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How Sweet the Sound : The Story of Amazing Grace
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

How Sweet the Sound : The Story of Amazing Grace

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How Sweet the Sound
Author(s): Carole Boston Weatherford

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 prayed—and 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.

Review(s):
*”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 Morrison’s majestic paintings, dramatic spreads that breathe life into both Newton’s story and the history that followed. The afterword closely follows the text, a boon for children wanting more information. The song’s verses and suggestions for further reading and listening complete this fine package.”
“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.”
“Morrison’s vibrant, sometimes haunting oil paintings join Weatherford’s spare, rhyming couplets to delineate the birth and reach of the famed hymn ‘Amazing Grace.’ Dynamic . . .”
“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 Morrison’s stunning oil paintings, which vividly bring to life Newton’s personal experiences and moments of larger historical importance.”
“Weatherford’s rhymed verse . . . encourage[s] readers to reflect on how Newton’s lyrics reflect his personal testimony to sin, repentance, and deliverance. . . . The limited text, accompanied by Morrison’s stirring full spread illustrations, recommend this for a group audience of mixed ages, particularly for family reading or bible school gatherings.”



ISBN:  9781481472067