A gift to Black Americans and everyone else who reads it.
A celebration of Black Americans for young readers, derived from Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project.
Told in a series of poems that create a narrative, the story opens with a young Black girl given a school assignment to trace her ancestry. Despondent, she tells her grandmother about her shame at being unable to complete the assignment. Grandma then tells the story of their ancestors. Refreshingly, that story starts pre-enslavement, in West Central Africa: “Their story does not begin / with whips and chains. / They had a home, a place, a land, / a beginning. / … / Before they were enslaved, they were / free.” Several spreads are dedicated to celebrating the ancestors’ language, skilled hands, sharp minds, joyful hearts, and amazing dancing. When enslavement enters the narrative, authors and illustrator strike a balance between presenting an honest picture and consideration for young readers. Smith’s evocative, vibrant art is full of emotion and motion. Colors and images speak volumes, while characters are portrayed with dignity, even in the worst circumstances. A significant portion of the story focuses on this period and how the ancestors survived and made a home in the United States. Poems “Resistance” and “Legacy” round out the narrative until reaching a conclusion for the character the book opened with in “Pride.” Compression of 400-plus years of history leads to some oversimplification, but overall it is a tremendous achievement. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gift to Black Americans and everyone else who reads it. (authors' note, illustrator's note) (Picture book/poetry. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30735-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
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 straightforward and informative primer on Pride and the community it engenders.
Why do rainbow flags often appear each June? Stonewall Award–winning author Lukoff offers an explanation.
Every year, queer folks and their allies come together to observe Pride—“a reminder for everyone to be proud of who they are.” After the Stonewall rebellion in June 1969 in New York City—a night when gay men and women and trans people “decided to fight back” after enduring frequent arrests by police—and the yearly parades that followed in its wake, San Francisco designer Gilbert Baker developed the rainbow Pride flag as a “symbol of hope for LGBTQIA+ people.” Lukoff explores the meanings behind the different colors of the most common Pride flag, from yellow (“sunlight”), which represents coming out of the closet and “being out in the light,” to orange (“healing”), which conveys the importance of seeking support. Though this yearly celebration has been co-opted by rampant commercialism, Lukoff returns to its roots, focusing on the community-building aspects of Pride. Other flags are featured such as the trans, genderqueer, asexual, and bisexual flags, yet they aren’t labeled or delved into further—a missed opportunity to emphasize the ever-growing queer community (the Progress Pride flag isn’t included at all). The upbeat digital illustrations depict people of different ages, races, genders, and sexualities. A note for parents offers basic child-friendly definitions of each of the terms in the initialism LGBTQIA.
A straightforward and informative primer on Pride and the community it engenders. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593807859
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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