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Weatherford, Carole Boston

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

48 pp. | Atheneum | August, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-5228-2 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-5229-9 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frank Morrison. This impressionistic picture-book biography of Aretha Franklin (1942–2018) consists of a series of rhyming couplets following the iconic singer through her life. Weatherford employs a clever and resonant device: each poem has a one-word title that is spelled out just as it is in Franklin's most famous song, "Respect." So, "B-L-E-S-S-E-D" introduces a very young Aretha, the pastor's daughter, as she "says a little prayer each night"; "D-E-B-U-T" sees the fourteen-year-old cutting her first gospel album; ­"G-R-O-O-V-E" shows her "rocking R&B"; ­"P-R-O-U-D" finds her singing at President Barack Obama's inauguration. Naturally, the book culminates in a poem titled "R-E-S-P-E-C-T": "The Queen of Soul blessed us with a golden legacy. / But she would probably call it, 'the gift that God gave me...'" The book's trim size is roughly that of a record album, and illustrator Morrison takes full advantage of its expanse. Rich oil paintings place the singer in a variety of ­venues, from recording studio to civil rights protest to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The arresting title page, referencing the song "Freeway of Love," shows a pink Cadillac about to drop the pedal and go, go, go. Appended with an author's note giving specifics about Franklin's life and with a discography of her biggest hits.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

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