R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

(Simon & Schuster)

(pub. 8.25.2020) 

 48 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Carole Boston Weatherford
       and illustrator: Frank Morrison

C haracter:  Aretha Franklin

O verview:

       

"Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights.

This authoritative, rhythmic picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha’s inspiring story."

T antalizing taste:

D-E-B-U-T

            Fourteen, recording live, and nervous as can be.

            She cuts a gospel album, gives God the victory. 

V-O-I-C-E

            Aretha’s voice resounds with color and clarity,

            spanning three-plus octaves, the maestros all agree. 

G-R-O-O-V-E

            Aretha finds her groove when she’s rocking R&B.

            No woman of her time has more chart-toppers than

             she. 

R-I-G-H-T

            For the civil rights movement for racial equality,

            Aretha raises funds and gives concerts for free.

And something more:  Carole Boston Weatherford's Author's Note explains that "as a girl, Aretha learned to play piano by ear and sang with her sisters in the church choir. Touring the gospel music circuit with her father, she met singers Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

    At age fourteen, Aretha recorded her first album, Spirituals.  The music industry took notice, and by age eighteen, Franklin had landed a contract with Columbia Records... Franklin was not just an artist, though; she was also an activist. During the 1960s, she performed at benefit concerts to support the civil rights movement and quietly donated funds to bail protesters out of jail."