Brick by Brick--The Little Told Tale of the Building of Our First President's Home

     During the beginning of last week, we placed a wide variety of grade appropriate books on our special spotlight shelf, detailing the life of the late Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday our nation will be commemorating on Monday.  As I looked across the shelf at the end of the school day,  I hesitated.  Although I felt that we had a nice selection of stories that our children would appreciate and check out to read, I felt that something was missing.  Knowing that this holiday also coincides with the inauguration of our President's second term, I knew that we needed to have something related to this event.  It was late in the day, and I decided to give it some thought until tomorrow.

     However, when I arrived home, there was a large package of new books from the kind publishers at HarperCollins.  As I opened the package and took out the books, much to my complete astonishment, turned out to be just the kind of book that I was looking for, that would fit perfectly alongside Dr. King's books on our shelf.
     Brick by Brick, by the Coretta Scott King Award-Winning team of author Charles R. Smith, Jr and Illustrator Floyd Cooper, tell us the little-told tale of how our country's very first President's home was built from the collaboration of many hands.  These hands belonged to newly arrived immigrants, while other hands were those that belonged to free African-Americans.  And, when there weren't enough of workers to assist in the construction of what would become the first White House, the government looked to slaves to add to the work force. 
      Smith's pose is filled with pure emotion as he explains how deeply grueling this work was on the hands of the slaves involved in building this symbol of our nation.  "Chiseling, carving, and transporting stone, slave hands ache, dark skin to white bone.  Slave hands blister under a bright, hazy sun; slave hands toil until each day is done."  The indignities that these hardworking men, both young and old suffered, most especially by their owners, who we learn, kept most of their shillings earned from days work, are etched in Cooper's captivating illustrations.  But, with each shilling that they were able to save, each slave was able to move towards the ultimate reward--- buying their freedom.
     This absolutely beautifully written and illustrated book is a must read for any classroom discussion about the impressive role that African-American people played in the creation of one of the most famous symbols of our nations history.

Brick by Brick
Written By Charles R. Smith, Jr.
Illustrated By Floyd Cooper
Publisher:  Amistad (A division of HarperCollins Publishers)
Published in January of 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-192082-0
Retails for: $17.99
For ages 5 thru 8
Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com