Bridges instead of walls The story of Mavis Staples

This engaging picture-book biography offers especially rich insights into Mavis Staples of the legendary Staple Singers gospel group. The story concentrates on Mavis' younger years, telling how her parents left Mississippi for Chicago during the Great Migration and started singing at Black churches across the Midwest. Readers will learn how her family faced racism as they drove across the country, prompting their decision to tour with Martin Luther King Jr. and join his cause, and emphasis is placed on how Staples' deep faith affected her career choices. Despite constant opportunities to record independently and encouragement from celebrities like Lena Horne and Elvis Presley, Staples resisted turning into a blues or pop singer, instead devoting herself to her family and the civil rights movement. Of course, eventually Staples did expand beyond gospel, winning Grammy Awards, Kennedy Honors, and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The book's final message is how Staples, now 85 years old, builds bridges with current artists like Ice Cube and Jon Batiste as they cover her signature songs. The lyrical text includes lines from gospel classics and flows freely; the vivid illustrations aptly capture the closeness and passion of the Staples family. A fitting tribute to an inspiring legend.

Staples and Boston Weatherford collaborate to recount the extraordinary musical life of Mavis Staples (b. 1939). Raised in a strict household rooted in faith, Staples began singing gospel music alongside family at her uncle's church. Pages that reference tunes ("Freedom Highway") encompass the family's performances at various churches, beside Martin Luther King Jr., and at the Apollo, alongside the challenges of racist policies on the road, and eventual success in Hollywood. Staples's love for her hometown Chicago and gospel music and dedication to civil rights recur throughout the book, while Walthall's illustrations, employing portraiture and era-specific images, complement the direct narrative. Back matter includes recommended listening and viewing, and a timeline. Ages 6--9. (July)

A resonant profile of the great singer and Civil Rights activist. Cast in third person despite the lead-author credit, Staples' tale goes back to the Great Migration, when Roebuck "Pops" Staples left Mound Bayou, Mississippi, for Chicago. There, he taught his four children to sing in harmony--with little Mavis standing on a chair to reach the microphone. They performed in churches, later broadening their repertoire as the Staple Singers to include "message music" for the Civil Rights Movement, then venturing into soul, R & B, and other styles. Gifted with "a voice as deep as a river / and as dusky as the night," Mavis describes her musical growth in architectural terms, with family the "foundation," Chicago's South Side a "cornerstone," and singers such as Mahalia Jackson "bronze pillars of living inspiration." In the reverent illustrations, the singer grows to adulthood and then iconic elder amid swirls of musical notes and song titles, plus cameos of associated stars and celebrities from Lena Horne to Martin Luther King Jr., from Elvis to Prince, and from Barack Obama to Whodini and Ice Cube. On a more personal note, she closes with a statement of values: "Put your heart in anything you do. / Keep the faith." A moving look back at a long and storied career. (timeline, recommended films and recordings) (Picture-book biography. 7-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.