Circle Unbroken
Author(s): Margot Theis Raven
As she teaches her granddaughter to sew a traditional sweetgrass basket, a grandmother weaves a story, going back generations to her grandfather's village in faraway Africa. There, as a boy, he learned to make baskets so tightly woven they could hold the rain. Even after being stolen away to a slave ship bound for America, he remembers what he learned and passes these memories on to his children - as they do theirs.
Review(s):
“Gracefully constructed...as intricate as the baskets and the history to which it pays tribute.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Clear poetic words and exquisite watercolor illustrations depict how the small circular basket holds the big circle of African-American history....Lewis' astonishing pictures combine the panoramas of upheaval and war with portraits of individuals in small circles weaving and passing on their heritage in craft and story.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“Raven's text masterfully frames several hundred years of African-American history within the picture-book format. Lewis's double-page watercolor images are poignant and perfectly matched to the text and mood.” —School Library Journal
“In solemn Gullah cadences, an old woman passes on to a grandchild centuries of history embodied in the Sea Islands' distinctive sweetgrass baskets...Powerfully evoking the passage of successive generations linked by the ancient skill.” —Kirkus Reviews
Long-listed Booklist Editors' Choice, NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Long-listed NCTE Notable Child. Bks in Lang. A, Long-listed Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, South Carolina Children's Book Award Master List, Long-listed South Carolina Children's Book Award ML, Long-listed IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, Winner NCSS-CBC NotableTrade-Soc.Stdy
ISBN: 9780312376031