Like a Bird: The Art of the American Slave Song

Enslaved African Americans longed for freedom, and that longing took many forms--including music. Drawing on biblical imagery, slave songs both expressed the sorrow of life in bondage and offered a rallying cry for the spirit.

Like a Bird brings together text, music, and illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Michele Wood to convey the rich meaning behind thirteen of these powerful songs.

About the Author
Grady, Cynthia: - Cynthia Grady is an author as well as a former middle school librarian and teacher. She lives in New Mexico where she plays music for her two rabbits, Finoa and Banjo. Visit her at www.cynthiagrady.com.Wood, Michele: - Michele Wood is an illustrator, painter, and designer living in Indianapolis. Her first book, Going Back Home, was honored with an American Book Award. Wood's second book, I See the Rhythm, written by Toyomi Igus, received the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. After illustrating Cynthia Grady's I Lay My Stitches Down, Wood was honored with the Ashley Bryan Award for Illustration and in 2016, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for the book Chasing Freedom. Her most recent work, BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, won a Newbery Honor. Wood's work continues to be exhibited in major art spaces across the country.