Words to My Life's Song Contributor(s): Bryan, Ashley (Author), Bryan, Ashley (Illustrator), McGuinness, Bill (Photographer) |
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ISBN: 1416905413 ISBN-13: 9781416905417 Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers OUR PRICE: $17.99 Product Type: Hardcover Published: January 2009 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography - Art - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography - Cultural, Ethnic & Regional - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography - Historical |
Dewey: B |
LCCN: 2008014369 |
Lexile Measure: 970 |
Physical Information: 0.62" H x 10.21" W x 9.3" (1.24 lbs) 64 pages |
Themes: - Catalog Heading - Biographies - Curriculum Strand - Biographies |
Accelerated Reader Info |
Quiz #: 128883 Reading Level: 6.2 Interest Level: Middle Grades Point Value: 1.0 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Ashley's autobiography is full of art, photographs, and the poignant never-say-never tale of his rich life, a life that has always included drawing and painting. Even as a boy growing up during the Depression, he painted -- finding cast off objects to turn into books and kites and toy and art. Even as a solder in the segregated Army on the beaches of Normandy, he sketched -- keeping charcoal crayons and paper in his gasmask to draw with during lulls. Even as a talented, visionary art student who was accepted and then turned away from college upon arrival, the school telling Ashley that to give a scholarship to an African American student would be a waste, he painted -- continuing to create art when he could have been discouraged, continuing to polish his talents when his spirit should have been beaten. Ashley went on to become a Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee, a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, and a multiple Coretta Scott King award winner. As you might imagine, his story is powerful, bursting with his creative energy, and a testament to believing in oneself. It's a book every child in America should have access to and it does what the very best autobiographies do; it inspires |
Contributor Bio(s): Bryan, Ashley: - Ashley Bryan grew up to the sound of his mother singing from morning to night, and he has shared the joy of song with children ever since. A beloved illustrator, he was recently named a Newbery Honoree for his picture book, Freedom Over Me. He has also been the recipient of the Coretta Scott King--Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award; the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award; has been a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer; a Coretta Scott King Award winner; and the recipient of countless other awards and recognitions. His books include Freedom Over Me; Sail Away; Beautiful Blackbird; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum Pum; Let It Shine; Ashley Bryan's Book of Puppets; and What a Wonderful World. He lives in Islesford, one of the Cranberry Isles off the coast of Maine. |