Books with author Ashley Bryan

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations. Come, sing, and celebrate!

From celebrated author and illustrator Ashley Bryan comes a deeply moving memoir about serving in the segregated army during World War II and how love and the pursuit of art sustained him.In May of 1942, at the age of eighteen, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a black soldier in a segregated army.He endured the terrible lies white officers told about the black soldiers to isolate them from anyone who showed kindness including each other. He received worse treatment than even Nazi POWs. He was assigned the grimmest, most horrific tasks, like burying fallen soldiers...but was told to remove the black soldiers first because the media didn t want them in their newsreels. And he waited and wanted so desperately to go home, watching every white soldier get safe passage back to the United States before black soldiers were given even a thought.For the next forty years, Ashley would keep his time in the war a secret. But now, he tells his story, the story of the kind people who supported him, the story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark, and the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again.Including letters and diary entries, this illuminating and moving memoir by Newbery Honor winning illustrator Ashley Bryan is both a lesson in history and a testament to hope.

Ashley Bryan says, "I have subtitled this collection A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals. It could really be called Spirituals for the Young and ALL! And so it could be, for the songs it presents can be enjoyed by people of every age and every level of musical skill. Mr. Bryan goes on to say, "Wherever I travel, people sing these songs. Often they do not know that they are singing spirituals. They associate them with their churches, schools, camps, or clubs and are surprised when told that they are singing spirituals. "Almost a thousand of these songs have been collected since the end of the Civil War. They are unique in the song literature of the world and are considered America's most distinctive contribution to world music." Of the thousand African-American spirituals that are known, Mr. Bryan has here chosen twenty, among them some of the best known and best loved, including the title song, "All Night, All Day," and such others as "This Little Light of Mine,""When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." For each, David Manning Thomas has created an interesting piano accompaniment in support of the melody and has indicated guitar chords. Best of all, full-color pictures capture the spirit and essence of many of the songs to make this a book that can both be used as a fine songbook and treasured for its beauty; for the warmth, liveliness, and inspirational depth of its illustrations.

Who built the stable where Jesus lay? Multiple Coretta Scott King Award–winner Ashley Bryan has a very good idea in this beautiful and moving new layer to the nativity story.Riding in an open Jeep across the plains of Africa, beloved and nationally acclaimed author and illustrator Ashley Bryan found himself comparing the terrain to Jerusalem, and the bumpy journey to that of Mary’s travel on a donkey. And he came up with a question: Who built the manger where Mary and Joseph found shelter?The answer is conveyed in this beautifully crafted picture book that envisions a young boy, a shepherd and carpenter both who, out of love and kindness, cleared the way for another shepherd and carpenter to be born on Christmas day.The boy looked in the infant’s eyes And in his heart he knew The babe would be a carpenter He’d be a shepherd too.Told in gentle rhyme and illustrated with Ashley Bryan’s enormous talent, this is a picture book that captures the reason for the season in all its wonder and beauty. Who Built the Stable? is a celebration of Christmas, of the kindness of children, and of the new hope born with each new baby.

Walk Together Children is a collection of spirituals songs brought to life from award winning children’s book author and illustrator Ashley Bryan. Lovingly updated and with a foreword from Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, recipient of the 2011 Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for lifetime achievement, this edition includes such favorites as “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands;” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot;” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Each song is accompanied by linocut illustrations that capture the strength and spirit of the music.

From celebrated legend Ashley Bryan, a lavishly depicted cautionary tale of fearlessness and many-headed monsters.There was a little boy who knew no fear... Nope, no fear at all. Not even when his grandma warns him of the giants—the two-headed giant and his three-headed brother, that is. Because this wild, fearless boy isn’t scared of any many-headed giants at all! So one day, he slips away. He just takes off and leaves his grandma behind. After all, what does he care? He’s got his mangoes, and the sunshine, and his flute. And he isn’t scared one bit. But our boy isn’t really bad, you know; just wild. And soon he misses his grandma. So he turns around, and runs right into—those monsters. He’s about to discover that he may indeed have something to fear…their terrible, horrible singing voices! This trickster tale from the French Artilles will have readers toe-tapping and trying out their own singing voices.

Beloved storyteller and creator Ashley Bryan reveals the vibrant spirit of found objects in this magnificent treasury of poetry and puppets.Little Cranberry Island. It’s a small island, with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, but it’s got more than its share of treasures—including the magnificent Ashley Bryan himself, a world-renowned storyteller and author of such classics as All Night, All Day and Beautiful Blackbird. Daily, for decades, Ashley has walked up and down the beach, stopping to pick up sea glass, weathered bones, a tangle of fishing net, an empty bottle, a doorknob. Treasure. And then, with glue and thread and paint and a sprinkling of African folklore, Ashley breathes new life into these materials. Others might consider it beach junk, but Ashley sees worlds of possibilities. Ashley Bryan’s two-foot-tall hand puppets swell with personality and beauty, and in this majestic collection they make their literary debut, each with a poem that tells of their creation and further enlivens their spirit.

I’m Going to Sing is a collection of spirituals songs brought to life from award winning children’s book author and illustrator Ashley Bryan. Lovingly updated and with a foreword from Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith, recipient of the 2011 Coretta Scott King–VirginiaHamilton Practitioner Award for lifetime achievement, this edition includes favorites songs accompanied by linocut illustrations that capture the strength and spirit of the music.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations. Come, sing, and celebrate!