Never Forgotten


Never Forgotten is a 2011 picture book by Pat McKissack about a blacksmith father in West Africa who has Musafa, his son, kidnapped by slavers and with the assistance of the four elements discovers that Musafa is working in Charleston as a blacksmith's apprentice.

Reception

School Library Journal, in a review of Never Forgotten, wrote "As an author, Patricia McKissack has always had a knack for language. Her wordplay can be a delight to listen to.. or chill you to the core. Here, she does both at once." and concluded " Ms. McKissack is striding into new territory here. And while I might have tweaked that ending a bit, there’s no denying that as a visual and audible product, Never Forgotten it is difficult to find a match... A true, unadulterated, original."
The Horn Book Magazine found "The free-verse text can weigh heavily on the ear, but the Dillons' rousing illustrations -- at once bold, complex, and lucid -- impart dramatic conviction to the thwarted Fire and the slave-boat beyond reach, the pursuing Wind peering into the Carolina blacksmith's window."
Never Forgotten has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews
It was a 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award honor book.