🟢 Book Review: Soul Step by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Kelly McWilliams, and Briana Mukodiri Uchendu
- Elizabeth "Libby"Richard
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
RATING: 🟢 Recommended
REVIEWER: Elizabeth "Libby"Richard
REVIEW METHODOLOGY: Louise Derman-Spark's Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books from the Social Justice Books Project, Teaching for Change
stomp clap
flip flap
go hard
snap back
–From Soul Step
In Soul Step written by mother-daughter team Jewell Parker Rhodes and Kelly McWilliams, and illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, a young African American girl learns about the discrimination and prejudice her mother faces in the predominantly white neighborhood they live in. To combat the feelings of not belonging and face the real condition of racism, the mother decides to soul step. The little girl is perplexed about how her mother can dance even when she’s sad, so her mother sends her on a journey to discover how her sorority sisters use soul step throughout their lives. As the little girl visits one of her mother’s sorority sisters after the other, she learns the importance of stomp clap, flip flap, go hard, snap back, and how the women use stepping to overcome the challenges they face.
The book is about stepping, a form of soul nourishing dance whose tradition goes back to slavery, aids in relieving stress from oppression due to societal norms and supremacy systems, can make you feel better after being bullied, is a way to show resistance, feel proud and have joy. Each woman tells a story about what soul step means to them and how they used soul step to get through good times and bad. She learns how step can be nourishment to the soul,
As the little girl experiences the same sadness at her school that her mother experienced in their neighborhood, she joins a dance team with other girls to experience the same joy, pride, and strength through soul step. Together the girls become "thunder a big ole drum. stomp clap, flip flap, go hard, snap back." The book sheds light on the oppression and racism African Americans face while providing a way to cope with the challenges of life through soul step.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
REVIEWER BIO: Elizabeth "Libby" Richards was a student at Portland State University and took Zapoura Newton-Calvert's Social Justice in K12 Curriculum course. Their volunteer work was a partnership with Reading Is Resistance and the Social Justice Books Project from Teaching for Change.
That review on Soul Step highlights resilience and finding strength in tough circumstances, which made me reflect on my own academic challenges. Facing an online Accounting exam can feel just as overwhelming, balancing numbers, time, and stress. I once relied on Take My Online Exam Pro, and their guidance helped me manage the process effectively. It wasn’t just about passing but gaining clarity and confidence, much like the themes the book conveys.