It made be that an author has been writing for years, but suddenly several books come out at the same time. If the author is new, this can make for a stunning debut. This is exactly the case in the work of picture book author, Evelyn Coleman. This African-American author born in Burlington, unifies themes of injustice with a magic and storytelling gift that have created three very different, very powerful books.
Her first book, The Foot Warmer and the Crow (Macmillan, $14.95; ages 8-11) tells the story of Hezekiah, a slave small in stature, but a giant in his wit, sensitivity and intelligence. Hezekiah has the ability to commune with birds, and like them he wants his freedom. He learns quickly that he must earn that advantage with his cunning. During the cold winter, Hezekiah offers to be his master's foot warmer, knowing that the cruel master talks in his sleep. Gaining information from sleep talking and a friendly crow who seeks revenge, Hezekiah makes a wager with his master, and wins. His master lacks honesty and would pursue him, but the crow helps his friend and himself by scaring the man to death.
This year, Coleman published two books. The Glass Bottle Tree (Orchard, $14.95; ages 9-12) is a courageous picture book that again storytelling, social issues and the supernatural. The title refers to an African-American custom brought from Africa, where colorful bottles are stuck on a tree's limbs to contain the spirits of the family's ancestors. The story's unnamed young heroine lives with her grandmother and loves those spirits, but respects her grandmother's decision to "put all the spirits inside bottles, so they'd get ahold of themselves and behave." The girl and her grandmother have a deep and unwavering relationship with each other and their land.
That relationship is often understood without words and this is misinterpreted when the "state's folk" visit. They decide that the grandmother's age and silence mean that the little girl "would be much better off living with a well-to-do family in a beautiful yuppety house....a real family." When they come to take the child, they believe the grandmother has gone even stranger, rocking and humming while the child grieves the coming loss. They can't hear, don't understand that the old woman is speaking to the spirits who are unleased and fling "those state's folks here and there and everywhere until they lie like worn out rag dolls." Their mind's entirely reversed, the state's folk leave forever. Evelyn Coleman's book can help children talk about everything from different ways of expressing love, prejudice, and definition of family by love, not economic circumstances.
Coleman's newest book is White Socks Only (Whitman, $15.95; ages 9-12) and tells the story of a young black girl who travels from country to town, down hot dusty roads because she has to find out if you really can fry an egg on a sidewalk. She walks timidly past the Chicken Man, someone who's learned African magic from his grandmother, and might turn someone "who's not doing right " into a chicken. After hiding from her mama's friends, the young girl accomplishes her mission, but realizes she feels parched. Spotting a drinking fountain that bears the sign, "Whites Only", she takes off her black shoes, and, now dressed only in white, begins to drink. From no where comes a huge ugly white man who begins to whip the young girl. Her innocence inspires those around her who remove their shoes and drink from the fountain as well, including the Chicken Man who tells her she "done good" and should head on home.
I believe Ms. Coleman, and others like her, are ushering in a whole new type of children's book. She and other African-American writers are plunging deep into their storytelling heritage, voicing the power and pictures that the culture has always held dear.