Hip Hop Speaks to Children

A groundbreaking new anthology of rhymes and rhythms

Hip Hop Speaks to Children is a celebration of poetry with a beat. Like Poetry Speaks to Children, the classic book and CD that started it all, it’s meant to be the beginning of a journey of discovery. Readers can immerse themselves in 51 selections from 42 poets and performers, and 30 performances on the audio CD, many recorded especially for this collection.

Some tracks on the CD are performed by the artists who created them, others are unique interpretations by admiring poets and artists. Hear a musical interpretation of Sterling Brown’s poem “Long Track Blues” and a youth performance of Elizabeth Swados’s poem “Me” plus much more!

Sample Tracks

I Have A Dream Intro By Nikki Giovanni

I Have a Dream performance by Nikki Giovanni, Oni Lasana & Val Gray Ward

Hip Hop Speaks to Children In The News:

Hip Hop Speaks to Children was chosen as a recommended title (for ages 4 to 8) for the Indie Bound's Indie Next picks list!

Hip Hop Speaks to Children was recently named a NAACP Award Nominee! See the list of Nominees for the 40th NAACP Image Awards.

Booklist recently named Hip Hop Speaks to Children one of the Top 10 art books for youth!

Hip Hop Speaks to Children makes the Publishers Weekly Top 15 Children's Picture Book Bestsellers!

"This is the way to get children interested in reading and loving poetry. Not by starting them out trying to read Emily Dickinson. A great book for both teachers and parents."
— Valerie Lewis, owner of Hicklebee's children's bookstore

Hear Nikki Giovanni talk about the importance of Hip Hop Speaks to Children.

The audio CD also includes contributions from:

• Nikki Grimes
• Queen Latifah
• Langston Hughes
• Sugarhill Gang
• Charles R. Smith, Jr.
• Stetsasonic
• James Berry
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Gary Soto
• Eloise Greenfield

Audio Samples from Hip Hop Speaks to Children:

I Have A Dream Intro By Nikki Giovanni

I Have a Dream performance by Nikki Giovanni, Oni Lasana & Val Gray Ward

The Girls in the Circle performance by Nikki Giovanni

Ham 'N' Eggs performance by Tribe Called Quest

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View pages from Hip Hop Speaks to Children:

About the Author
National Book Award nominee, Spoken Word Grammy nominee and New York Times best-selling author Nikki Giovanni leads an advisory board comprised of leading hip hop poet Willie Perdomo, Howard University professor Tony Medina, and music specialist Michele Scott.

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Comments (4)

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HBCU kidz, Inc. said:

	... My children just love this book! The CD is a true gift as they love to follow along with it independently. I have recommended it to every parent that I come in contact with to inspire FUTURE DREAMERS, LEADERS AND ACHIEVERS!
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March 23, 2010
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Paul said:

	... I LOVE this book!
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January 28, 2009
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Baby Boy Names said:

	... Wow, kids will surely love this new trend in children's books! Entertaining too.
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 21, 2009 | url
Votes: +0

BellaVida said:

	... All the children on my holiday list are getting books this year however, I want this book for myself.
	report abuse vote down vote up

November 12, 2008 | url
Votes: +0

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