In the Hollow of Your Hand : Slave Lullabies

Rating:
Summary: Slave Lullabies
Review: Alice McGill is a real historian. I treasure not only the songs but her stories that go with them. Her voice is soothing and warm. My 2 year old granddaughter begs for Alice McGill when I pick her up from daycare. My cassette goes from car to house many times so we can listen to it over and over. Thank you, Alice, for sharing your history, stories and songs with all of us. I'm ordering this on CD to give to Julia, my granddaughter, and all of your other books, too.

Rating:
Summary: wjarrodcr#3
Review: Del Negro, Janice. "A Change of Storyteller." Library Trends, Winter 1999 v47 i3 p579 McGill, Alice. In the Hollow of your Hand: Slave Lullabies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000

In the Hollow of your Hand is a wonderful book that teaches the history of African American slavery, from the family standpoint. This book is full of lullabies that are part of the author's family history. Each lullaby has its own unique story that shows how it is important to the family. In addition to each lullaby having its own written story, it also has a visual story. The illustrations for the songs have their own meaning. The story behind the illustrations is just as important as the stories that are in the songs. The illustrations uses ordinary things to make memories that last generations. These illustrations are collages that were created using objects, and scrap pieces of cloth of various patterns and shapes, glued together to make a meaningful image. The pieces were not precisely cut and neatly placed, but they were placed overlapping each other in an organized manner. The creation of these illustrations tells a lot about the lives of the slaves. The words to these songs are taken from bits and pieces of the slaves' lives and put together to give meaningful messages such as faith, hope and unity. Then the words are 'glued' together with emotions like love, joy and sorrow. The final production is an amazing work that is rich with, "...the essence of black survival" (McGill, 1). The illustrations portray images of happiness and love while the words send out the message of struggle and sorrow. The slaves lived their lives in a similar manner; they put on an outward appearance of joy and contentment while their speech was filled hurt and pain. The objects and the placement of the objects in the illustrations also tell a lot about the conditions of their lives. Many of the objects used are miscellaneous items that are found lying around the house that don't really match. These objects consist of buttons, beads, pieces of string, and crochet. These objects carry with them many memories that are important in the history of the slaves' families. A single button could harvest the memory of a person who has passed away. Many times when a person died, people who were close to them would keep something to remember them. That something could be as small as patch of clothing or the bottle of perfume that they wore. Although the illustrations can't show the smell, they have materials that show different flowers to represent various scents. The pieces of cloth and the objects play as big of a role in the illustration as the illustrations themselves because behind each piece is a touching story. The lullabies give an important message but the illustrations give a message, that go beyond what any song could say. The illustrations, provide the element of memory. In the illustrations everything means something: "little things like a button, pieces of string, and scraps of fabric were all protected treasures." (McGill,8). The illustrations provide a balance that is enjoyable to both the child and the adult reader. While "the art used to illustrate various points in the text does begin to mirror the interest among field professionals in multicultural materials," they appeal to children and provide an element that children can grow to appreciate when they read this book as an adult (Del Negro, 4)

Rating:
Summary: My baby loves it
Review: Del Negro, Janice. "A Change of Storyteller." Library Trends, Winter 1999 v47 i3 p579 McGill, Alice. In the Hollow of your Hand: Slave Lullabies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000

In the Hollow of your Hand is a wonderful book that teaches the history of African American slavery, from the family standpoint. This book is full of lullabies that are part of the author's family history. Each lullaby has its own unique story that shows how it is important to the family. In addition to each lullaby having its own written story, it also has a visual story. The illustrations for the songs have their own meaning. The story behind the illustrations is just as important as the stories that are in the songs. The illustrations uses ordinary things to make memories that last generations. These illustrations are collages that were created using objects, and scrap pieces of cloth of various patterns and shapes, glued together to make a meaningful image. The pieces were not precisely cut and neatly placed, but they were placed overlapping each other in an organized manner. The creation of these illustrations tells a lot about the lives of the slaves. The words to these songs are taken from bits and pieces of the slaves' lives and put together to give meaningful messages such as faith, hope and unity. Then the words are 'glued' together with emotions like love, joy and sorrow. The final production is an amazing work that is rich with, "...the essence of black survival" (McGill, 1). The illustrations portray images of happiness and love while the words send out the message of struggle and sorrow. The slaves lived their lives in a similar manner; they put on an outward appearance of joy and contentment while their speech was filled hurt and pain. The objects and the placement of the objects in the illustrations also tell a lot about the conditions of their lives. Many of the objects used are miscellaneous items that are found lying around the house that don't really match. These objects consist of buttons, beads, pieces of string, and crochet. These objects carry with them many memories that are important in the history of the slaves' families. A single button could harvest the memory of a person who has passed away. Many times when a person died, people who were close to them would keep something to remember them. That something could be as small as patch of clothing or the bottle of perfume that they wore. Although the illustrations can't show the smell, they have materials that show different flowers to represent various scents. The pieces of cloth and the objects play as big of a role in the illustration as the illustrations themselves because behind each piece is a touching story. The lullabies give an important message but the illustrations give a message, that go beyond what any song could say. The illustrations, provide the element of memory. In the illustrations everything means something: "little things like a button, pieces of string, and scraps of fabric were all protected treasures." (McGill,8). The illustrations provide a balance that is enjoyable to both the child and the adult reader. While "the art used to illustrate various points in the text does begin to mirror the interest among field professionals in multicultural materials," they appeal to children and provide an element that children can grow to appreciate when they read this book as an adult (Del Negro, 4)

Rating:
Summary: My baby loves it
Review: Whenever I put the CD on, my baby pauses from whatever she is doing, captivated by McGill's lovely, rich voice. The CD is a permanent fixture in our CD changer, so I have gradually picked up all the songs. "Who Dat Tappin'" and "Dip-Dap Dudio" are playful chants that will always get a laugh from baby, even if you can't carry a tune. With the help of the book, which contains both printed lyrics and sheet music, I have memorized "Liddy Lay Low" to sing at naptime and bedtime. When my daughter is a little older, I am sure we will look at the beautiful illustrations together and I will teach her rhymes such as "Rock de Cradle, Joe." School-age children might want to use the collection as the basis for an American history project, and kids who are studying a musical instrument will enjoy picking out the tunes.