Kids Book Index
Derrick Barnes
This picture-book poem follows a boy through the experience of getting a haircut at a barbershop. The visit becomes a time when he feels confident, recognized, and open to new possibilities. Written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James, the book pairs the boy’s feelings with oil-color artwork intended to have the character of fine art.
This book appears on 5 reading lists across 1 edition from 5 organizations.
Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s BooksMichelle MarkelThis picture-book biography recounts John Newbery’s role in eighteenth-century children’s publishing. At a time when books for children largely aimed to instruct or moralize, Newbery set out to make books that also included stories, science, games, rhymes, pictures, ABCs, and proverbs. From his London shop, he published a book of games and later a magazine and The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes. The account traces how his publishing ideas helped change the kinds of books made for children.Five to NineOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!Andrea J. LoneyJames VanDerZee saves for his first camera as a boy and begins by photographing family members, classmates, and anyone willing to pose. By fifth grade, he is taking pictures for his school and town. After moving to New York City, he works in a portrait studio but is initially kept in the darkroom because he is Black. He carefully retouches portraits, later opening his own Harlem studio. His work records decades of Harlem history, including portraits of middle-class African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance.Five to NineOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Hey Black ChildUseni Eugene PerkinsHey Black Child adapts an affirmation poem by Useni Eugene Perkins into a picture-book edition. Written originally for a 1975 children’s theater production, the poem celebrates Black children and encourages belief in one’s potential and ambitions. Bryan Collier’s collage and watercolor illustrations portray four children who imagine futures as an artist, dancer, political leader, and scientist. Author’s and illustrator’s notes are included.Five to NineWord Count 130On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details