To Be A Drum has the rhythm of a poem, and a beautiful message of hope. Daddy Wes, our narrator, takes his children to a field one night and has them listen for the heartbeat of the earth. He explains that this drumming was taken away from black people during colonization. So, black Americans found other ways to keep the drums alive: by drumming on their hands, fighting in wars, fighting for civil rights, and making art. I thought the drum metaphor was beautiful, and the ending scene of Daddy Wes and his children listening to the Earth was a great ending. ( )

Such an amazing book to depict the strength in African American culture! This is book tells the story of how the drum came about. In this story, the African Americans were taken into slavery and were not allowed to play music. Instead of giving in, they persevered and played music with their hands and feet. This shows the courage in African American culture and their ability to make something from nothing! Such a joy to read (listen to). ( )

The book is a great book for African culture. It is explaining how important the beat of the drum is in their culture. It then begins telling the story of how the African people were taken into slavery. Being slaves, their owners would not allow the drums, but they created their own drums no matter how much the people tried to take them away. The drum is a symbol of how the people became free; they never gave up or stopped like a beating drum. ( )

Daddy Wes tells Matt and Martha a tale of how the drum came to be. He tells them that the drum came from the very beat of the first man's heart. He tells a tale of creation, slavery, segregation, and inequality of African Americans. He tells Matt and Martha how, even if black people had no drum to play, Africans still used tools such as their voices and their hands and their feet and their courage as drums. The drum personifies the very heartbeat of something, of a soul that no matter what the obstacle, will never give up. Just like that steady beat, so must African Americans be in spirit, in courage, in determination, and in tenacity. ( )

I enjoyed this story about Mat, Martha, and their dad. Daddy Wes told his children a story in a soft voice about the heartbeat of the Earth flowing through African Americans. During slavery, the drum goes along with everything they do. They feel the spirit by beating on the drums which give African Americans more strength. The sounds of tapping and beating are the beauty and sign of freedom. I believe the theme in this story is culture because of the rhythm and beautiful sound of drums. This is a great story to read to the children about African American culture and history. ( )