PICTURE BOOKS
Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth

Blacksmith's Song

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Rich. A young enslaved African American boy, the son of a blacksmith, listens to the rhythms his father hammers out and learns them for himself; when his father falls ill, he pounds out the rhythms himself--an important job since, as this picture book (dubiously) speculates, it's to help runaway slaves on their journey to freedom. Dark oil paintings add emotion and suspense.

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