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Home | Book of the Week: My Hands Sing the Blues

Book of the Week: My Hands Sing the Blues

My Hands Sing the BluesIn her last book for children, Marin author Jeanne Walker Harvey chronicled the journey of a Marine Mammal Center patient in Astro: The Steller Sea Lion, In her latest work, My Hands Sing the Blues ($17.99, 40 pages, Marshall Cavendish Children, 2011), she shares the story of African American artist Romare Beardon's childhood move with his parents from North Carolina to New York City, where Bearden would go on to become a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Inspired by her work as a school group docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Harvey has created an evocative book, with text influenced by the rhythms of jazz and blues and by Romare Bearden's painting titled Watching the Trains Go By. The colorful illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon pay homage to Bearden's distinctive collage style. Kids will love the pictures and the unique rhymes of the text, and it's a fantastic introduction to the work of one of America's important 20th-century artists.

The back of the book contains an author's note with historical information about Bearden, as well as a list of source material and some suggestions for fining out more about him through books, video, and the Web. Although it's not officially due out until September, you can already find My Hands Sing the Blues at Barnes & Noble.com and your local bookseller.

Jeanne will be the featured speaker at SFMOMA's Family Day on Sunday, September 11 (kids under 12 get in free), and there will be a launch party for the book at Corte Madera's Book Passage on Sunday, September 25 at 4 pm. Stop by and meet the author and enjoy free lemonade, iced tea, and Italian cookies, and enter in a drawing for a wooden train whistle. You can learn more about My Hands Sing the Blues and Jeanne at www.jeanneharvey.com.