Cheryl Willis Hudson

BIO

CHERYL WILLIS HUDSON is an author, editor, publisher and respected member of the children’s book community. She is cofounder with her husband Wade, of Just Us Books, Inc., an independent publishing company that focuses on Black interest books for young people as well as author of AFRO-BETS ABC Book and co-author of Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, a groundbreaking picture book. Cheryl is the author of When I Hear Spirituals, illustrated by London Ladd and published by Holiday House. Outside of her full-time immersion in children’s books, Cheryl enjoys creating handmade story quilts and singing spirituals a cappella. 

 

WHEN I HEAR SPIRTUALS 

When I Hear Spirituals is a moving exploration of how music holds memories, emotions, and empowerment. Over the course of the picture book, a girl connects with heritage, history, and a higher power through the lyrics of twelve beloved spirituals and four seminal events in African American history.

“For me, deep appreciation for the origins of spirituals is essential for understanding the truth and movement of Black history,” shares Willis Hudson. Verses from some of her favorite spirituals, like “Go, down, Moses,” “Nobody Knows the Troubles I See,” and “Rock-a-My Soul” are paired perfectly with Ladd’s evocative illustrations of Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Great Migration, and the Enslaved People’s Uprising of 1811. As part of his illustration process, Ladd spent much time researching spirituals and their significance to Black identity. 

Songs include “Go down, Moses,” “Nobody Knows the Troubles I See,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Rock-a-My Soul,” “Get on Board, Little Children,” and more.

Evocative illustrations by award-winning artist London Ladd depict important people and places in Black history and culture: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Great Migration, and the Enslaved People’s Uprising of 1811.

WHEN I HEAR SPIRTUALS