African American Culture | Literature Review

Reynolds, Jason. There Was A Party For Langston. Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-1-534-43944-3. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-3.

There Was A Party For Langston is a celebration of Langston Hughes and his words as well as the people that he inspired. It celebrates his poetry and showcases how he was able to use language and create things that made other people create things. It shows how he inspired Maya Angelou to create her stories. The way the illustrations add to the story will cause the reader to go back through this book several times to find different things that they missed.

THOUGHTS: This is Jason Reynolds’ debut picture book, and he hits it out of the park (which isn’t surprising). This is an excellent introduction to Langston Hughes, as well as other authors. The author’s note in the back of the book will make the reader want to know more about all of the authors that are featured in this book, as well as more about Jason Reynolds himself. Must own for every elementary, and even a middle school collection (even though the book is clearly for younger readers).

Back in 1991, there was a party in the Schomburg Library in New York City, a party for a man who had a way with words: Langston Hughes. In attendance was writer Maya Angelou and dancer Amiri Baraka who boogied amongst the rows of books featuring names of Black authors like Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Octavia Butler. When Langston Hughes wrote, the power of his words made people want to dance, jump, and shout. His words also had the power to unite and inspire, as they did with Angelou and Baraka. Perhaps Langston’s words will inspire the reader, too.

THOUGHTS: Jason Reyolds’ first picture book does not disappoint. Based on a photo of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing together at the opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, this story demonstrates the power and joy of the written word. The Pumphrey brothers’ illustrations take Langston’s powerful words and turn them into a beautiful depiction of Black culture.

Picture Book

Beckner, Chrisanne. 100 African Americans Who Shaped History. Sourcebooks Explore, 2022. 978-0-912-51718-6, 112 p. $7.99. Grades 7-12.

This slim volume contains 100 biographies of notable African American men and women who have influenced the course of United States history. Each biography contains a simple black and white drawing of the subject of the biography, a rough placement on a United States map to show where that person lived, and the birth and death dates at the top of the page. The biographies offer a good overview of the lives of these notable people, and bold-faced text on each page identifies achievements, places, or people who connect to the life being described. The table of contents includes a timeline sorting the biographies chronologically, and the index helps organize the bold-faced terms throughout the book.

THOUGHTS: This is an excellent volume for students who want to read brief descriptions of notable African Americans and would serve as a good overview or introduction to biography projects that focus on African American historical figures. The book is well-designed and organized, and the text is easy to read for casual nonfiction browsers.

920 Collected Biography Erin Faulkner, Cumberland Valley SD

Literature Review

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Tag Archives: African American Culture

Elem. – There Was A Party For Langston

MG/YA – 100 African Americans Who Shaped History