Lift Your Light a Little Higher: The Story of Stephen Bishop: Slave-Explorer (With Audio Recording)

by Heather Henson, Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

Overview

Grab your lantern and follow the remarkable and world-famous Mammoth Cave explorer—and slave—Stephen Bishop as he guides you through the world’s largest cave system in this remarkable homage to the resilience of human nature.

Welcome to Mammoth Cave. It’s 1840 and Stephen Bishop is the perfect guide.

By the light of his lantern, the deepest, biggest cave in all of the United States is revealed. Down here, beneath the earth, he’s not just an enslaved person. He’s a pioneer. He knows the cave’s twists and turns. It taught him to not be afraid of the dark.

And watching all the visitors write their names on the ceiling? Well, it taught him how to read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481420969
Publisher:	Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Heather Henson lives on a farm in Kentucky with her husband and three children, is the managing director of the Pioneer Playhouse, and is the author of several critically acclaimed picture books and novels, including Dream of Night, The Whole Sky, and the Christopher Award–winning That Book Woman.

Bryan Collier is a beloved illustrator known for his unique style combining watercolor and detailed collage. He is a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient for Trombone Shorty, Dave the Potter, Martin’s Big Words, and Rosa. His books have won many other awards as well, including six Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards. His recent books include By and By, Thurgood, The Five O’Clock Band, and Between the Lines. He lives in New York with his family.

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2016
In the middle of the 19th century, Stephen Bishop, an enslaved African-American man, gained attention for the subterranean tours he conducted of Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave. Writing in the imagined voice of Bishop himself, Henson (Grumpy Grandpa) allows readers to embark on one such tour as Bishop describes the shadowy environs of the cave, the cruel reality of slavery, and the power inherent in his role as “Guide—a man able to walk before other men, not behind.” Collier’s (Trombone Shorty) collages strongly evoke the dark, claustrophobic confines of the cave system, as well as haunting moments of both strength and injustice (silhouettes of human faces appear along the flank of an ox, emphasizing the status of slaves as property). Henson’s poetic narrative is lyrical, but at times vague; a helpful closing note expands on what little is known of Bishop’s life. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2016-06-28
This story whispers of the life of a man most contemporary American readers should know but don’t.Stephen Bishop, born circa 1821, had intimate knowledge of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, where he served as guide for visitors who traveled far to tour the underground passageways. Despite the ban against teaching slaves to read, Stephen acquired literacy and wrote his name on the ceiling of Mammoth Cave by using smoke from a lighted candle. Henson weaves Bishop’s impressive scientific discoveries of cave life into the sparse narrative, demonstrating the magnitude of his contributions despite that little is known of his life or death. Collier’s strikingly symbolic collage illustrations often draw a stark line between what appears above and below the ground, emphasizing the covert nature of Bishop’s achievements. Perhaps the book’s most memorable illustration appears when, speaking in Bishop’s voice, Henson says that slaves are “bought and sold…same as an ox or mule” while overlapping silhouettes of black and brown textured faces appear within the collage cutout of an ox plowing a field. Rich backmatter will help young readers understand more about the historical context in which Bishop lived and died. A story that recovers an important piece of African-American history inextricably tied to the history of Mammoth Cave, a national monument visited by 2 million people each year. (Picture book/biography 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews