Rockstar Book Tours presents... KIN by Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Today, I'm honored to be hosting a spot on the KIN by Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my review post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then click on over to the other sites participating in this event. 

 

Title: KIN: Rooted in Hope

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford

Pub. Date: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/KINROOTEDINHOPE 

A powerful portrait of a Black family tree shaped by enslavement and freedom, rendered in searing poems by acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford and stunning art by her son Jeffery Boston Weatherford.

I call their names:
Abram Alice Amey Arianna Antiqua
I call their names:
Isaac Jake James Jenny Jim
Every last one, property of the Lloyds,
the state’s preeminent enslavers.
Every last one, with a mind of their own
and a story that ain’t yet been told.
Till now.

Carole and Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s ancestors are among the founders of Maryland. Their family history there extends more than three hundred years, but as with the genealogical searches of many African Americans with roots in slavery, their family tree can only be traced back five generations before going dark. And so from scraps of history, Carole and Jeffery have conjured the voices of their kin, creating an often painful but ultimately empowering story of who their people were in a breathtaking book that is at once deeply personal yet all too universal.

Carole’s poems capture voices ranging from her ancestors to Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman to the plantation house and land itself that connects them all, and Jeffery’s evocative illustrations help carry the story from the first mention of a forebear listed as property in a 1781 ledger to he and his mother’s homegoing trip to Africa in 2016. Shaped by loss, erasure, and ultimate reclamation, this is the story of not only Carole and Jeffery’s family, but of countless other Black families in America.

 

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This was a moving and powerful journey from today through yesteryear, as we follow the bloodlines back, and back again, reaching a part of history best learned from, but not forgotten.

Our history is filled with tragedies, atrocities, and the darkness of man's soul...but despite those heavier times, lessons were gleaned, steps forward were made, and people prospered. We're still not where we want to be, but we've come a long way in what seems like such a short time. Reading the stories of the lives represented between these pages, and taking in the stunning imagery right along side, isn't merely words and pictures, but an experience. It brings this branch of history to life in a way I can't say I've seen or felt before, so much so that as the dots are connected through history you too experience in your own way the strength gained, the disappointment shed, and the stars aligning to make this moment worthy of the discoveries occurring. 

A unique collection that truly has a tale to tell for one family, but also for a people. It's not just the story of one person, but a story that has roots shared by many, and no matter how hard it might be to look at at times, it needs to be seen, known, remembered, and learned from. 

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About Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Boston Weatherford Mother-Son/Author-Illustrator
Duo:

Hailed as “a master” and “the dean” of nonfiction for young people,” Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King  Award winner Carole Boston Weatherford is a New York Times best-seller and two-time NAACP Image Award  winner. Since her 1995 debut, she has authored 70-plus books including four Caldecott Honor winners: Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre; Freedom in Congo Square, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit  of the Civil Rights Movement, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Her books have  won nine Coretta Scott King Awards or Honors. She writes the diverse books that she lacked as a child. 

A Baltimore native and the daughter of educators, Carole was virtually born with ink in her blood. At age six,  she dictated her first poem to her mother. Her father, a high school printing teacher, published a few of her  early poems on the press in his classroom. Meanwhile, her grandmothers passed down oral traditions and  stories. By middle school, Carole had transferred from an all-black public school to a majority-white, private  school where a teacher wrongfully accused her of plagiarism. That slight compelled her to chronicle a more  inclusive history, to amplify marginalized voices and to build monuments with words. 

Now, children’s books are a family affair for Carole. In KIN: Rooted in Hope, she and her son, award-winning  illustrator Jeffery Weatherford embark on a genealogical quest. Through multi-voiced poems and dramatic scratchboard illustrations, mother and son conjure the voices and visages of their forebears. Their ancestors lived through the American Revolution, fought in the Civil War, were enslaved alongside Frederick Douglass,  cofounded Reconstruction-era villages, and according to local lore, descended from African royalty.  

A professor at Fayetteville State University, an HBCU in North Carolina, Carole has been recognized with the  Nonfiction Award from the Children’s Book Guild, the North Carolina Literature Award, the Ragan-Rubin  Award from North Carolina English Teachers Association and a place in the North Carolina Literary Hall of  Fame. She is a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. 

