Kamala Harris

Rooted in Justice

Atheneum Books  

(Simon & Schuster) 
(pub. 8.25.2020) 
40 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Nikki Grimes

     and illustrator:  Laura Freeman

 
C haracter: Kamala Harris

O verview: 
     "Discover the incredible story of a young daughter of immigrants who would grow up to defend the rights of people everywhere in this moving picture book biography of Senator Kamala Harris.

When Kamala Harris was young, she often accompanied her parents to civil rights marches—so many, in fact, that when her mother asked a frustrated Kamala what she wanted, the young girl responded with: “Freedom!”

As Kamala grew from a small girl in Oakland to a senator running for president, it was this long-fostered belief in freedom and justice for all people that shaped her into the inspiring figure she is today. From fighting for the use of a soccer field in middle school to fighting for the people of her home state in Congress, Senator Harris used her voice to speak up for what she believed in and for those who were otherwise unheard.

Told in Nikki Grimes's stunning verse and featuring gorgeous illustrations by Laura Freeman, this picture book biography brings to life a story that shows all young people that the American dream can belong to all of us if we fight for one another."

T antalizing taste: 
 

"Life is a story

you write day by day. 

Kamala's begins with a name

that means 'lotus flower.' 

See how her beautiful smile

opens wide, like petals 

fanning across the water's surface? 

But you don't see the flower's roots. Her roots.

They grow deep, deep, deep down.

Let me show you."

 

And something more: School Library Journal's review states: "This important biography of California Senator Kamala Harris comes at an opportune moment, when the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment intersects with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Weaving a fictional story around an account of Harris' factual biography, Grimes' picture book makes it easy for readers to identify with the recent Democratic presidential candidate..." and, of course, the recently chosen Democratic vice presidential candidate !

How Sweet the Sound

The Story of Amazing Grace

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(Simon & Schuster)

(pub. 5.1.2018)
48 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Carole Boston Weatherford
    and illustrator: Frank Morrison

Character: 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "One stormy night at sea, a wayward man named John Newton feared for his life. In his darkest hour he fell to his knees and prayed - and somehow the battered ship survived the storm.
     Grateful, he changed his ways and became a minister, yet he still owned a slave ship. But in time, empathy touched his heart. A changed man, he used his powerful words to help end slavery in England.
     Those words became the hymn 'Amazing Grace.' From then to now, from there to here, from protesters to presidents, John Newton's hymn has lifted the spirit and given comfort the world over."

T antalizing taste: 
      

"Greyhound tugged by unseen hand
Crew at along last glimpses land.

Safe at home, brought through the storm,
Young John Newton is reborn.

Trusting God as compass, guide.
John is captain; Mary, bride.

After John retires from sea,
He preaches to end slavery.

Ever thankful, faith still strong,
Reverend Newton pens this song:

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
     That sav'd a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
     Was blind, but now I see."

 
and something more: In the Author's Note, Carole Boston Weatherford explains that after "an illness forced [John Newton] to give up seafaring, he worked as a surveyor of tides. But he felt called to be a minister.  In 1764, Newton began pastoring a church in Olney, England. With poet William Cowper, Newton wrote hymns for weekly prayer meetings. Over time, he changed his views about human bondage and raised his pen against slavery.  His 'Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade' helped bring slavery to an end in the British Empire.  By 1779, Newton had written 280 hymns."  
     And Carole's dedication was perfect for this book: "For my amazingly gracious mother, Carolyn W. Boston."

The Legendary Miss Lena Horne

Atheneum Books
for Young Readers

(Simon & Schuster)

(pub. 1.24.2017)
48 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top  

A uthor: Carole Boston
                Weatherford
      and illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon

C haracter: Maya Lin

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "Lena Horne was born into the freedom struggle, to a family of teachers and activists. Her mother dreamed of being an actress, so Lena followed along as she chased small parts in vaudeville, living out of a suitcase. Then MGM came, offering Lena something more - the first ever studio contract for a black actress.

     But the roles she was considered for were maids and mammies, stereotypes that Lena refused to play. Still, she never gave up. 'Stormy Weather' became her theme song, and when she sang 'This Little Light of Mine' at a civil rights rally, she found not only her voice but her calling, her light.

     Inspiring and powerful, this is a celebration of the life of Lena Horne, the pioneering American actress and civil rights activist who refused to be treated as second class."

T antalizing taste: 
      

"At one venue, Lena was denied a cup of coffee

but was asked for autographs on her way out.

