All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African American Spirituals

I found All Night, All Day to be a very culturally intriguing book. As an Caucasian American, I expected to be reading or seeing songs I had never heard before. However, I wasn't. To summarize what the book contains, there are twenty African American Spirituals intermixed with about a dozen illustrations in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, red, orange, and green. The piano accompaniment and guitar chords are include for each song. These illustrations capture the experiences and joyful emotions portrayed in the songs. Songs include, "This Little Light of Mine," "Wade in the Water," "O'When the Saints Go Marching In," and "I'm Going to Eat at the Welcome Table."

To be perfectly honest, I did not recognize many of these songs as African American Spirituals. However, after some thought they obviously have the markers of the culture, soulfully religious and a strong will to overcome adversity. In his ending note, Bryan says that this genre of music is "America's most distinctive contribution to the world of music" (page 48). Initially, I was prepared to argue this point. What about Jazz? Or the Blues? Then, I had an 'ah-ha' moment and came to the realization that these African American Spirituals were the forerunners of both genres of music.

These songs are true traditional literature and fit firmly in with most folk tales for several reasons. As Bryan says, "The names of the individual creators of these songs have been lost, but we know they come from the musical genius of African American slaves."

This book has won the Coretta Soctt King Award and is recommended for four to nine year olds. School Library Journal's Susan Giffard states that "these illustrations are dynamic and full of movement, and the people and angels radiate an unearthly light." Bryan has other books of spirituals, including Let it Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals. The text for my course also offers high praise for Beautiful Blackbird.

I'm not a musician, so I couldn't play the songs and for the ones that I didn't know, I could only guess at the tune. However, I think that young children would enjoy the accompanies pictures if they could hear others sing and play the songs. This book most likely belongs in the libraries of most churches, African American or not.

As a teacher, I can see elementary school music teachers asking students to "draw" a song, as Bryan has done here. Most would recognize "This Little Light of Mine" and would understand the assignment when show the drawing that accompanied the song in this book. An assignment like this would give teachers the opportunity to guide students with thoughtful and creative expression, as well as an opportunity to teach students to appreciate music.

In my course text by Sylvia Vardell, Bryan writes "There are so many ways in which we learn about life and self. Each day opens paths to this exploration. For many of us, books play a major role in that adventure" (page 88). I feel that Bryan has hit that mark with this book. Personally speaking, books have and will continue to play a major role in my exploration of life. This book, though intended for children, helped me to realize the influence that African American culture has had on my own life.

References:

Bryan, Ashley. All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African American Spirituals. Musical arrangements by David Manning Thomas. New York: Maxwell Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991. ISBN: 0-689-31662-3.

Vardell, Sylvia. Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.