HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat

It’s inspiring to hear the voices of Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Gary Soto, Gwendolyn Brooks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others buoyed with jazz, rap, and hip-hop music. The CD is an accompaniment to the printed text—only 30 of the 51 poems have been recorded. The listener dives right into Eloise Greenfield's reading of "Things"—about the permanence of a poem—and each successive entry is just as immediate. Giovanni's excellent introduction to the poems and their beat is a bonus for listeners. With no page number references, it can be difficult to follow along in the book, which has vibrant illustrations and neat formatting. This great selection leaves listeners wishing for more. D.P.D. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]