Carole Boston Weatherford, a New York Times best-selling
author and poet, was named the 2025 Children’s Literature Legacy
Award winner. She was also named the 2019 Washington Post
Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award winner. Her numerous books
for children include the Newbery Honor Book Box: Henry Box Brown
Mails Himself to Freedom, illustrated by Michele Wood; the Coretta
Scott King Author Award winner Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race
Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper; the Robert F. Sibert Honor
Book Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights
Movement, illustrated by Ekua Holmes; and the critically acclaimed
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library and Outspoken: Paul Robeson,
Ahead of His Time, both illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Carole
Boston Weatherford lives in Maryland.
Frank Morrison has won numerous awards for his picture book
illustration, including two Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards.
He previously collaborated with Carole Boston Weatherford on
Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic
Spiritual; R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul; How
Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace; and The Roots of Rap:
16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop. Frank Morrison lives outside
Atlanta.
Functions both as history and as antiracist reading that will
inspire discussion in homes and libraries. . . Frank Morrison’s
illustrations, in which her physical size fluctuates, provide the
emotional core of the story. Drawn large, Cox swells with joy;
drawn small, she is ensnared in a gargantuan system of arbitrary
barriers and migrating goal posts. The deep and somber color
palette conveys both cultural richness and the tragedy of a dream
derailed.
—The New York Times Book Review
In this thoughtfully conceived picture book, Boston Weatherford
centers MacNolia Cox (1923–1976), who achieved celebrity status in
1936 after becoming the first African American to win the Akron,
Ohio, spelling bee, thus qualifying for the National Spelling Bee
in Washington, D.C. . . a powerful, word-by-word telling of a
child’s personal triumph.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Weatherford tells of MacNolia’s experiences in concise, direct
narrative, while occasionally asking a question such as, “Can you
spell discrimination? D-I-S-C-R-I-M-I-N-A-T-IO-N.” . . . Capturing
the characters’ emotions and their personalities, Morrison’s
vibrant oil-and-spray-paint illustrations are riveting. This moving
picture book portrays a girl who met injustice with dignity and
excelled.
—Booklist (starred review)
MacNolia Cox was neither the first African American child to win a
national spelling contest (1908) nor the next (2021)—but she was
the first even to win a spot as a finalist in all the intervening
decades. . . the author pays tribute to the Akron, Ohio, eighth
grader’s indomitable spirit and focus as well as her love of words
while recording the public excitement she caused. . . Spells out
reasons to vow N-E-V-E-R A-G-A-I-N.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Morrison’s illustrations capture the emotions, tenacity, and
strength of Cox and her supporters while Weatherford’s free verse
tells the story of a young girl with a gift for spelling. . .
Without shying away from the racism Cox endured, Weatherford keeps
the focus squarely on the determination of the champion and her
supporters for the opportunity to show her talents as a speller. .
. . Another stunning title from a gifted pair of creators, this
deserves a place in all collections as children will root for Cox
and be inspired by her amazing accomplishments.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
Weatherford cleverly structures this picture book biography around
the repetition of the question “Can you spell…?” . . . Smooth oil
and spray paint illustrations emanate the characteristic warm
richness of Morrison’s art, and a balance between the neutral color
palette and pops of jewel tones at key moments guides readers’
emotional journey through the narrative. . . . Despite stylistic
similarities to Weatherford and Morrison’s other biography
collaboration R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul
(BCCB 07/20), this story is superb in its own right.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Cox is remembered for her perseverance under pressure, and both the
affecting text (with its spelling-centered refrain: “Can you spell
dedication?…Can you spell excited?”) and brilliantly hued oil- and
spray-paint illustrations portray her with dignity while reflecting
the intensity of the times. An epilogue reinforces how every
victory encourages others.
—The Horn Book
Acclaimed author and poet Carole Boston Weatherford and her
frequent collaborator, illustrator Frank Morrison, team up yet
again for this illuminating picture book about the 1936 National
Spelling Bee and the African-American girl from Akron, Ohio, who
almost won it. Weatherford mines all the dramatic possibilities for
this story about spelling and discrimination, drawing the reader in
from the first sentences. . . Morrison's magnificent illustrations,
using oil and spray paints, have a somber dignity.
—The Buffalo News
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
