A jam-packed, at times unwieldy, globetrotting primer on Blackness.
A Black child receives a bedtime lesson on the interconnectedness of the African diaspora.
As Ayo tries to sleep, he turns to an alphabet book that inspires a dreamy adventure. Whether taking in the calypso music of Trinidad and Tobago or enjoying Nigerian fufu made from pounded plantain and cassava, Ayo gets a thorough education in the diversity of African diasporic cultures. He’s even transported through time as he travels to early-20th-century Tulsa, Oklahoma, to learn about Black Wall Street, and to the Bronx circa the 1980s to witness the development of hip-hop. The book is made up of alphabetically arranged entries (A is for Afro, while K is for Kente cloth), each listing a location and a brief description. Some pages are overburdened by text, and at times the author struggles to distill complex topics into digestible bits; a single spread doesn’t feel like enough space to explore hip-hop, while the Yoruba people are known for more than their “wood carvings, glassmaking, and weaving.” Occasionally, the digital art feels somewhat chaotic, with discordant colors, textures, and elements mingling. Still, it’s a laudable and ambitious effort, and one that will likely stir curious readers to learn more.
A jam-packed, at times unwieldy, globetrotting primer on Blackness. (supplemental information, glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9798888592113
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
A larger-than-life subject is neatly captured in text and images.
The life journey of the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court and the incidents that formed him.
Thurgood Marshall grew up in segregated Baltimore, Maryland, with a family that encouraged him to stand for justice. Despite attending poor schools, he found a way to succeed. His father instilled in him a love of the law and encouraged him to argue like a lawyer during dinner conversations. His success in college meant he could go to law school, but the University of Maryland did not accept African American students. Instead, Marshall went to historically black Howard University, where he was mentored by civil rights lawyer Charles Houston. Marshall’s first major legal case was against the law school that denied him a place, and his success brought him to the attention of the NAACP and ultimately led to his work on the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education, which itself led to his appointment to the Supreme Court. This lively narrative serves as an introduction to the life of one of the country’s important civil rights figures. Important facts in Marshall’s life are effectively highlighted in an almost staccato fashion. The bold watercolor-and-collage illustrations, beginning with an enticing cover, capture and enhance the strong tone set by the words.
A larger-than-life subject is neatly captured in text and images. (author’s note, photos) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6533-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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