In the Time of the Drums

by Kim L. Siegelson, Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

Overview

Mentu, an enslaved child, learns about the culture of his people from his grandmother, Twi in this Gullah folk tale of an insurrection at Teakettle Creek.

It used to be that huge ships often landed near Teakettle Creek bringing African people to work on the island's plantations. Some of the Africans who live on the island made goatskin drums and play music to remind themselves of home. Young Mentu was island born, but grandmother Twi had come from Africa, and she longs for home. Thanks to Twi, Mentu learns to play the drums and to respect the strength of the music.

One day a new ship carrying Africans docked at Teakettle Creek sends out the beat of drums—a roar from the Africans inside the ship who are pounding for their homeland. The beat calls to Twi, urging her to seek freedom. But the only place for freedom is in the murky waters of Teakettle Creek. Now Grandmother Twi must choose between the drum's lure and the island that young Mentu calls home.

The recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award in 2000, this spellbinding story is now back in print. In the Time of the Drums is an extraordinary Gullah tale of mysticism, intrigue, strength, and courage that will leave readers of all ages spellbound.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620143094
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	10/15/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	490,155
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Kim L. Siegelson is the author of several picture books, as well as a popular speaker at conferences, writing workshops, and school visits. She grew up hearing the unforgettable account of Africans walking into the water near Georgia’s Sapelo Island, and this story became the inspiration for In the Time of the Drums. Siegelson lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brian Pinkney is the acclaimed illustrator of numerous award-winning books. In addition to the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for In the Time of the Drums, he has been honored with two Caldecott Medal Honors, four Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honors, and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. Pinkney lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and frequent collaborator, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and their two children.

Editorial Reviews

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, American Library Association (ALA)
CCBC Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

From the Publisher

"Although In the Time of the Drums' is full of slavery’s unhappy history, it is a fine example of a genre paradoxically remarkable for the comfort and sustenance it delivers. Brian Pinkney’s gentle and luminous scratchboard illustrations provide subtly intelligent counterpoint to the text. On one page, for example, Mentu, who is big enough to carry two buckets of water, complains about the burden; Twi insists that he do so as practice for what is coming when he is an adult. Yet Pinkney’s illustration shows Twi carrying two buckets of water while Mentu carries only one. It is a perfect representation of one of the complex necessities of African-American life: the verbal chiding as public warning; the practice, unspoken, made kinder. It is that breath of kindness that lingers in the wake of this book—Grandmother Twi’s love for her grandson, Mentu, a love he in turn passes on to his children and they to theirs. Above all, and despite all, a currency of hope."

The New York Times Book Review

Siegelsons (The Terrible, Wonderful Tellin at Hog Hammock) lyrical retelling of a Gullah legend seems to pulse in time to the goatskin drums of the Sea Islands, the setting for this haunting tale. Young Mentu lives with his African-born grandmother Twi, an Ibo conjure woman. Though Mentu exhibits a strength beyond his years, Twi cautions him to save his energy: Soon it will be your time to be strong-strong, she says. As the two watch the workers in the fields, Twi tells her grandson how slavery has broken them....The old ways had slowly slipped away and been left behind like sweat drops in a newly plowed row. One day, a ship arrives, its cargo an entire village of Ibo people; from the hold of the ship, they hear the sound of Twi beating her goatskin drums, and think they have returned home. When they see the foreign shores, however, the Ibos sing words familiar to Twi: Say the water brought em cross the passage and it can take em back, fe true, she translates for Mentu. Working her magic, Twi leads the Ibo people into the water, where, legend has it, they walked all the way back to Africa on the bottom of the ocean. Siegelson subtly lays the groundwork for Twis double meaning, as the grandmother builds a sense of history (it takes a mighty strength not to forget). The parting scene shows Mentu teaching his daughter the songs that Twi taught him. Pinkneys (The Faithful Friend) finely etched art dramatically captures the storys simultaneous sadness and hope, contrasting such images as the ships shadowy hold with a narrow opening of sun-filled sky where Twis drumbeats fill the air, and Twi leading the Ibo people into a swirling, yet smooth sea filled with a spectrum of sherbet-colored hues as their chains melt away. At once magical yet chillingly real, this is a thought-provoking and memorable work. Ages 6-9. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 2-5-A Gullah story brought into beautiful focus by Pinkney's trademark scratchboard-on-oil drawings. Mentu and his grandmother, Twi, are plantation slaves who live on an island off the coast of Georgia. Twi knows some "powerful root magic" and still yearns for her African home. She remembers the stories and the rhythms of the drums, and shares them with Mentu. One day, a ship bearing new slaves arrives in Teakettle Creek, and the island people beat ``ancient rhythms" on their drums announcing the ship's arrival. At first the Ibos think they are back in Africa; when they realize they are not, they refuse to leave the ship. Suddenly, Twi hangs her charm bag on Mentu's neck and begins to run toward the water. Magically, the years slip off her as she beckons to the newcomers. Together, they break away from the slave catchers and disappear under the water. Mentu believes that they are walking home to freedom. This well-told story is unusual and powerful. It raises some interesting questions about the meaning and value of freedom, and of literal interpretation of text. The rhythms hint at Gullah language, but the narrative is clear, accessible, and at the same time poetic. Pinkney's illustrations enhance the power of the tale by being at once realistic and mystical. This thought-provoking story would be a splendid addition to any collection.-Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

...[F]ull of slavery's unhappy history [but still] it is a fine example of a genre paradoxically remarkable for the comfort and sustenance it delivers. Brian Pinkney's gentle and luminous scratchboard illustrations provide subtly intelligent counterpoint to the text
— The New York Times Book Review

Patricia J. Williams