At another, German prisoners of war

were seated in front of black soldiers.

That indignity was too much for Lena to swallow.

She was fed up with white-only clubs and theaters.

So she paid her own way to perform for black troops.

She paid many visits to the base in Alabama

where the famed Tuskegee Airmen

were training to become the fist black military aviators."

 

and something more: I was thrilled to see the amazing illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon (she's the illustrator of the picture book I wrote, MY HANDS SING THE BLUES- The Childhood Journey of Romare Bearden). She kindly shared with me a few thoughts about illustrating The Legendary Miss Lena Horne: 

"I didn't know much about Lena Horne before working on this book, but the more I learned, read and watched, the more I liked her. I like to listen to music when I'm making art, and this was the first book I illustrated that I was able to actually listen to the person I was drawing and painting! I feel like I get to know the characters in my books through pictures and research, and I feel I really got to know Lena Horne especially well through hearing her voice and watching her movement on screen.

To create the illustrations, I used a combination of oil paint and collage. To honor her (and my) love of fashion, I put a lot of care into creating Lena's fabulous dresses; using layers of tulle and tiny paper sequins for her "Stormy Weather" dress, pleating pieces of embossed paper to replicate the pleats in her Charlie Barnet Orchestra dress, and cutting layers of silver paper petals to replicate the dress she wore at President Truman's inaugural ball. A fashionista after my own heart! She wore such beautiful things, but dealt with such ugly treatment in the entertainment business for much of her life, and held a lot of sadness inside from personal tragedy. I hope this book helps to re-illuminate all the hard work that Lena Horne did, all the firsts she accomplished to pave the way for singers and actresses of color today."

Thank you Liz! I loved hearing your thoughts. And I believe this beautiful and powerful book will indeed "re-illuminate all the hard work that Lena Horne did."

The Marvelous Thing That Came From A Spring

The Accidental Invention
of the Toy That 
Swept the Nation

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(Simon & Schuster)
(pub. 9.1.2016)
40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top  

A uthor: Gilbert Ford
      and photographer: Greg Endries

C haracter: Richard and Betty James

O verview from the jacket flap: 

"One day a spring fell from the desk of Richard James, an engineer and a dreamer. Its coils took a walk ... and so did Richard's imagination. He knew right away that he had stumbled onto something marvelous.

Richard and his wife, Betty, took this ordinary spring and turned it into a plaything. But it wasn't just any old trinket - it was a Slinky, and it would become on of the most popular toys in American history.

With magnificent dioramic illustrations, Gilbert Ford captures the joy, creativity, and determination behind the invention of an iconic, one-of-a-kind toy."    

T antalizing taste: 
     
    "Betty thumbed through a dictionary for two days, underlining words. 
     Nothing sounded quite right ... until she found 'slinky' meaning 'graceful' and 'curvy in movement.' 'Slinky' also sounded like the swish and clink of the spring's coils in motion.
     It was only a name, but it was just right. With one word, Betty thought she could transform this spring into a one-of-a-kind thing!"

and something more: The Note at the back of the book provides interesting stories of other uses of the Slinky over time: "The Slinky was used as an antenna for radios during the Vietnam War, as a device for understanding wave mechanics, and as a therapy tool for patients who had suffered from strokes or other disorders. It was launched into space on the shuttle Discovery to help astronauts demonstrate how gravity worked. And the clinking coils of the Slinky even inspired a musician, John Cage, to create experimental music based on the sound!"

You Can Fly

The Tuskegee Airmen

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(published 5.3.2016)
96 pages
Ages 9 - 12

A True Tale
with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Carole Boston Weatherford
      and Illustrator: Jeffery Boston Weatherford

C haracters: The Tuskegee Airmen
                
O verview from the jacket flap:

    "I WANT YOU! says the poster of Uncle Sam. But if you're a young black man in 1940, he doesn't want you in the cockpit of a warplane. Yet you are determined not to let that stop your dream of flying.
     So when you hear about a civilian pilot training program at Tuskegee Institute, you leap at the chance. Soon you are learning engineering and mechanics, how to communicate in code, how to read a map. At last the day you have longed for is here: You are flying!
     From training days in Alabama to combat on the front lines in Europe, this is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the pioneering African-American pilots of World War II. In vibrant second-person poems that allow readers to fly too, award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford teams up for the first time with her son, artist Jeffery Boston Weatherford, to tell the story of these men who triumphed in the skies and over the color barrier."

