There Was a Party for Langston. Jason Reynolds. Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey. 2023. 56 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book]
First sentence: There was a party for Langston at the library. A jam in Harlem to celebrate the word-making man--Langston, the king of letters whose ABC's became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole wide world.
Premise/plot: This party for Langston Hughes was held in February 1991. The author, Jason Reynolds, was inspired to write about this party after seeing a photograph of two authors dancing--Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka. The book celebrates Langston Hughes AND his continuing legacy. There are word-makers and word-breakers. Word-breakers being those who would ban books and limit freedom.
My thoughts: This picture book earned a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.
I loved the text of this one--very rhythmic. Definitely fitting, I think, to celebrating a poet.
I loved the illustrations--very vibrant, joyful, jumping off the page.
© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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