Never Forgotten Explained

Never Forgotten
Author:Pat McKissack
Illustrator:Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon
Country:USA
Language:English
Genre:Children's literature, picture book, poetry
Published:2011 (Schwartz & Wade Books)
Media Type:Print (hardback)
Pages:48
Isbn:9780375843846
Oclc:651153676

Never Forgotten is a 2011 picture book by Pat McKissack about a blacksmith father in West Africa who has Musafa, his son, kidnapped by slavers and with the assistance of the four elements discovers that Musafa is working in Charleston as a blacksmith's apprentice.

Reception

School Library Journal, in a review of Never Forgotten, wrote "As an author, Patricia McKissack has always had a knack for language. Her wordplay can be a delight to listen to .. or chill you to the core. Here, she does both at once." and concluded " Ms. McKissack is striding into new territory here. And while I might have tweaked that ending a bit, there’s no denying that as a visual and audible product, Never Forgotten it is difficult to find a match. .. A true, unadulterated, original."[1]

The Horn Book Magazine found "The free-verse text can weigh heavily on the ear, but the Dillons' rousing illustrations -- at once bold, complex, and lucid -- impart dramatic conviction to the thwarted Fire and the slave-boat beyond reach, the pursuing Wind peering into the Carolina blacksmith's window."[2]

Never Forgotten has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly,[3] and Kirkus Reviews[4]

It was a 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award honor book.[5]

Notes and References

  1. August 26, 2011 . Review of the Day: Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack . Elizabeth Bird . School Library Journal . Media Source Inc . February 11, 2017.
  2. Web site: Never Forgotten . kcls.bibliocommons.com . 651153676 . February 11, 2017.
  3. Web site: Never Forgotten (starred review) . The willingness to turn the dark history of the past into literature takes not just talent but courage. McKissack has both. . August 8, 2011 . Publishers Weekly . PWxyz LLC. February 11, 2017.
  4. Web site: Never Forgotten (starred review) . A totally absorbing poetic celebration of loss and redemption. . Kirkus Reviews . Kirkus Media LLC . February 11, 2017.
  5. Web site: Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present . ala.org . 5 April 2012 . American Library Association . February 11, 2017.