African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Brian Pinkney

Since I wrote about a book illustrated by Brian Pinkney in yesterday's post, I wanted to follow up with another one of his books today: Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert  San Souci.

This is from a Creole version of Cinderella, and be sure to look at the Creole glossary in the back along with the author's note about his sources.

The illustrations by Brian Pinkney are beautiful!

I also wanted to share another book that Brian Pinkney illustrated; it's not folklore, but instead poetry by Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper and Other Poems.

You can find out more about the great poet Langston Hughes at Wikipedia; how I wish he could have lived to see this beautiful book. You might recall that I wrote an earlier post about an anthology of African American folklore that Hughes edited: The Book of Negro Folklore.

Here's Pinkney's illustration for a poem about Jim Crow and merry-go-rounds: there ain't no back / to a merry-go-round.

I think it's wonderful to see how Brian Pinkney developed his own very distinctive style, just as his father, Jerry Pinkney, developed his own style over the years (more from Jerry Pinkney).

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella

by Robert  San Souci

 The Dream Keeper and Other Poems

by Langston Hughes

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Drums / Kizell

I took a week off to finish proofreading and doing the layout for the Reader's Guide to African Folktales at the Internet Archive... which means I was so glad to be able to get back to writing about books here today! Instead of the weekly roundup that I usually do on Saturday, I'll just include a link here to the Elsie Clews Parsons books (plus spreadsheet) from last week, and jump right in with new books for a new week, both of them Gullah-related.

The first is a beautiful and deeply moving children's book by Kim Siegelson: In the Time of the Drums.

You can find out more about Kim Seigelson here: Georgia Center for the Book.

The wonderful illustrations are by Brian Pinkney, who is the son of Jerry Pinkney. (You might remember him from an earlier post: he did the illustrations for McKissack's The Dark Thirty!)

As the author explains in a note after the story, this is a Gullah legend told throughout the Sea Islands off the South Carolina and Georgia coast. I don't want to give away too much, but if you know the legend of the flying Africans (see Virginia Hamilton's The People Could Fly), you will see this as a kindred story.

The other book I want to share today is not folklore, but actual history, an amazing investigation into the life of John Kizell: The African American Odyssey of John Kizell: A South Carolina Slave Returns to Fight the Slave Trade in His African Homeland by Kevin Lowther.

Doesn't that subtitle make you want to read the book? It is a remarkable real-life story; you can also read about John Kizell at Wikipedia. By chance I met Kevin Lowther's brother this week, and he told me about the book; I am so grateful for that chance meeting! If you are interested in American or African history (or even Canadian history!), the history of slavery and of the fight against slavery, and also the history of Gullah culture in South Carolina, then this is a book for you. To find out more about Kevin Lowther and the historical research that made this book possible, here's a podcast to listen to: Research at the National Archives.

And now I have to say: it feels GREAT to be writing about books again every day here after a week off, and, yes, there will eventually be a Reader's Guide to African Diaspora Folktales at the Internet Archive, a follow-up to the African folktales book too. But I've got a lot of blogging to do before I get there. :-)

In the Time of the Drums

by Kim Siegelson

The African American Odyssey of John Kizell

by Kevin Lowther

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Dark-Thirty and Tailypo

After writing about the Moaning Bones and the Headless Haunt yesterday, I thought I would share two more books in the supernatural genre! 

First is The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack.

The book contains 10 different supernatural tales, and the illustrations are by Brian Pinkney, son of illustrator Jerry Pinkney (see below). And it won both Newbery Honors and also a Coretta Scott King Award! Here is a list of links to the individual stories: The Legend of Pin Oak / We Organized / Justice / The 11:59 / The Sight / The Woman in the Snow / The Conjure Brother / Boo Mama / The Gingi / The Chicken-Coop Monster.

McKissack wrote over 100 books, and you can find many more of her books at the Internet Archive. For more about McKissack's life and career, see Wikipedia.

The other book is Tailypo: A Newfangled Tall Tale by Angela Shelf Medearis.

The illustrations are by Sterling Brown, with some great two-page spreads.

Angela Shelf Medearis is a prolific author of both children's books and also cookbooks. The Internet Archive has many of her books available:

The story of Taily-Po is a folktale that Joel Chandler Harris recorded in the 19th century as a Brer Rabbit story; you can read the Joel Chandler Harris version edited here, or the published version in Uncle Remus Returns. 

The illustrations in Harris's book are by A. B. Frost:

Here's the illustration by Jerry Pinkney in Julius Lester's version:

I wrote my own version for a class project too. :-)

The full moon is coming soon, and the Internet Archive has all the supernatural stories you need to get in the mood. Enjoy!

The Dark-Thirty:

Southern Tales of the Supernatural

by Pat McKissack

Tailypo: A Newfangled Tall Tale

by Angela Shelf Medearis