Oh, I love kid lit.
I love reading children’s literature. I love literature for the younger readers coming up in the world.
My childhood was defined by books about Black girls and women created by Black creatives. When I heard that Maya Angelou was receiving the Golden Book treatment, I was so excited as I had been working on this piece and looking for another book to complete it.
Perfect timing as I wanted to get this piece out for Black History Month or for Women’s History Month and even found another book to tail end this short list of books, celebrating Black girls and women that you should strongly consider having for your bookshelves.
Maya Angelou: A Little Golden Book Biography
(Publisher: Penguin Random House)
Words by Anne Wynter & Illustrated by Courtney Lovett
Reading Age: 4 – 8 years, Grade Level: Preschool – 3, 24 pages
Maya, Maya, Maya. What an incredible life Maya Angelou lived, and I adored reading this version of her life for the little ones here by the creative team of two Black women creatives. Reading along to see that while Maya was born during a time that sought to stifle her thirst for knowledge, her creativity, and her aspirations because of her skin color only to see her rise above made me so proud of her. Seeing the pages of the therapeutic healing process she underwent to overcome trauma and open back up brought tears to my eyes as I was reminded of reading through her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Writer Anne Wynter uses her pen to detail Maya’s story for younger readers with ease and clarity: there is no mistake that Maya was a Black child who grew into a Black woman. It is easy to read through and see on paper how Maya Angelou nourished her love of stories and performing and carried that with her throughout her life here in Maya Angelou: A Little Golden Book Biography.
Courtney Lovett’s artwork is so full of warmth and just nails how regal Maya became as she grew older and older. Seeing the illustrations of Maya at different stages of her life, reading as a little girl, singing and performing as a young woman, and speaking at pulpits adds the visual multifacetedness she rightfully deserves. I am reminded of Maya Angelou and the joy she brought so many of us, and I feel that every time I pick up this darling Golden Book treatment of her.
Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes
(Publisher: Orchard Books)
Words by Traci N. Todd & Illustrated by Shannon Wright
Reading age : 7–10 years, Grade level : Gr 2–5, 48 pages
As a Black woman who loves comics and has been covering comics for the site for some many years, I thought I was well-read about Jackie Ormes. And you know what? I love being proven wrong and constantly learning more about her and rediscovering her thanks to other Black creatives. We know Ormes as the first Black woman cartoonist to be nationally syndicated in the United States and yet so much for her life and her person-hood feels mythicized. Writer Traci N. Todd weaves together an incredible and easy to follow story, tracing Ormes earliest artistic endeavors to the success of her comics and even how her broad imagination brought eyes of all kinds–good and bad. One takeaway for sure: Todd elaborates that this creative was not only a trendsetter but a woman who marched to her own beat–always.
Shout-out to my fave Shannon Wright who was the perfect creative to bring the amazing artwork to this book. Wright brings the colorful life of Zelda “Jackie” Ormes childhood to page–she was a child who “filled every space she could” with her many interests. The colors tone down for Jackie’s adult life and her entryway into newspaper publishing with her first byline being credited to the name Jackie, her family nickname. What a joy is it to see the pages with how Wright recreates the Patty-Jo comics and how they even lift off the page becoming characters young readers can follow throughout the book.
There is a lot in the work of the Black women creative team of Todd and Wright that brought this book for Jackie Ormes to life: I see it on each page, in every paragraph, and in the notes from both the author and the artist at the end. I love that as much as Jackie Ormes inspired and influenced further generations of Black girls and women everywhere, her legacy is cherished and upheld in such a fitting tale of a not quite unsung hero who deserved to be celebrated not only for her work but her spirit as an artist.
How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee
(Publisher: Candlewick Press)
Words by Carole Boston Weatherford & Illustrated by Frank Morrison
Reading age : 7–10 years, Grade level : Gr 2–5, 40 Pages
Competitions revolving around spelling words have always been fascinating to me. Akeelah and the Bee will forever be one of my favorite on screen portrayals by Keke Palmer. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has a long and intriguing history in this country. Spelling bees in the early 1900’s were plagued by segregation and prejudice of the time. With several Black children over the years proving their mettle in competition meant that being disqualified and banned was a way of life, it set down the framework for the very special story of a very special eighth grader named MacNolia Cox in 1936.
