Harlem Renaissance Party: A Picture Book About Black History―Meeting Langston Hughes and Icons of the 1920s for Kids (Ages 4-8) - Hardcover

Ringgold, Faith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060579110 ISBN 13: 9780060579111

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2015

Synopsis

Caldecott Honor artist Faith Ringgold takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the Harlem Renaissance.

Lonnie and his uncle go back to Harlem in the 1920s. Along the way, they meet famous writers, musicians, artists, and athletes, from Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois to Josephine Baker and Zora Neale Hurston and many more, who created this incredible period. And after an exciting day of walking with giants, Lonnie fully understands why the Harlem Renaissance is so important.

Faith Ringgold's bold and vibrant illustrations capture the song and dance of the Harlem Renaissance while her story will captivate young readers, teaching them all about this significant time in our history. A glossary and further reading list are included in the back of the book.

Faith Ringgold—painter, writer, speaker, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist—is the recipient of more than 75 awards, including 22 honorary doctor of fine arts degrees. Her work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums.

About this title

About the Author

An award-winning artist internationally renowned for her painted story quilts, Faith Ringgold is also the author of thirteen children's picture books, including the 1992 Caldecott Honor Award-winning Tar Beach. Her artwork is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. She also has had exhibitions in major museums in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. She lives in Englewood, New Jersey, with her husband.

From the Back Cover

Come one! Come all!
To a party today in Harlem. Celebrate the great men and women of the Harlem Renaissance.

Lonnie and his uncle Bates go on an unforgettable journey back in time to the Harlem Renaissance. Along the way, they meet the famous writers, musicians, artists, and athletes who created this incredible period. And after an exciting day of walking with giants, Lonnie fully understands why the Harlem Renaissance is so important.

Faith Ringgold's bold and vibrant illustrations capture the song and dance of the Harlem Renaissance while her story captivates young readers, teaching them all about this significant time in our history.

Reviews

Gr 1–4—Accomplished artist, educator, and activist Ringgold gives readers a grounding in the Harlem Renaissance in this follow-up to her Dinner at Aunt Connie's House (Hyperion, 1993). Narrator and aspiring author Lonnie travels back in time with his uncle to meet the artists, musicians, and writers who reinvigorated African American culture in the early 20th century. As W.E.B. Du Bois comments when they see him at The Crisis magazine headquarters, "We black folk had a new desire to create as though we had just awakened from a deep, deep sleep." While visiting 1930s Harlem, the pair eat breakfast with Jack Johnson, watch a Marcus Garvey parade, and "cut a rug" at the Savoy Ballroom. At the Schomburg Library, they encounter Zora Neale Hurston, Carter G. Woodson, and Lonnie's hero, Langston Hughes. Back matter includes a glossary of terms and brief biographies of the legendary giants that Lonnie meets at the party. Ringgold's colorful acrylic illustrations will acquaint a new generation with cultural icons of the Harlem Renaissance. Librarians will want to follow up by sharing complementary titles in their collections, such as David Roessel's Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes (Sterling, 2006) and Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin's biography Zora!: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (Clarion, 2012).—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060579110
• ISBN 13: 9780060579111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ringgold Faith
• Number of pages: 40