ORIGINAL ART
Original sketches and paintings by John Holyfield created for the new children's book
"HERE COMES THE BAND"
Original sketches and paintings by John Holyfield created for the new children's book
"HERE COMES THE BAND"
In this ode to a Historically Black Colleges and Universities tradition, a young fan watches enthralled from the stands as a marching band arrives on the field.
The football game may be tied, but all eyes turn from the scoreboard as halftime begins. Drum majors command attention with impressive backbends and splits. The percussion section rattles the air with booming bass drums and sizzling cymbals. Horns buzz, color guard flags unfurl, dancers leap, and the band weaves dazzling formations across the field. Caught up in every beat, the young Black narrator cheers, marches in place from the stands, and dreams of one day joining the spectacle. Transcending simple description, Strickland’s buoyant verse moves to the rhythms of an HBCU halftime show. Band terminology, traditions, and rollicking rhymes surge forward in a cadence that mirrors the music itself, yielding the spotlight whenever Holyfield’s magnificent acrylic illustrations demand it. And demand it they do. Richly saturated spreads pulse with movement, musicality, and Black joy, capturing not only the precision and pageantry of each performance group but also the communal exhilaration radiating between performers and crowd. Readers new to marching bands and those long-steeped in their thrills will be equally hooked from the first page all the way to the last, where informative notes from the creators trace the enduring cultural significance of HBCU marching bands, as well as their own personal connections to the topic.
Halftime is game time—and now storytime, too.
- Kirkus Starred Review -
The most trusted voice in book reviews since 1933
The football game may be tied, but all eyes turn from the scoreboard as halftime begins. Drum majors command attention with impressive backbends and splits. The percussion section rattles the air with booming bass drums and sizzling cymbals. Horns buzz, color guard flags unfurl, dancers leap, and the band weaves dazzling formations across the field. Caught up in every beat, the young Black narrator cheers, marches in place from the stands, and dreams of one day joining the spectacle. Transcending simple description, Strickland’s buoyant verse moves to the rhythms of an HBCU halftime show. Band terminology, traditions, and rollicking rhymes surge forward in a cadence that mirrors the music itself, yielding the spotlight whenever Holyfield’s magnificent acrylic illustrations demand it. And demand it they do. Richly saturated spreads pulse with movement, musicality, and Black joy, capturing not only the precision and pageantry of each performance group but also the communal exhilaration radiating between performers and crowd. Readers new to marching bands and those long-steeped in their thrills will be equally hooked from the first page all the way to the last, where informative notes from the creators trace the enduring cultural significance of HBCU marching bands, as well as their own personal connections to the topic.
Halftime is game time—and now storytime, too.
- Kirkus Starred Review -
The most trusted voice in book reviews since 1933
SKETCHES
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PAINTINGS
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