Me and Momma and Big John

K-Gr 2–When Momma comes home from working as a stonecutter for New York City’s St. John the Divine, affectionately known as “Big John,” she is tired and covered with dust. It is hard work, and no one knows how many decades it will take to finish the cathedral. Her middle son, the narrator, is amazed when he finds out that all this time she has only worked on one stone. His mother explains that what she does is an art, and the boy proudly imagines Momma’s name on display in a museum. When they visit Big John, the boy is disappointed to find that his mother’s stone looks identical to all the others, and that no one will ever know which is hers. But as they experience the majesty of the cathedral and lift their voices in song, he realizes that there is an art to being part of something bigger than yourself. Luminous digital paintings create warm family scenes and bright cityscapes, and capture the majesty of the building. Light and shadow are deftly employed to create drama and depth, heighten emotion, and portray the sacred nature of the structure and the spirit of community it engenders. Featuring a close-knit African American family, this is lovely addition.–Anna Haase Krueger, formerly at Antigo Public Library, WI