Want to know what we're reading for Black History Month? Check out this staff review of A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson and Phillippe Lardy! Visit rockhillpubliclibrary.org to put this book on hold, or to see other books about significant Black figures in history.
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson is a short, heart wrenching book of poetry about Emmett Till. It's hard to imagine sending your child to relatives for a few weeks in the summer and having him maimed and killed, but this book provides an introduction into the lynching of a young boy.
This poem, written as a sonnet, helps to soften the edges of such a sad story but does not negate the injustice. The illustrations by Phillippe Lardy are pastel and dreamlike, and enhance the poetic verse. Nelson and Lardy stick to the truth and add beautiful words and illustrations, helping to ease one through the emotions of horrific acts that are a part of American history.
This poem moved me and eased me through all the emotions I had bottled up about this horrific act. A Wreath for Emmett Till is an appropriate introduction for children into the horrors of racial injustice.
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