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This article was a presentation given at the 2012 IBBY Congress in London, first posted here and developed from a PaperTigers.org Personal View, “Caught up in Conflict: Refugee stories about and for young people“.

A bibliography with links to relevant websites is listed by title can be … Continue reading ... →

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Vaunda Micheaux Nelson has signed a deal with the Lerner Publishing Group imprint, Carolrhoda Books. Nelson plans to write a picture book centered on the National Memorial African Bookstore entitled The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore.

According to the press release, the story will discuss the uniqueness of this New York City-based establishment and how “people from all over came to Harlem to visit, even famous people―Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, to name a few. In his father’s bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other.”

The bookstore was in operation from 1932 to 1974. R. Gregory Christie has come on board to create the illustrations. The publication date has been set for Nov. 1.

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When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
By J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So
Chronicle Books
$16.99
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0119-4
Ages 10 and up
On shelves now

Poetry is of the people by its very definition. Though sometimes considered the property of the elite (usually by folks who were forced to eat poetry unfiltered in high school by bored teachers) at its best it is a format that any human with a sense of rhythm and/or timing can use to their advantage. Poetry is the voice of people who are oppressed. When Chinese immigrants found themselves detained for weeks on end on Angel Island, they scratched poetry into the very walls of the building. Not curses. Not cries. Poems. It seems fitting then that J. Patrick Lewis should cull together poems to best celebrate “civil rights leaders” both known and unknown. People of different races, creeds, religions, and even sexualities are celebrated in a book that can only be honestly called what it is: one-of-a-kind.

Seventeen people. That doesn’t sound like a lot of folks. Seventeen people turning the tide of history and oppression. Seventeen individuals who made a difference and continue to make a difference every day. And to accompany them, seventeen poems by a former Children’s Poet Laureate. In When Thunder Comes, J. Patrick Lewis highlights heroes of every stripe. And, in doing so, lets young readers know what a hero truly is.

Lewis isn’t phoning this one in. These poems are straight up honest-to-god works of poetry. Though the book is a mere 44 pages or so, its picture book size is misleading indeed. Consider this poem about Aung San Suu Kyi containing the following lines: “When a cyclone flicked off the roof of my prison / like the Queen of Hearts, turning my life to shame / and candle, the General had a mole removed. / When they added four words to the constitution – / my name – to bar me from ever running for office, / the General signed it with his fingernail made of / diamonds and disgust.” We’re on beyond nursery rhymes and patter here. There are also individual lines you just can’t help but admire. I like this one about Nelson Mandela in particular: “It is as if he’s landed on the moon / Five years before the actual event.”

The content is noticeably more mature as well. Kids have plenty of books to choose between when it comes to the Freedom Riders and Walkers, but the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner are dark as dark can be. That poem is told, not in broken up sections, but as a single long, square paragraph. Other ideas, like Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit system or Harvey Milk and his fight for gay rights require a bit more worldly knowledge on the part of readers.

Lewis makes some interesting choices along the way. He’s careful to include familiar names (Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, etc.) alongside lesser-known figures (Aung San Suu Kyi, Helen Zia, Ellison Onizuka, etc.). Some are living, some long dead. Each person has a title (“activist”, “auntie”, etc.). For “the innocent” he names Mamie Carthan Till but not her son, Emmett. At first I was confused by the choice, but the end matter made it clear that it was Mrs. Till that insisted that her son’s funeral be an open casket affair. An act of rebellion in and of itself. And this is undoubtedly the first book for children I’ve read that made special note of Harvey Milk. I know that some smaller presses have highlighted him in the past, but it’s particularly satisfying in this day and age to see him properly named and credited. A sign of the times, if you will.

Another thing I like about the book is its ability to highlight individuals that should be, and are not, household names. If Sylvia Mendez truly paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education, why isn’t Mendez v. Westminster better known? Certainly the book is ideal for writing assignments. The poems vary in terms of style, and I can see teachers everywhere assigning even more too little lauded heroes to their students, asking them to cultivate poems of their own. It would have been nice if somewhere in the book it said what the types of poems featured were (villanelles don’t come along in children’s books every day, after all). Teachers hoping to make connections between some of the subjects then and now might also point out things like how Emmett Till bought candy prior to his death, not unlike a more contemporary hoodied young man.

Of the various objections I’ve heard leveled against this book, there is the problem that each piece of art is not directly credited to its artist. Meilo So’s style is recognizable enough. Ditto R. Gregory Christie. But who did that image of Josh Gibson? Or Dennis James Banks for that matter? Now, the artists are listed on the publication page with references to their images, but since the book itself isn’t paginated this isn’t as useful as it might be. And some of the images work better than others, of course. While I wasn’t as taken with the images of Coretta Scott King, Mamie Carthan Till, or Dennis James Banks, I really liked Josh Gibson wearing his “Grays” garb, standing against a sky full of clouds. A different librarian objected to the fact that the three men murdered by the Klan in 1964 are featured with very similar, dark skin tones. I see the point, but since the shot is taken at night and the whole of the image is itself dark, this didn’t worry me as much.

