Change of Heart

Change of Heart is a picture book based on a transformative experience in Lanier Phillips' life. I was unaware of Phillips before reading this picture book, but it's a good reminder of common experiences people of color have had (and sometimes continue to have) in the United States.

In 1930, Lanier was a black child in Georgia; readers will learn about what it was like to live in regular fear of the Ku Klux Klan and how Jim Crow laws kept races separated. Hatred and resentment festered inside Lanier, even as he knew they would be destructive. 

In 1941 Lanier joined the navy, hoping for an escape. Ship life was no better, with blacks expected to serve the other sailors and eat standing up in a small pantry. When their ship runs aground in the winter near Newfoundland, Lanier has to balance his fear of the ship sinking in the icy water with his fear of whether or not he will be welcomed on shore.

Lanier's reception by the Newfoundlanders was gracious and genuine; they helped him to heal with no consideration of his skin color and included him wholly and completely in their daily routines at home. This experience allowed Lanier to feel worthy for the first time, and his resentment disappeared.

The illustrations by Erin Bennett Banks are distinctive; there are bold, angular lines, and Phillips is depicted as unhappy and unsmiling for much of the book. The softening in his face at the close reinforces his new outlook.

While the topics are heavy, Alice Walsh is careful with her words, conveying honesty and truth without explicitly depicting horrifying actions taken against blacks. This would be a good introduction for children.

Any hard topic in history is worthy of a children's book so that kids can begin to learn our past and learn from it. This picture book is one of those.

Following the life of Lanier Phillips, an African-American boy from the state of Georgia, A CHANGE OF HEART (author Alice Walsh) tells how his childhood experiences, knowledge, & fear played deeply in his thoughts & experiences as a growing man. Ultimately,  those same shared fears worked to the demise of many of his fellow sailors, but for Lanier, new experiences, horrific though they were at first, and new personal knowledge work to reconfigure his thoughts. Lanier goes on to live a life he couldn't even comprehend for himself as a boy. He lives a life worthy of a place in history.

The Lanier Phillips story, as written in A CHANGE OF HEART, is a must-read for all kids, no matter their race. This book can inform and enlighten, can work as one of an array of biographies to be used while covering American history. This book would be great for kids studying Naval History. Really, there's no wrong reason to read this book. 

Lanier Phillips. Carl Brashear. Fred “Tiz” Morrison. Wesley Brown. Doris "Dorrie" Miller. Learn more, know more. Know better, do better. 

I may be a bit biased in this review, truth be told.  My husband is an African- American himself AND a retired Sonar Technician. After reading this book, I asked him if he knew of Lanier Phillips.  Indeed he did.

Lanier Phillips grew up in a horrible time in the US.  As a child he lived with the KKK on the attack, and as an adult longing to be free, he ended up instead a military serving boy.  He had dire hopes for his country or ever doing what he truly wanted to do until a tragic shipwreck that claimed every other POC on board.  Being stranded for a bit in Newfoundland made him realize that not everyone was biased against a colored man, and that he could be what he wanted to be, because caring people existed.  I really liked this story, but wish it would have gone further to tell how Lanier got into sonar school, instead of ending at Newfoundland island.  But the story is still lovely and the illustrations are unique and beautiful.