Jeffery earned his M.F.A. from Howard University where he was a Romare Bearden scholar and studied under  artists from the Black Arts Movement. A rapper and a fine artist, Jeffery has performed or exhibited in  Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Baltimore, North Carolina, West Africa and the Middle East. Jeffery’s first book was  You Can Fly the Tuskegee Airmen, and his first picture book was Call Me Miss Hamilton. Both appeared on best  book of the year lists. 

Website: http://cbweatherford.com Email: cbwpoet@gmail.com  

Publicist: The Literary/Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati (vlloydsgam@aol.com) 

Agent: Rubin Pfeffer Content

 

Sign up for Carole’s newsletter! Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Website | Twitter | Carole Instagram | Jeffrey Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of KIN, US Only.

Ends September 19th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Special thanks to Rockstar Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on this horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.    Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more...

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/4/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
9/4/2023	The Momma Spot	Excerpt
9/5/2023	YA Books Central	Interview
9/5/2023	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/6/2023	Book-Keeping	Excerpt/IG Post
9/6/2023	Cara North	Excerpt/IG Post
9/7/2023	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/7/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
9/8/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
9/8/2023	A Backwards Story	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

9/11/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
9/11/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
9/12/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
9/12/2023	Gryffindorbookishnerd	IG Review
9/13/2023	evergirl200	IG Review
9/13/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review
9/14/2023	The Litt Librarian	Review/IG Post
9/14/2023	Paperwitchs	Review/IG Post
9/15/2023	@hodophile_z	IG Review
9/15/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

TCBR AWARENESS TOUR: Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today's post brings us a new tour currently brightening up the blogosphere with The Children's Book Review. It's a Picture Book that tells the story behind the first Black woman to have her own solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City AND she was also the first Black woman to have her work chosen for the White House collection. Pretty cool, right? To think...they all started with how she viewed the world...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce today's colorfully wonderful blog tour guest and book of choice...

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

by

Jeanne Walker Harvey

Illustrated by

Loveis Wise

9780063021891

Harper Collins

About the book...

Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas.

Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the 20th century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art.

As a child in Georgia, Alma Thomas loved to spend time outside, soaking up the colors around her. And her parents filled their home with color and creativity despite the racial injustices they faced. After the family moved to Washington DC, Alma shared her passion for art by teaching children. When she was almost seventy years old, she focused on her own artwork, inspired by nature and space travel.

In this celebration of art and the power of imagination, Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise tell the incredible true story of Alma Thomas, the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City and to have her work chosen for the White House collection. With her bold and vibrant abstract paintings, Alma set the world ablaze with color.

Ablaze with Color includes extensive backmatter with photos, an author’s and illustrator’s note, a timeline, and a list of sources and resources, which will be a great tool for parents, educators, and librarians. Perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month units alongside such favorites as Malala’s Magic Pencil, Hidden Figures, and Mae Among the Stars.

AMAZON  |  BOOKSHOP

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This is the wonderful story of how one child's experience of the world surrounding, turned into a lifetime of beauty beheld, and eventually shared with the world.

The thing I love most about Picture Book biographical stories is that you really get to the heart of things.  Yes, they are short on details, but they convey some of the most important moments, the most remarkable discoveries, and the most powerful messages...as seen here.  Alma Thomas accomplished two things never before done by a Black woman, and made her mark in history without ever setting out to do that exact thing.  She simply was.  She soaked up the things she went through, sorted out the bad from the good, shone her own inner light on those captured images, and later in life blessed the world with her interpretations of those times.  It's wonderful to see those simple moments brought to life...ablaze with color.

An inspiring work filled with a story to remember, and images that come to life right off the page, this book is one I can easily see in the classroom setting as well as in family rooms setting the tone for the next generations moments of greatness.

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About the author...

Jeanne Walker Harvey has been a longtime docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Just like Alma Thomas, Jeanne believes that art brings us joy. Her other picture books include Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines and My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. Jeanne studied literature and psychology at Stanford University. She lives in Northern California.

Visit her online at www.jeanneharvey.com.

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About the illustrator...