In many ways the book most similar to this is Marilyn Singer’s recent Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents Like Singer’s book, Lewis presents the poems and people first and then provides an explanation of who they were at the end. Both give new slants on old names. But for all that, Lewis’s book is unique. Maybe not 100% perfect, but chock full of better poetry than you’ll find in a lot of children’s rooms, highlighting folks that deserve a little additional attention. Certainly bound to be of use to teachers, parents, and kids with an eye towards honest-to-goodness heroism. A lovely addition, no matter where you might be.

On shelves now.

Source: Reviewed from library copy.

Like This? Then Try:

• We Are America by Walter Dean Myers

• This Is the Dream by Diana ZuHone Shore

• Rutherford B: Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents by Marilyn Singer

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Children’s book illustrator Don Tate never thought of himself as a writer, despite his many children’s author, publishing and librarian friends — a small army’s worth — and being surrounded by journalists all day in his work as a graphics reporter for the Austin American Statesman.  He’s illustrated more than 40 educational books and 11 children’s [...]

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Austin SCBWI monthly meeting at BookPeople.  The title of my talk was "The Impossible and the Improbable and Willing Suspension of Disbelief in Science Fiction and Fantasy."  The talk generally covered, among other things, the fact that reality is not realistic, and the discussion ranged from survival cannibalism to the Titanic to time travel in CHRONAL ENGINE.  A version of the speech will appear in this fall's Hunger Mountain.  If you're not already reading it, you should :-).

After a brief interlude, we celebrated the launch of IT JES' HAPPENED: WHEN BILL TRAYLOR STARTED TO DRAW (Lee and Low, 2012) with author Don Tate.  He provided the background of the book and how he and illustrator R. Gregory Christie interpreted the events in the life of the folk artist.

All in all, a fun way to spend a Saturday!  Thanks, everyone for coming, and happy reading!   

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It Jes’ Happened
By Don Tate
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Lee & Low Books
ISBN: 978-1-60060-260-3
Ages 5-9
On shelves April 1st

Teaching kids about outsider art feels like a no-brainer to me. Which is to say, why doesn’t it happen more often? Perhaps there’s a feeling that educating kids on the self-taught is ultimately self-defeating. Can’t say as I agree, of course. Seems to me that learning about the great outsider artists could give a kid a kind of hope. This is particularly true in the case of Bill Traylor. Here you have a guy who lived a whole life, discovered an artistic calling near the end, and remains remembered where before he might have been forgotten. It makes for an interesting lesson and, to my relief, and even more interesting book. In It Jes’ Happened Don Tate and R. Gregory Christie pair up for the first time ever to present the life and art of an ordinary man who lived through extraordinary times.

He was born a slave, Bill Traylor was. Around 1854 or so Bill was born on a cotton plantation in Alabama. After the Civil War his parents stayed on as sharecroppers. After he grew up Bill ran a farm of his own with his wife and kids, but when Bill turned eighty-one he was alone on the farm by himself. With cane in hand he headed for Montgomery. It was there that he started drawing, for no immediately apparent reason. He’d draw on cardboard or discarded paper. After a time, a young artist took an interest in Bill, ultimately showing off his work in a gallery show. Bill enjoyed it but for him the drawing was the most important thing. An Afterword discusses Bill’s life and shows a photograph of him and a piece of his art.

When you’re writing a picture book biography of any artist the first problem you need to address is how to portray that person’s art in the book. If you’re the illustrator do you try to replicate the original artist’s work? Do you draw or paint in your own style and include small images of the artist’s original work? Or do you show absolutely none of the original art, trusting your readership to do that homework on their own? There is a fourth option, but I don’t know that I was aware of it before I read this book. You can hire an illustrator whose style is similar enough to the original artist that when the time comes to reference the original art they make their own version and then show the artist’s work at the end.

Now I’ll go out on a limb here and admit that I’ve never really been a huge fan of R. Gregory Christie’s style before. It’s one of those things I can appreciate on an aesthetic level but never really personally enjoy. Yet in this book I felt that Christie was really the only person who could do Traylor’s tale justice. I had initially wondered why he had been chosen (before reading the book, I might add) since author Don Tate

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My general rule is that unless I find three good videos in a given week I am inclined to skip Video Sunday.  And the last week or two has been a difficult one.  Sometimes videos with a children’s literature connection sprout up like weeds.  Other times they’re rarities.  Today, I’m pleased to have found my minimum (plus the usual off-topic goodness).  First and foremost up there, a book I am incredibly excited about and looking forward to.  The trailer reminds me of Reading Rainbow, in the best possible way.

Then, naturally, we follow that up with the Battle of the (Kids’) Books trailer.  The Downton Abbey music did throw me for a second, though.

