Brick By Brick

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Amistad (Harper Collins)

(pub. 12.26.12) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Charles R. Smith Jr.

     and Illustrator:  Floyd Cooper

C haracters: slaves

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "The president of a new country needs a new home, so many hands work together as one.  Black hands, white hands, free hands, slave hands. In this powerful story of the building of the White House, Coretta Scott King Award winners Charles R. Smith Jr. and Floyd Cooper capture the emotion and toil that created this incredible structure, the home of our president. The White House was created by many hands, several of them slaves, who will be remembered throughout history for their extraordinary feat..."

T antalizing taste: 

"Slave hands build
and slave hands save
shillings to be free
and no longer a slave.

Slave hands count shillings
with worn fingertips
and purchase freedom
earned brick by brick."

and something more: The back matter of Brick by Brick provides additional powerful information about the building of the White House: "Slaves endured a snake-infested island and mosquito swarms to dig up the stones needed for the walls of the house. They endured hour after hour of cutting and trimming wood, often until their hands were bloodied or deformed. The work was hard on the body, especially the hands."