T antalizing taste:

No Hero's Welcome

No use candy-coating the truth:
Gasoline and sugar were rationed
during the war, and metal was reserved
for the defense industry,
but racism was never in short supply.
There was plenty of prejudice to go around
and you don't have to look far to find it
even after you get home.

You pass through South Carolina;
you see places that bar blacks
serving German prisoners of war.
You get wind of the Freeman Field Mutiny:
Pilots from the 477th Bombardment Group,
who never got to see combat before war's end,
got arrested in Indiana for storming 
into the all-white officers' club.

Your fight is by no means finished." 

and something more:  I was honored to be asked by Carole Boston Weatherford to feature her compelling book, YOU CAN FLY, on my blog as part of her blog book tour. She shared interesting information about the book:

"I had not heard of the Tuskegee Airmen until I was in my mid-twenties. I was in awe. Thirty years later I decided to write about these American heroes. I am still amazed by the barriers that they overcame and the battles that they won.

I wanted the verse novel to unfold like a newsreel or a graphic novel. Dramatic scratchboard illustrations by my son Jeffery Weatherford create that effect, evoking the World War II era.

The Tuskegee Airmen—pilots and ground crew—are truly American heroes, deserving wider recognition. I hope that You Can Fly helps achieve that."

Carole's "10 Things I Learned About the Tuskegee Airmen":

* Before the Tuskegee Experiment began, there were only 130 licensed African American pilots in the U.S.

* After a plane ride with Tuskegee flight instructor Chief Anderson, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You can fly.” She swayed her husband, President Franklin Roosevelt to authorize the Tuskegee Experiment, giving African Americans a shot at becoming combat pilots.

* Pioneering entertainer Lena Horne made numerous trips—at her own expense—to perform for troops at Tuskegee Army Air Field.

* The Tuskegee Airmen got the name Red Tails when their ground crew painted the tail of the P-47 red. The Nazis called them Black Birdmen/Schwarze Vogelmenshen.

* On July 21, 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen flew 13 missions in one day.

* Of their 205 missions, the Tuskegee Airmen flew 200 without losing a bomber.

* In 1,500 combat missions, Tuskegee Airmen blasted 262 German planes, 950 vehicles and one enemy destroyer.

* Of nearly 1,000 Tuskegee pilots, half went overseas and fewer than 10 were captured or killed.

* Tuskegee Airman Lee Archer Jr., an ace pilot, shot down four enemy planes.

* The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George Bush in 2007.

Carole also shared her book trailer and teacher resources. 

And kudos to Reka Simonsen, Executive Editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers for this terrific book and thank you for giving me a copy.

Jazz Age Josephine

Dancer, Singer, who's that, who?

Why, that's MISS Josephine Baker, to you!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Gathering Books

Atheneum Books for Young Children

(Simon and Schuster)

(pub. 1.3.2012)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter

     and Illustrator:  Marjorie Priceman

C haracter: Josephine Baker

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "She can Bunny Hug and Grizzly Bear. She can Turkey Trot and do the Charleston. 

       It's the 1920s, and the world is alive with the sounds of this new music called jazz. Everyone get up and dance! (Wait, not everyone.) 

       Josephine has all the moves, but she also has dark skin and some think that means she should stay in the shadows - or only play the clown. But that simply will not work for Miss Josephine. Instead she dances her way into big shows, onto big stages. She dances her way to New York and Paris. She dances her way out of poverty and into stardom..."

        

T antalizing taste: 

 "You see, the shack where she lived, 

        it didn't have no heat.

Things were sometimes so bad,

there wasn't nothin' to eat.

She slept on the floor,

newspapers for a sheet -

rats crawlin' all around,

a-nibblin' at her feet.

'Josephine,' her grandma said,

'I got a fairy tale for you.

           'Josephine, oh Josephine,

            this story's 'bout a girl like you.

Someday you're gonna be a princess -

you know what Granny says is true.'"

          

and something more: I was fascinated to learn more about Josephine Baker in Jonah Winter's Author's Note at the back of Jazz Age Josephine: "As her performing days were tapering off, Josephine adopted twelve children from around the world and called them the 'Rainbow Tribe.' Her commitment to racial integration did not stop here. In 1963, she spoke at the same civil rights convention in Washington, D.C., where the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous speech, 'I Have a Dream.'... During her funeral procession through Paris, more than 20,000 mourners lined the streets." Josephine overcome obstacles and injustices, and became the adored person her grandmother inspired her to be.