My People (favorite)

Hughes, Langston. My People. photos Charles R. Smith, Jr. Simon and Schuster, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4169-3540-7.

My People is a beautiful poem picture book. The pictures by Charles R. Smith, Jr. compliment this simple and eloquent poem of Langston Hughes wonderfully and truly seem to represent the poem itself. The mood of this whole book/poem is praiseful and respectful of the black person. While the poem was written long ago, the pictures are modern and feel as though they have movement.

This is definitely one of my favorites! I could look at the pictures in this book for hours. They accompany the text so well, it's almost as though you can reach out and touch the poem by looking at the pictures. It is such a wonderful representation of black people through the words and pictures of two black people. I would use this book as a follow up to a history lesson about the segregation, Jim Crow, etc. This book would further illustrate that there is beauty in all forms and human rights are just that: for every human, regardless of race.

Since this book is a picture poem book and the whole book is a poem itself, I do not feel it would appropriate to write it here (copyright law). I highly suggest looking this book up at your local library and letting your eyes wander the pages.