God Bless the Child is a masterpiece: visually stunning and emotionally appealing.

Taking the words to Billie Holiday's and Arthur Herzog Jr.'s bluesy "God Bless the Child" as his text and inspiration, Pinkney depicts a family's move in the 1930s from the rural South to the industrialized North in what was known as the Great Migration.

His exquisite "slice of life" watercolor paintings are wonderfully atmospheric, capturing perfectly the period and people.

The final page is one of hope, and the promise of a better future. The single painting shows a young boy sitting in a classroom holding a book, talking with his teacher. As Pinkney notes in an afterword, "At the time 'God Bless the Child' was written, education was largely a privilege of the wealthy . . . Free public education was prized as the great equalizer—the stairway out of poverty for those with the courage and opportunity to climb it."

This book is a labor of love. One can see this clearly in the facial expressions, the gestures, even the postures of the characters. No detail is neglected. Each page feels like an inexorable progression forward—even the endpapers. (The front endpapers show what appears to be a cabin's rough, wooden walls, while the endpapers in the back of the book show painted wallpaper.)

This book receives our highest recommendation. District-wide purchase strongly encouraged.

Reviewed by the teachers at Education Oasis.