Blues Journey by Walter Dean Myers

1. Title: Blues Journey

2. Author: Walter Dean Myers

3. Illustrator: Christopher A. Myers

4. Publisher and Publishing Date: Holiday House, 2007

5. Genre: Children’s Literature, Blues Renaissance, Black History

6. Age range for which the book is appropriate: 5-onward

7. A brief statement (2-3 sentences) of what students you believe may like the book.

I think students will really enjoy this book because it is very beautiful and written with even more beautiful poetic language. I also think students will like it because it represents an art form that they love: Blues.

8. A summary:

Blues Journey is a historical fiction book about the lives of African Americans from 1865 to the late 1960’s through the art form that characterizes this group of people up into modern times: the Blues. The book’s central plot looks at the specific events that effected the lives of African Americans, such as the abolishment of slavery and the adjustments made there after by these people; the racial segregation that they felt and often still feel; and political marches that eventually broke them free from the shackles of segregation; into a modern look at the lives of modern Black Americans that still reflect on their cultural heritage through listening to old blues songs. One of the best portions of this book is its focus on how blues was created from a hodgepodge of cultural identities that they were forced to come from and how blues lives on in art and literature through poetry and paintings

9. Personal Response:

I selected this book because it is written by one of my favorite young adult authors, Walter Dean Myers, and his artistic son. It was a very enjoyable read and reminded me of my obsession with classic blues songs. I thought the book was an excellent example of a historical fiction as it is not true, but utilizes the backdrop of the conflicts of African Americans.

10. Teaching ideas:

As this book is focused on the overall concept of slavery and the blues music that sprung up from a group of people, African Americans, that had and have struggled to make it in a world where they were seen as “less than people,” I would teach this book within Eng II during the study of historical America and the slave trade from Kenya, Niger, and what is now South Africa. I would use this book as a preteaching tool to give students a deep understanding of the trials and tribulations that African Americans experienced, paired with the short story “Going to meet the man” by James Baldwin, a historical fiction story that is told through a white supremacist sheriff during the race riots of the early 1900s, which gives a deep reflection on how this monster was made.