This single poem book is a collaboration between award-winning author and poet Kwame Dawes and Coretta Scott King medal winner Tom Feelings. Both men had been struck by the similarities of the faces of children they had seen in their travels, evidence of the underlying bond linking the young people together. This book celebrates the shared beauty and heritage of people of African descent living all over the world, both past and present.
The poem is a lyrical musing, a quiet journey through the history of the African Diaspora. Dawes’ words tie closely with the illustrations. The poet’s vision focuses the reader’s attention on the eyes “full of ancient stories and dreams”. The poem urges us to look closely, to view beneath the surface, to see the common roots of a people. The cities named in the poem recall past struggles, while the overall feeling is one of achievement, encouraging African-Americans to take pride in having “survived the journeys well.”
Feeling’s lovely line drawings are as distinctive as photographs, giving the reader a detailed contemporary picture, yet evoking a sense of timelessness. The expressive eyes of his portraits show the emotions of his subjects: anger, shyness, hope, kindness, wariness, and calm determination. The illustrations give the reader a glimpse into the culture and daily life of the children portrayed and into their dreams, as well.
A map of the places mention in the book is included, as well as an afterword by Jerry Pinkney.
One could share this book with children in February for Black History Month or as a lead-in to an art or writing activity. Remind students that artists look closely at the world around them. They notice patterns, lines, and colors. Ask students to draw an object of their choosing in close-up, showing fine details or ask them to write a paragraph describing the object using their sense of sight, feel, smell, etc.
Dawes, Kwame. 2005. I Saw Your Face. New York: Dial Books.
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