by Patricia McKissack; artwork by Leo & Diane Dillon
Presented in verse poems accompanied by powerful illustrations, Never Forgotten tells the story of a Mende blacksmith who raises his son with love and the help of the four elements — Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. When his son is captured into slavery, the elements pursue him and carry his story back to his father. In her author's note, Patricia McKissack shares that the inspiration for these poems was her curiosity about how African music and literature represent those taken by the slave trade; she answers with a poetic and relatable story of boundless love.