This one’s from a Scottish poet as a kind of ode to women who read.  Workplace friendly?  You’re call.  May as well play it safe, I suppose.

Thanks to Sue Banner for the link.

And finally, I’m only human. When a new OK GO video is out, I pay attention.  Even if it’s part car ad.  For the record this is real.  Not done in post or anything.

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While great reviews from Publishers Weekly or Kirkus are nice, there’s nothing better than feedback from the source – actual young readers!

A third grade writing class from Newark, New Jersey was assigned to compare/contrast themselves with DeShawn from DeShawn Days by Tony Medina and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. They agreed to share parts of their answers with us!

Rogenia: “DeShawn and I are the same because we both think the news is scary.  We don’t like to hear about people dying from wars.  We also love rapping!  It’s so much fun!  It would be cool if we could rap together.”

Malikah: “DeShawn and I are different. He loves his block because he has friends. I hate living in the hood because there’s too much shooting and too much fighting. DeShawn hates the news because it’s scary.  I love the news because it teaches you about the world.”

Troy: “If DeShawn was real, I think we would be friends.  He seems like he’d be a very nice friend.  We could teach each other things and talk about what we have in common.  Plus it’s always fun to meet new people! I think DeShawn Days is the best book I ever read!”

Kevin: “I have a connection with DeShawn. When my uncle died I cried and cried just like DeShawn did when his grandma passed away. It was heartbreaking to see him in the casket. I will never forget the day my uncle died. I’m sure DeShawn will never forget when his grandma passed either. If we were friends, maybe we could talk about what we felt.”

Keidy: “Me and DeShawn are the same because our mother lives in the same house as us. We are both 10 years old. We both don’t just hear music, we hear sirens in our neighborhoods too. . . . I wouldn’t like to just be his friend, I’d like to be his sister!”

Nasir: “In many ways DeShawn and I are very similar.  For example, we both have a large family (by the way mine is bigger).  If I knew DeShawn in real life we would definitely be friends.”

Quadir: “DeShawn and I. . . . both watch cartoons.  We don’t like the news. My mom lives in the house with me just like his does.  I always invite my friends over.  We are both ten years old. I would absolutely want to be DeShawn’s friend if he was a real person. . . . I wish I could meet someone just like him!”

Tierrah: “DeShawn and I are different because he likes his block and I don’t like mine.  I don’t like it because there’s too much drugs, people getting shot, and crying (just like on the news). A connection I have with DeShawn is that my grandma passed away too.  She passed away this past Saturday morning.  DeShawn was sad for a long time.  I’m sure I will be too.”

Justin: “DeShawn and I are the same because we both watch cartoons.  We love our families.  I have friends at school just like he does.  We hate graffiti because it ruins the walls.  I love rap like he does as well.  I love to hear people rhyme.  I like my block just like he does.  There’s no fighting where I live.”

What character from a book do you wish you could be friends with in real life? Post your responses below! We’d love to hear from you!

Filed under: Musings & Ponderings Tagged: DeShawn Days, friends, grandmother, hood, Display Comments Add a Comment

The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves,Deputy U.S. Marshalby Vaunda Micheaux Nelsonillustrations by R. Gregory ChristieCarolrhoda Books 2009A picture book biography, done right, of the African American lawman who was feared in his day but nearly lost to history.This book starts off the way many good books do, and should, especially biographies: with a solid action sequence that pulls the reader in

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Lee & Low Books, an independent children’s book publisher focused on diversity, will be taking part in the upcoming American Library Association Annual Conference, July 9 - 15 in Chicago, IL. Attendees are invited to Lee & Low’s Booth 2260 for book signings by authors Christine Taylor-Butler, Lulu Delacre, W. Nikola-Lisa, Janet Halfmann, Eloise Greenfield, R. Gregory Christie, and Shadra Strickland. Lee & Low will also be giving away bookmarks, posters, and more! See the complete signing schedule here.

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Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler (Author), R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator); Harcourt, 2007

Ages 4-8

Alright, Jack. Let me break it down for ya'. Wheeler lays down some crazy jive with the catchy rhythm of words in this fun to read celebration of music.


"Brother's hand tap. Sister's hands snap. Itt-bitty Baby's hands Clap-Clap-Clap!"

R. Gregory Christie is hip to the jive and provides wonderful illustrations that will you have finger snappin' and toe tappin'.

Flip your lid and get down with Jazz Baby!

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The legendary Ray Davies has new cd coming out, just as the new paperback edition of X-RAY lands in bookstores. This subversively brilliant rock memoir features a new introduction by Davies, the lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks.

Working Man's Cafe features 12 new songs written by Davies, and co-produced with Grammy® Award winning producer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle). Recorded in Nashville, Working Man s Café focuses on the plight of the worker, the every day man around the world. It is Davies American record (many of the songs were written and all produced in the US) describing the changes he s seen in this country since he first started visiting in the 60s.

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