  | Go tell it : how James Baldwin became a writer Author: Harris, Quartez | |
| Price: $23.78 | ||
Summary:
A boy who loves stories grows into a teenager who escapes into his writing and then a young man who plays his typewriter like a piano to show the fullness of Black life, in this lyrical picture book biography of James Baldwin, the celebrated novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and activist.
| Illustrator: | James, Gordon C. |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 5.00 Points: .5 Quiz: 556568 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (11/15/24)
School Library Journal (+) (10/31/25)
Booklist (00/11/24)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (+) (00/12/24)
The Hornbook (00/03/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Other - 11/11/2024 "The first time James Baldwin read a book, the words clung to him like glitter." Harris and James home in on the emotional core of the author’s upbringing in this moving work about Baldwin (1924-1987). Beginning pages depict his early life-his doting mother, the abundant siblings under his care, his love of reading, and his preacher stepfather, who displayed fury "toward Jimmy’s books and all the things he saw burning in the world." Sensate lines illuminate Baldwin’s childhood experience while underscoring what drives him ("In the library, Jimmy could hear the books singing to him, shouting ‘Hallelujah!’ as joyfully as the women banging tambourines at his stepfather’s church"). After experiencing a police assault, Baldwin realizes the healing power of words-and begins writing "to heal his heart." Thickly stroked oil-on-board illustrations have a dreamlike quality as they emphasize the love of words as a cornerstone of Baldwin’s life. Back matter, which includes biographical information and creators’ notes, discusses Baldwin’s queer identity. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) - Copyright 2024
School Library Journal - 10/31/2025 Gr 2–5—"The first time James Baldwin read a book, the words clung to him like glitter." Poet Harris (We Made It to School Alive) certainly has a way with words and deploys them generously to invite children into the imagination, experience, and passions of James Baldwin. Finding an ideal partner in illustrator James (I Am Every Good Thing), whose oil on boards capture the child, the Harlem surroundings, the greater world that adopted Baldwin before his home country did, Harris creates a spirited, vividly realized version of the events of the subject's childhood. An inveterate bookworm, he read everything, facing the fury of his stepfather, a preacher, for not reading solely the Bible. Worse, despite his wish to write a book like those that sang to him from the library shelves, he also learned that he "could be beaten for his color" by the police. His answer was to heal through writing; as a young man, he offered counter-sermons to his stepfather's angry ones and began to preach of love and hope. In his travels to Paris, he found a larger world in which he could be himself and tell his story. Harris's use of glitter as a metaphor is apt, and his balletic journey through the key developments of Baldwin's life prevents the topics from growing too heavy for the audience. The paintings have a loose, joyful quality, with dancing painted words in the background, an effect that drives home the importance of Baldwin's love of words and reading in pushing him forward through hardships and discovery. What an impeccable biography. VERDICT It's easy to imagine this gem in classrooms, even for upper elementary students, but adults and other educators will appreciate the notes in the back matter, which includes selected sources.—Kimberly Olson Fakih - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
