Celebrate We Gullah Geechee

Celebrate We Gullah Geechee invites the reader along on a dynamic exploration of Gullah culture.

With rhythm and repetition to engage children, five narrators take turns highlighting what they notice in their world, each focusing on one of the five senses. We are there with them: A girl sees a “haint blue door at Grandma’s house / Rocking chairs waiting on the porch.” On special days, we hear the marching band play―ba-da-dum-bum. Our hands explore the prickly bark of Palmetto tree trunks. Through these sensory experiences, readers will honor and learn about the culture and traditions of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

• Uplifts Gullah Geechee history and contemporary culture
• Spotlights the importance of family, community, and place
• Engages children with rhythmic writing and lots of onomatopoeia
• Includes a section for adults with additional background information

Written by award-winning poet Yvette R. Murray, this book invites children to explore their own worlds― whether near or far from the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor―through sense and celebration.

Yvette R. Murray is an award-winning poet and author of the picture book Celebrate We Gullah Geechee (Free Spirit Publishing) and the poetry collection Hush, Puppy (Finishing Line Press). She has been published in Chestnut Review, Emrys Journal, Litmosphere, A Gathering Together, and others. She is the 2022 Susan Laughter Meyers Poetry Fellow, a 2021 Best New Poet selection, a Watering Hole Fellow, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Yvette lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Tonya Engel is a self-taught artist and illustrator heavily influenced by folk artists of the Deep South and Harlem Renaissance pioneers, as well as Mark Chagall, Frida Kahlo, and Romare Beardon. Tonya's illustrations speak to image, identity, and relationships. Meshing decorative elements, oils, and occasional collage with emotional content, she portrays women with contemplative faces, implying a dream world that invites our interpretations. She has been the recipient of several awards and honors for her art and book illustrations, including a three-month residency in Paris, France, a Septima Clark Book Award for Rise!, a 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book Award for Your Legacy, and more. Tonya resides in Houston, Texas.