Audio of the Week: Dunbar Out Loud
RSSFrom SLJ November 2004
Teresa Wittmann, Westgate Elementary School, Edmonds, WA -- School Library Journal, 11/01/2004
1 CD. approx. 61 min. August House (www.augusthouse.com). 2004. ISBN 0-87483-721-9. $14.95.
Gr 3 Up -The rich and descriptive poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar come alive as they are performed by three-time Emmy winner Bobby Norfolk. Listeners are transported to the American South in the era around the Civil War through dialect and the themes of the poems. Norfolk's narration gives life to the poems with different voices, clear dialect, and occasional singing. His performance makes the work of this famous 19th century poet accessible and enjoyable to children. This collection of 12 poems includes love songs, Civil War poems, and story poems like "The Critters Dance." Children will relate to the poems of family and community life, such as "The Party" and "Little Brown Baby." Instrumental music of the era plays between poems. The brief introduction by Norfolk tells about Dunbar's life and times, as well as the dialect of the poems. This versatile CD would complement a study of African-American history, poetry, Civil War history, or could be enjoyed as great storytelling.