Loveis Wise is an illustrator and designer from Washington, DC. They are currently based in Los Angeles and their work often speaks to themes of joy and liberation. Their work can be found through the New Yorker, Google, Adobe, and the New York Times.

You can find them online at www.loveiswise.com.

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Enter for a chance to win a classroom set of the picture book Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas!

Three (3) winners receive:

A classroom set of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, autographed and personalized for each student and the teacher by Jeanne Walker Harvey (no more than 30 books per set).

Ablaze with Color: Book Giveaway

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Special thanks to Bianca at The Children's Book Review for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is set to release February 22nd, so mark your calendar or pre order your copy today.  Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more bookish fun!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

To the Rescue: Garrett Morgan Underground by Monica Kulling

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to another day here at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're continuing along the same vein of things as yesterday's Ordinary People Change the World blog tour with a review of the latest addition to ANOTHER fabulous Children's Edutainment Storybook series.  It comes to us from an author whose work has been featured right here many a time before and hopefully many times to come.  She always brings a certain spark to her titles and manages to convey the information in such a way that readers of all ages are perceptive to the message.  It's a perfect fit after yesterday's post and a great match for Black History month which we are just at the start of.  Well now, enough with the suspense, let's get to it and do it!  Today's book of choice is...

To the Rescue:

Garrett Morgan Underground

by

Monica Kulling

Illustrated by

David Parkins

9781770495203

Tundra Books

About the book...

The son of freed slaves, Garrett Morgan was determined to have a better life than laboring in the Kentucky fields with his parents and ten siblings. He began by sweeping floors in a clothing factory in Cleveland, Ohio, where he decided to invent a stronger belt for sewing machines. When he was promoted to sewing-machine repairman, Garrett was on his way. In 1911, 146 workers died in the shocking Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City, so Garrett decided to invent a safety hood for firefighters. Little did he know that most people wouldn't be interested in buying his safety hood when they discovered its inventor was black. But an explosion that trapped workers in a tunnel under Lake Erie soon changed all that. Garrett's hoods were rushed to the scene and used to rescue as many men as possible. Developed further, Garrett's invention came to save thousands of soldiers from chlorine gas in the trenches of World War I.

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A fascinating look at the life of a man whose work we take for granted yet never knew the mind behind.  That's what I LOVE about the Great Ideas series.  Every installment brings to light something everyday that we may not even look twice at, turns it inside out, and brings to the forefront the person or persons we have to thank for their creative genius.  In this case, it is one Garrett Morgan.

Now, admittedly when I first saw the title of this one combined with the imagery on both the front and back covers, I thought it had something to to with a little known member of the Underground Railroad.  Whoops!  I suppose I should have noticed the sewing machine odds and ends laying about but what can I say, I glanced quickly and I WAS viewing it on my phone so tiny picture = my mistake.  Once I had it in my hot little hands, I realized the "error of my ways" and dove right in to discover what this man's life was REALLY all about.  

From his notice of things that could be made stronger so they were more efficient to the inventor's mind that lived inside of him, both combined to create a very remarkable life.  True, it wasn't easy going for him, as African Americans were just beginning to be accepted as free let alone businessmen, but that doesn't mean he gave up.  If he had, we wouldn't have hair refiner (straightens out the curliest of hair), modern day gas masks (the original format/idea came to him from watching elephants!), or even the traffic signal as we know it today.  Surprised?  I told you this series was good...

All in all, a great addition to any reader's library from the tall to the small, the home to the classroom, or anywhere in-between.  The informative nature of the story combined with the detailed illustrations that cover every page add up to an edutainment experience not to be missed.  If you haven't checked out this series as of yet, I highly suggest you do as it keeps growing and growing and growing and...well, you get the idea.  ^_^

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About the author...

Monica Kulling was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She received a BA in creative writing from the University of Victoria. Monica Kulling has published twenty-six fiction and nonfiction books for children, including picture books, poetry, and biographies. She is best known for introducing biography to children just learning to read and has written about Harriet Tubman, Houdini, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart among others. Monica Kulling lives in Toronto, Canada.

SITE  |  AUTHOR PAGE

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Special thanks to author Monica Kulling and the team at Tundra Books for the review copy.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the Great Ideas series, the author, the illustrator, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title just celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY last month via Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time...happy reading!