The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Weatherford, Carole Boston

How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace

48 pp. | Atheneum | May, 2018 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4814-7206-7 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-4814-7207-4

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Frank Morrison. Spare rhyming text briefly touches on important life events of John Newton, an English slave trader turned abolitionist minister and the writer of a poem that evolved into the inspiring hymn. Rich, full-bleed oil paintings are powerfully evocative, but Newton is difficult to visually recognize page-to-page, creating confusion. An appended author's note provides historical details critical to understanding the subject. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester