Never Forgotten

Written by Patricia McKissack

Narrated by Lizan Mitchell

A 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book, Never Forgotten is an affecting story of slavery from Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack. This "poetic celebration of loss and redemption" (Kirkus Reviews) takes place in West Africa, where a young boy is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Left behind, the boy's father faces his grief - but then hope springs from the darkness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781470340148

Patricia McKissack

Patricia McKissack (1944-2017) was a children's author who published more than 100 books of fiction and nonfiction, with a particular interest in the African American experience. She received a Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement as well as three individual Coretta Scott King Awards for A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter, The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, and Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters (all written with her husband, Fredrick McKissack).

Reviews for Never Forgotten

[alf275 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Title: Never ForgottenAuthor: Patricia C. McKissackIllustrator: Leo & Diane DillonPublisher: Schwartz & WadePublication Date: October 11, 2011Genre: FolklorePlot Summary:Dinga, the blacksmith, and his wife have a son, but during labor the wife dies. People do not think Dinga can raise his son on his own, but he is not alone. He has the mother elements to help him. Each mother element blesses his son and they decide on the name Musafa. As Musafa grows he has a great relationship with all of the mother elements, especially wind. He becomes his father’s apprentice and creates beautiful, useless at the time, things. Dinga knows there is war going on between his home and white men, but he is not as cautious as he should be. He sends his son out to gather wood and his son never returns. He learns that his son has been taken captive, but that Musafa is strong and, unlike most of the slaves, refuses to die. After years of waiting for more news Dinga finds out that his son is a blacksmith apprentice in Charleston, SC, and that Musafa remembers his past. Dinga finds happiness in this news. He announces to all that his son is safe and happy, but no one truly believes him. The people think he has gone mad in losing his son, but refuse to take away his happiness. Character Analysis:Dinga:•Blacksmith•Loving father•Can communicate with the Mother elementsMusafa:•Son of Dinga•blacksmith apprentice•creates beautiful things•Strong and stubbornMother elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind•All love Musafa and would do whatever possible to protect himCritique:Genre: FolklorePersonal Evaluation:This book gave a very different view on slavery. It didn’t just give you facts, but told a personal story. This made me connect to the victims and families of people that were enslaved. The illustrations gave it a real feeling of authentication. It felt like I was sitting around a campfire, being told old stories about the past, kind of how they do in cartoons. They will have very primitive drawings when it is a recall of something that happened long long ago.

[sbutler9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is one about slavery. It is written in prose as a series of poems all telling a story. The first is one of Africans telling each other to remember how they were treated, how families lost each other, and then it tells such a story. A father has a son and his wife dies in childbirth. He decides to raise the son, Mufasa, on his own along with the help of the four elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. The father is a blacksmith and teaches his son the skill as he grows. One day the son is captured while out gathering wood and, though all the elements try to rescue him, in the end he is sold to a plantation in the Carolinas. The father grieves for three years until finally Wind brings back the news that Mufasa is an apprentice to a blacksmith, hopefully to be freed one day soon, and is happy as he works using the skill his father taught him. The book closes with a poem telling how this was just one story of millions--so many lost their children. In the end, "Remember the wisdom of Mother Dongi: 'Kings may come and go, but the family endures forever.' Think on that when the silence comes." 4th-5th.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A stunning, profoundly moving collaboration between a superb writer and two amazingly gifted artists.

[alyson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Powerful story about a African boy captured by the slave trade. Beautiful illustrations by the Dillons. You better have some tissues ready when you read this.

[rwilliamson_53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Despite its picture book format this is a book that can be used from upper elementary through high school. In the author’s note Mrs. McKissack tells of her curiosity about how African literature and music portrayed those who were taken into slavery. This beautiful book is based on a legend she heard in Barbados that a hurricane was Mother Africa in search of her children. Never Forgotten uses verse to tell the story of Dinga the blacksmith whose beloved son Musafa is stolen. Dinga relies on the Four Elements who have helped raise Musafa to find the lost boy. Ultimately Wind reports that Musafa is now a successful blacksmith in Charleston, South Carolina. Never Forgotten is a novel-in-verse it must be read aloud. The woodcut style illustrations in gentle colors by Leo and Diane Dillon combine full page illustrations, with borders across the top or down the side of the page. I will definitely share this book the our drama teacher.

[darlingdumpling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Q5P4Absolutely beautiful illustrations, unique prose, inclusion of cultural traditions and values and native language.

[replayguy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Never Forgotten is a beautifully illustrated story of the slave trade and of family. The story centers around a boy who is stolen by slave traders and taken to America and a father in Africa searching for him. With the help of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, the father learns his son has been taken to Charleston, South Carolina, and works as a blacksmith--just like his father in Africa. McKissack craft fully weaves myths into the telling of the story; for instance, describing hurricanes as "Mother Africa in search of her lost children." Perhaps the best part of this book are the amazing illustrations of Leo and Diane Dillon.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful combination of powerful artwork and powerful words create a book that's perfect for classroom units on slavery. Put this book with some African and African-American folktales and you also have some great resources for a storytelling unit. This is definitely a book that won't soon be forgotten.

[nzingha_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

inspiring and awesome!