Synopses & Reviews
"Cumbayah" is an enduring campfire song for children and a source of inspiration for adults. Though its roots are in the African-American tradition, it speaks to people of many different cultures, ages, and religious. With power and grace, Floyd Cooper depicts scenes from everyday life that emphasize how people all over the world are united in spirit. Here is an uplifting book that, with its simple lyrics, can also help teach children to read and sing. A historical note and a musical arrangement are included.
Synopsis
"Cumbayah" is an enduring campfire song for children and a source of inspiration for adults. Though its roots are in the African-American tradition, it speaks to people of many different cultures, ages, and religious. With power and grace, Floyd Cooper depicts scenes from everyday life that emphasize how people all over the world are united in spirit. Here is an uplifting book that, with its simple lyrics, can also help teach children to read and sing. A historical note and a musical arrangement are included.
About the Author
Floyd Cooper is the acclaimed illustrator of a number of children's books, including Joyce Carol Thomas's I Have Heard of a Land and Eloise Greenfield's Grandpa's Face. He received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor for Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea in 1994 and again for Meet Danitra Brown in 1995. He lives in West Orange, NJ, but he often returns to Oklahoma, where his family still lives on the farm his great-grandfather staked in a land run. In His Own Words...
"The oldest of four children (two sisters and one brother), I remember a healthy amount of 'devilment' as a child, and also drawing a lot. My earliest recollection is of drawing a nice, big, sprawling picture of a duck on the side of our house. You can imagine my dad's reaction, but I have been drawing ever since.
"I grew up in Oklahoma, where I had plenty of creeks to swim in and an uncle who owned a ranch, which led me to an interest in rodeos. Though I never rode professionally, I did put in some years falling from bucking broncos onto a 'mattress' of manure.
"I studied art at the University of Oklahoma, and apprenticed with Mark English, who has had a great influence on my work. But I had no idea as a young man how to make a living as an artist. I was just certain that if I never made it to New York, I'd never give it my best shot, so I moved east.
"I picked up some textbook work in the 1980s before I found an agent. In 1988 my agent sent me a manuscript. I assumed that it was another textbook job, only to rind out that it had been written by Eloise Greenfield, that it was a picture book, and that I would be getting royalties! I've been illustrating picture books ever since.
"Illustrating children's books is a very exciting thing to do because it gives you the chance to have an impact on the way the world will be in the future. I believe that affection for other cultures leads to understanding, and I strive to create books that are a bridge between cultures. My personal goal is to take the reader on a journey into the story, to get a sense of the smells, the atmosphere, and the emotions conveyed by the characters.
"I feel children are on the front line in improving society. This might sound a little heavy, but it's true. I feet that children's picture books play an important role in counteracting all the violence and other negative images conveyed in the media."