Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis
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A New York Times Best Illustrated Book Critically acclaimed author Jabari Asim and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis give readers a fascinating glimpse into the boyhood of Civil Rights leader John Lewis. John wants to be a preacher when he grows up—a leader whose words stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait? When John is put in charge of the family farm’s flock of chickens, he discovers that they make a wonderful congregation! So he preaches to his flock, and they listen, content under his watchful care, riveted by the rhythm of his voice. Celebrating ingenuity and dreaming big, this inspirational story, featuring Jabari Asim’s stirring prose and E. B. Lewis’s stunning, light-filled impressionistic watercolor paintings, includes an author’s note about John Lewis, who grew up to be a member of the Freedom Riders, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and demonstrator on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. John Lewis is now a Georgia congressman, who is still an activist today, recently holding a sit-in on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol to try to force a vote on gun violence. His March: Book Three recently won the National Book Award, as well as the American Library Association's Coretta Scott King Author Award, Printz Award, and Sibert Award.
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John Lewis wanted to be a preacher when he grew up, and he started his career with the only audience available to him as a child, his chickens. He preaches, and the chickens listen. When one of his chickens falls into the well, the boy saves her, and attributes her rescue to another of God's miracles. John Lewis even baptizes the chickens.
All of the skills Lewis will use in adulthood in his work as a preacher, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and one of the leaders of the March on Washington and the demonstration on the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
