slavery in England.

Those words became the hymn Amazing Grace, a song that has lifted the spirit and given comfort across time and all over the world.

Reviews

*Weatherford does her own amazing job of telling the story in rhymed couplets that make the events digestible for young readers. Her compact history is juxtaposed against Morrisons majestic paintings, dramatic spreads that breathe life into both Newtons story and the history that followed. The afterword closely follows the text, a boon for children wanting more information. The songs verses and suggestions for further reading and listening complete this fine package. -- Booklist, Starred Review
The illustrations are dramatic oil paintings that successfully evoke gravity, sorrow, and religiosity. The lyrical text presents a mature story in spare verse . . . An enriching picture of a hymn that has touched hearts over centuries and across the world. -- Kirkus Reviews
Morrisons vibrant, sometimes haunting oil paintings join Weatherfords spare, rhyming couplets to delineate the birth and reach of the famed hymn Amazing Grace. Dynamic . . . -- Publishers Weekly
Written in spare rhyming verse, every word is deliberate, and every line carefully crafted to maintain the meter, resulting in a striking trochaic rhythm that begs to be read aloud . . . What truly makes the book stand out are Morrisons stunning oil paintings, which vividly bring to life Newtons personal experiences and moments of larger historical importance. -- School Library Journal
Weatherfords rhymed verse . . . encourage[s] readers to reflect on how Newtons lyrics reflect his personal testimony to sin, repentance, and deliverance. . . . The limited text, accompanied by Morrisons stirring full spread illustrations, recommend this for a group audience of mixed ages, particularly for family reading or bible school gatherings. -- BCCB

Author Bio

CaroleBoston Weatherford has written many award-winning books for children, includingYou Can Flyillustrated by her son Jeffery;Box, which won a Newbery Honor;Unspeakable, which won the Coretta Scott King award, a Caldecott honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award finalist;Respect: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award; and Caldecott Honor winnersFreedom in Congo Square;Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; andMoses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Carole lives in North Carolina. Visit her at CBWeatherford.com.You Can Flyillustrated by her son Jeffery;Box, which won a Newbery Honor;Unspeakable, which won the Coretta Scott King award, a Caldecott honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award finalist;Respect: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, winner of the Coretta ScottKing Illustrator Award; and Caldecott Honor winnersFreedom in Congo Square;Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; andMoses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Carole lives in North Carolina. Visit her at CBWeatherford.com.

Frank Morrison is the award-winning illustrator of many books for young readers, includingJazzy Miz Mozetta, winner of the Coretta Scott King -John Steptoe Award for New Talent;Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book;Muhammad Ali; andHow Sweet the Sound.Before becoming a childrens book illustrator and fine artist, Morrison toured the globe as a break-dancer. He lives in Georgia with his family.