Child Tells 'Uptown' From a Different Point of View

Brittany Pickett
Around Campus Editor

   Sometimes the best kinds of stories are told from the view point of a child. In the Coretta Scott King Awarded book  “Uptown," written by  Bryan Collier, he does just that.

    Collier writes about a young boy’s view of growing up in a place he calls Uptown, in Harlem, N.Y. The story begins by the young boy looking out his window and describing the Metro-North Train, saying, “Uptown is a caterpillar.”

   He says, “Uptown is chicken and waffles served around the clock.”  The boy said it might seem like a weird combination, but it works.

   The book describes different aspects of Uptown, including  the houses, things to do and music of the town. One of my favorite lines from the book is  “Uptown is a stage.” I found that line to be true through out this book. Each place he talks about has something different that makes it a stage, as if he were in a play. Colorful collage pictures fill the book with the boy's descriptions of Uptown.  It brings the book to life.

   To read this book, visit the Fred J. Talyor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The book opened my eyes to another world through the eyes of a child.

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