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About I Gotta Sing!

Sing along with Big Baby Jenkins, Pop Charlie, Great Nana, and a crew of farm animals as they shout for joy to this rendition of an African American spiritual!

From the author and illustrator team that brought you This Train Is Bound for Glory comes another riveting interpretation of a beloved African American spiritual, "I'm Goin' a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing," featuring farm animals. With illustrations that pop off the page, rhythmic text, and onomatopoeia for the youngest reader, I Gotta Sing! delivers a lively story that will quickly become a family favorite.

Hezekiah Big Baby Jenkins runs from the breakfast table to the farmyard begging Pop Charlie to sing. As he plucks his diddley bow, Pop Charlie smiles and invites the animals and Big Baby to join in the music.

I gotta sing when the Spirit says sing.
I gotta sing when the Spirit says sing.
I gotta sing when the Spirit says sing.
and shout in the Spirit of joy!

Before long, the rowdy crew are singing, mooing, oinking, and clapping along to the toe-tapping tune. But when Great Nana calls that it’s bath time because “warm water and bubbles won’t last all day,” will the party end? Or will Pop Charlie snap snap snap the tempo back to life?

The lyrics of "I’m Goin’ a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing” have evolved across the ages. At the end of the book readers will find an invitation to write a version of the song for a new generation.

About Alice Faye Duncan

Alice Faye Duncan writes for the love of music and the inspiring magic of words. Some of her picture books include Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free, Evicted!, and Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, which received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. Alice lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Product Details

40 pages | Published by WaterBrook

On Sale Date: Jul 9, 2024

Trim Size: 11 x 8-1/2

Carton Quantity: 24

Sneak Peek

Start reading I Gotta Sing!

This happy tale about a boy, a barnyard, and a bubble bath is a joyful new rendition of the African American spiritual “I’m Goin’a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing.” The story invites children to create versions of the lyrics that are spirited, fun, and meaningful to them.