Ellington Was Not a Street

Ellington Was Not a Street

Author/Illustrator: Ntozake Shange/Kadir Nelson
Genre: Poetry- Historical Fiction
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators
Age Level: 5-9 years old

Summary: Memories from the child in an African-American community are presented as she recalls the close knit group of men who "changed the world." The reader expresses the importance of African culture with poetic forms of culture that impacts the world today. The young girl feels safe, reassured and proud of her father. Ellington Was Not a Street includes information on men such as Paul Robenson, William Edward Burghhart, Ray Barretto,  Earlington Carl, John Birks, Dr. Kwame Nkumah, Edward Kennedy Ellington, Virgil Akins, and the Clovers  who lived their lives to inspire. This reflective work is written consistently without punctuation of capitalization of any words. Illustrations fill the pages with dark tones and pops of yellow. The beginning illustrations only include a couple people at a time, but by the end of the story we see the pages packed with people carrying smiling faces.


I can use this poetry book as an introduction into the students social studies lesson on African American history. This wonderfully worded poem would spike an interest in all the students.