Bryan Collier has an amazing collection of picture books and this one, which illustrates Langston Hughe’s poem, I, Too, Sing America, is another mixed media beauty.
It begins on a train, a Pullman porter serving wealthy white passengers and relegated to the kitchen to eat. The porter collects the newspapers, records and books the patrons leave behind and tosses them out to children eager for knowledge. The train takes us from the past to the present, and moving toward the future.
In his illustrator’s note, Bryan Collier explains his symbolism more fully. This is a picture book for all ages.
