Overview

Contributions by Jennifer Ansbach, Jani L. Barker, Melissa Bedford, Helen Bond, Wanda M. Brooks, Susan Browne, Sabrina Carnesi, Emily Cardinali Cormier, Y. Falami Devoe, Bahar Eshraq, Latrice Ferguson, Catharine Kane, Michelle H. Martin, Devika Mehra, Ngozi Onuora, Lauren Rizzuto, Shelly Shaffer, Bryanna Tidmarsh, Ann Van Wig, Annette Wannamaker, and Raen Parker Washington A major figure in African American children’s literature, Mildred D. Taylor (b. 1943), has been publishing groundbreaking, award-winning books for fifty years, including Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Song of the Trees, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, The Friendship, The Road to Memphis, and The Land. Taylor’s renowned Logan family saga has become a staple in classrooms and libraries, resonating internationally with its profound impact on readers. Her significance in literature extends beyond captivating storytelling. She has effectively illuminated the struggles and triumphs of African American families, challenging societal norms and shedding light on historical injustices. Through compelling narratives rooted in personal experiences and family history, Taylor has enriched the literary landscape and sparked crucial conversations about race, resilience, and the enduring power of love and courage in the face of adversity. Yet, her significant literary contributions have not received the critical recognition they deserve. Seeking to fill that gap, Song of the Land: Celebrating the Works of Mildred D. Taylor, brings together creative and critical responses to Taylor’s work and ongoing legacy. The chapters in this anthology represent an array of disciplines and theoretical lenses, highlighting the impact of African American children’s literature. Song of the Land is an invitation to learn more about Taylor’s work, which lays bare the dangers of white supremacy and racism in American society.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sarah Layzell ,  Tammy L. Mielke ,  Michelle H. Martin
Publisher:   University Press of Mississippi
Imprint:   University Press of Mississippi
ISBN:  

9781496858238

ISBN 10:   1496858239
Pages:   328
Publication Date:   15 August 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Poetic Tribute: An Oriki for Mildred Y. Falami Devoe Introduction Michelle H. Martin Poetic Tribute: Homemade Love: Sower. Weaver. Receiver. Raen Parker Washington Part 1: The Self: Intersectionality and Insider/Outsider Perspectives The Story in the Silence: Reading Between the Lines in Mildred D. Taylor’s Logan Family Saga Latrice Ferguson ""I Wanted to Write a Truthful History"": Intersections of Critical Race Theory and Gender Schema in Mildred D. Taylor’s Work Shelly Shaffer, Melissa Bedford, and Ann Van Wig Beyond the Veil: In Search of Duboisian Double Consciousness in the Works of Mildred D. Taylor Helen Bond Racial Education and Audience in All the Days Past, All the Days to Come Jani L. Barker Part 2: The Self: Reimagining the Logans Re(cover)y of the Logan Family Saga Ngozi Onuora and Sabrina Carnesi Re/figuring the Child-Signifier and Agency in the Film Adaptation of Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Devika Mehra How the Logans Travel to the East: Exploring the Persian Translations of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Friendship, and The Well Bahar Eshraq Part 3: The World Outside: White Supremacy, Justice, and the Land White Supremacy and the Black Storyteller’s Narrative Unveiling Susan Browne and Wanda Brooks ""Don’t Speak for the Trees—Listen"": Mildred D. Taylor’s Song of the Trees for Environmental Justice Lauren Rizzuto Contested Space: The Black Agrarian Tradition in Mildred D. Taylor’s The Land Emily Cardinali Cormier Her Bandage Hides Two Festering Sores That Once Perhaps Were Eyes: ""Justice"" in the Logan Family Saga and To Kill a Mockingbird Catharine Kane Part 4: The World Beyond: Legacy, Activism, and Education Disrupting Mavericks: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Hate U Give, and Critical Race Theory Annette Wannamaker Care Ethics and Activism in Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give Bryanna Tidmarsh Blending Fact and Fiction: All the Days Past, All the Days to Come as a Novel of Black Resistance Jennifer Ansbach List of Contributors

Reviews

Song of the Land is a testament to the richness of Mildred Taylor’s legacy and to the diverse practices that enrich our understanding of Black children’s literature."" - Karen Michele Chandler, author of Tending to the Past: Selfhood and Culture in Children's Narratives about Slavery and Freedom

Author Information

Sarah Layzell is a writer and editor. Their research has focused on economics in children’s literature and sports in children’s literature. Layzell is author of the children’s novel, Cottonopolis. Tammy L. Mielke is an English language arts teacher and academic. Her research focuses on the ways in which culture is represented in literature intended for children and young adults. Her previous publications include a history of illustrations of Little Black Sambo and responses to African American dialect in children’s literature in the 1930s. She has also published on steampunk, representations of religion in YA fiction, and the concept of flow in coteaching contexts. Michelle H. Martin became the Beverly Cleary Endowed Professor in Children and Youth Services in the Information School at University of Washington in 2016, and she was the inaugural Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy at the University of South Carolina from 2011-2016. Her current research project, Dream Keepers for Children of the Sun, is a critical analysis of the collaborative and individual works that Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps wrote for children during their 40-year friendship. Martin co-founded with Dr. Rachelle Washington Read-a-Rama (www.Read-a-Rama.org), a non-profit that uses children’s books as the springboard for programming.

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