Picture Book Review: Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars by Gary Golio

Image: Penguin Random House

Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars by Gary Golio. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. unpgd. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Random House, August 25, 2020. 9781524738884. (Review of electronic review copy courtesy of publisher.)

A favorite author and a favorite illustrator have a book releasing next Tuesday. It really should not be missed. Dark Was the Night opens with a watery double-page spread of deep space. The year is 1977 and Voyager I is headed out into the universe containing samples of human civilization, including a variety of music from different eras and cultures. One of the songs included on this "Golden Record" is a song called Dark Was the Night sung by Blind Willie Johnson. 

Quick, without consulting Google, do you know who Blind Willie Johnson is? I sure didn't. Now I do, thanks to this luminous picture book biography.

Willie Johnson was born in 1897. He loved to sing from an early age so his father made him a cigar box guitar. He lost his mother as well as his sight at an early age, but found comfort in his singing, at church as well as at home. Eventually, he made his was out into the world, traveling by train around Texas to sing in the streets where he was discovered by a man from a record company. He recorded his songs, which did well and were played on the radio thanks to his rough and raspy vocals and unique guitar playing. 

Mr. Lewis' liquid, impressionistic water color paintings quietly entrance, from the portrait of mother and child that conveys joy and possibility to the final portrait where the subject is bathed in yellow. Each spread pulls the reader in and invites lingering. I've read through this book many times and I find some new little detail to appreciate with each visit. 

We learn in the author's note that details about Mr. Johnson's life are scarce. Thanks to the work of music historians, not all was lost and Mr. Golio provides five titles for music-loving researchers to consult. How easily details of this innovative musician might have been lost had not some dedicated music historians not begun researching shortly after Mr. Johnson's death in 1945? Food for a rich class discussion.

I am a firm believer that one is never too old for picture books. I think they belong in all classrooms, and not just language arts classrooms, all the way through high school. Picture book biographies, in particular are quite useful as a means of enticing students to read longer biographies. Dark Was the Night will encourage students to think beyond the narrow confines of their world. While there is much to discuss here, there is also much to sit with and just quietly contemplate. 

In his note, Mr. Golio encourages the reader to search out a recording of the song online. I've read several of his books with my students, such as Bird and Diz and Strange Fruit. Bookmarking the link to the appropriate recording extends the experience beyond the book. While online, visit E.B. Lewis' website too. I cannot wait to share this with my students. Dark Was the Night releases on August 25. Remember how I said don't miss it up top? Don't.