Review of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," by Langston Hughes and illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Review of

The Negro Speaks of Rivers, by Langston Hughes and illustrated by E. B. Lewis ISBN 978076818679

Five out of five stars

 “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is a short and powerful piece of verse by Langston Hughes that recapitulates human history where it was synchronized with the flow of a mighty river. The rivers mentioned are the Euphrates, Congo, Nile and Mississippi.

 A line of the verse appears on each two-page section with an illustration covering both pages. They demonstrate people interacting with the rivers, sometimes fishing or casting nets, playing, traveling and in one moving caption, sleeping in a hammock near the flow.

 Rivers are the classic example of something that never seems to change yet differs from moment to moment. Hughes captures the symbiotic nature of the relationship of humans to the flowing rivers. It is a poem that should be read, enjoyed and dissected in literature classes. This book will allow that to be done in elementary school.