Bridges Instead of Walls

The Story of Mavis Staples

By: Mavis Staples, Carole Boston Weatherford

Narrated by: Mavis Staples, Adenrele Ojo

Legendary singer and Civil Rights activist Mavis Staples has teamed with an award-winning children’s poet to share her rousing life story in this spectacular picture book, adapted for audio.

At 85, Mavis Staples is still singing in front of large audiences and sharing her message of love, faith, and justice. She’s been performing since age eight as part of her family’s gospel group The Staple Singers, and has become one of America’s most admired musicians, with multiple Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Mavis has been more than a thrilling singer; she has also stood alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., at numerous Civil Rights protests where her voice was a rallying cry to the country. Now she and acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford bring her story and her inspiring message to young people in this poetic audiobook.

Critic reviews

"A resonant profile of the great singer and Civil Rights activist. A moving look back at a long and storied career." —Kirkus Review

★ “This engaging picture-book biography offers especially rich insights into Mavis Staples of the legendary Staple Singers gospel group. The lyrical text includes lines from gospel classics and flows freely; the vivid illustrations aptly capture the closeness and passion of the Staples family. A fitting tribute to an inspiring legend." —Booklist, starred review

"Staples’s love for herhometown Chicago and gospel music and dedication to civil rights recur throughout the book, while Walthall’s illustrations, employing portraiture and era-specific images, complement the direct narrative." —Publishers Weekly

"The narrative is presented in rhyming lines, emphasizing the family’s humble beginnings faith convictions, Pops Staples as a patriarchal figure, and what it meant to be a part of a musical family touring the United States. The text is filled with vocabulary words in a descriptive, poetic rendition suited for mature readers who can understand the power of music in Black communities. The digital illustrations accentuate oversized human characters and infuse the background with musical figures and decorative white and rainbow waves to denote the presence of music throughout the book. The color palette comprises white and shades of blue, brown, and purple, transporting readers back in history as they accompany award-winning Staples on this biographical journey. An inspiring picture book forolder children who love biographies, for use in units covering the importance of music in the Civil RightsMovement." —School Library Journal