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FREEDOMWAYS                 SECOND QUARTER 1980

   There is a spirit that lives inside of you. It keeps on growin. It never dies. Sometimes, when you're afraid, it trembles. An sometimes, when you're  hurt an ready to give up, it barely flickers. But it keeps growin. It never dies. Now a long, long time ago, in a land called Africa, our ancient people worked through that spirit. To give life meanin. An to give praise. An through their spirit gave form to symbols of courage, an honor, and wisdom, an love, an strength. Symbols which live forever. Just to give praise.
And one of those symbols took form in braided hair. In poetic verse, Yarbrough tells how every braided design had a name, with the different clans and villages being identified by their own special styles. She goes on to describe the effects of the slavery holocaust on African people and their customs-but though the names and meanings of various hairstyles were lost, "the spirit" didn't die.
Sister and MeToo are encouraged to name their cornrow patterns in a rhythmic hair-name game about history that is fun and informative.
        Name it Robeson, name it Malcom . . .
            Name it Aretha, name it Nina. . . .

Sister decides on Langston Hughes because she knows one of his poems. Brother MeToo chooses . . . Batman!
When Daddy returns from work, he offers the family a night out in celebration of the children's beautiful appearance. This is a warm and sensitive family who talk openly about loving each other and embrace often.
Enhanced by Carole Byard's refined illustrations, Cornrows is a major contribution to children's literature.
                                                Nieda Spigner

                                       COMBATTIING STEROTYPES

A YOUNG GENIUS IN OLD EGYPT. By Beatrice Lumpkin. Illustrated by Peggy Lipschutz. DuSable Museum Press, Chicago, 24 pages. Single copies, $2.50, plus 50¢ postage and handling, available from DuSable Museum, 740 East 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637.

IN THE FIRST few paragraphs of this unusual children's book, the Egypt of 35 centuries ago is brought vividly to life. This Egypt is a land not only of pharaohs, temples and obelisks but also of ordinary people going about their daily tasks. These people are unmistakably Africans, with ties to the lands further south. Deftly, the author introduces the earliest known written numeration system and the great feats of Egyptian engineering within a fictional narrative that features the kind of suspenseful situations which should hold the interest of any child.
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