R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

A praise song for a legend from the duo behind *The Roots of Rap* and *How Sweet the Sound*.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul

By Carole Boston Weatherford; Illustrated by Frank Morrison

48 pages / Athenuem/Simon & Schuster, 2020

ISBN: 978-1534452282 (HC) ASIN: B084GB8QDG (Kindle)

Book Trailer

From a creative team with multiple Caldecott Honors comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T that a queen deserves.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T riffs on Aretha Franklin’s hit song—using hyphenated terms like T-A-L-E-N-T and P-R-O-U-D as signposts—to introduce a rhyming couplets that chart her journey from the church choir to international fame. This interactive, rhyming read-aloud spotlights Franklin’s artistry and activism.

Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

I first heard Aretha Franklin’s music at home. Because my father was a fan, I listened to his albums and to soul music on the car radio.

Aretha’s string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame–its first female inductee. But she didn’t just lift her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights.

This authoritative, rhythmic picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha’s inspiring story.