Frank Morrison’s artwork brings these lovely, beautifully colored illustrations that bring young MacNolia, her loved ones, her competitors, and others to life on the page. Morrison’s artwork fills me with an air of nostalgia as I read this story of a courageous young woman of the past. I’m fixated on his attention to the facial expressions, the elongated, exaggerated bodies (and the intentional body language) that don’t step into place with how caricature can be used to grossly dehumanize people.
Writer Carole Boston Weatherford brings together this previously little known story of MacNolia’s quest to be the best speller she could be and how she came home a champion, triumphing in her own way. I loved seeing how Weatherford moved along the narrative with her repeated spelling of words throughout the book like spelling out DISCRIMINATION in bold letters on the page where our girl and her mother are told to move to another train car while traveling because of segregation. How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee really moved me as I felt it was an really accessible book for younger readers that presented this young woman’s monumental trip to the capital and the incredible support she was given by her community before and after.
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth
(Publisher: Thomas Nelson)
Words by Alice Faye Duncan & Illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
Reading age: 6 – 8 years, Grade level: Third Grade and up, 32 pages
Often overlooked, Juneteenth has become more visual and well known as a holiday in recent years, especially since becoming recognized as a federal holiday back in 2021. I wasn’t overly familiar with the holiday–an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War, as I then knew it as mostly a Texan celebration. Reading Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth feels like a big hug from a grandmother that I didn’t know that I had. Juneteenth, as a holiday, marks our country’s second independence day and is a day that honors freedom and the grounds that equality best serves us all.
Writer Alice Faye Duncan expertly details the life of Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth: the awe of learning her story from elders, the frustration of growing up in segregated places. and experiencing first-hand the backlash of Black progress. And yet Opal’s journey included moving forward with walking, educating, and seeing the fruits of her labor to finally seeing this special day elevated to where it needed to be. Keturah A. Bobo delves a steady hand in sharing vibrant artwork that really brings together the heart of Opal’s mission.
I feel the sting of disappointment of the illustrations of young Opal as a child looking dejected seeing the places she was allowed entry to. I love the pages of the celebrations and the crowd of children crowding around Opal for her stories. In kin to Black tradition, I love that we are giving (and have given) flowers to Opal Lee while she still lives. At 98 years old, she deserves all the books written about her, and this one is a worthy read for younger readers that should help explain the events that led to Juneteenth and why it is celebrated. Ultimately, her life mission to bring Juneteenth the respect that it deserves and to honor those who lived and did not live to see freedom is a mighty one that should inspire any reader, young or old, who picks up this book.
MAKE YOUR MARK: The Empowering True Story of the First Known Black Female Tattoo Artist
(Publisher: Penguin Random House)
Words by By Jacci Gresham and Sherry Fellores; illustrated by David Wilkerson
Reading age : 4-8 years, Grade level: Preschool-3, 32 pages
What you must know that this is a picture book biography celebrating the first known Black female tattoo artist in the U.S., Jacci Gresham, co-authored by the legend, Jacci herself! Writer Sherry Fellores took the time to pen out the unique life that Jacci had: a childhood of coloring outside the lines and choosing art before everything. After a disappointing chapter of her life closes, a new one begins and her interest in tattoos starts, a love affair that takes her along for a ride for the rest of her life! While the phenom’s journey into tattooing and being a female creative and entrepreneur is the focus of this book, the writing team do not shy away from her struggles doing so and the troubles of the time.
David Wilkerson’s artwork here is so fun to follow along in MAKE YOUR MARK: The Empowering True Story of the First Known Black Female Tattoo Artist. Jacci ‘s rise to the Tattooing pioneer that we know is an empowering one complimented by Wilkerson’s dedication to showing Jacci’s devotion to art and her love of tattoos on the page. There’s color and attention to detail in even the smallest of tattoo designs on the page to the continual showing of the creative’s concentrated face as she brings art to life from her childhood to her adult years.
For such an underrepresented art-form, I see this picture book as a beautiful gateway for younger readers to have a chance to not only demystify but celebrate the art-form and the creative known as Jacci Gresham. Some of my favorite pages feature Jacci’s hands at work and seeing the community she helped build surrounding her and her shop. Reading this book about Jacci persevering and making her mark as a Black woman in a white, male-dominated space and staying true using art to make people’s lives better is a delightful read for all.
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Show Comments
Joan B.
Well Carrie there goes this quarter’s No Buy Challenge for Books. I should have some of them by the end of the week. Thanks!