Every February, there's a push for publishers to release African-American books. What began as a way to broaden history's scope, now seem somewhat limiting. My hope for the future is that one day children will learn a more diverse history in a way that's not calendar confined and date driven.
This year I was pleased to note two African-American biographies are slated for March and April release. Though I don't usually recommend books not yet available, I do want to observe the publisher's break from tradition.
March will herald Alan Govenar's, Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter (Hyperion, $15.99; ages 8 and up) Born in 1909, Osceola was a receptacle for the oral wealth of her family and the book is filled with poems and songs from all periods of history which are related by Osceola and transcribed by Govenar. Best of all are her personal stories---stories of growing up poor, losing her mother, and loving the poetry around and within her. Lyricism shines through in her storytelling as she imparts poignant details, surprises readers with words and events, and delivers an emotional record of the black distrust of whites, the protective qualities of family, and the drive to survive slavery, poverty, and loss.
In April, look forward to Kathryn Lasky's Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker (Candlewick, $16.99; ages 6-10) . This longer picture book tells the story of the inspiring Madame Walker, best known for founding a turn-of-the-century company that bolstered the beauty of African-American women. Lasky does an incredible job of getting to the emotional and character qualities of this amazing woman who did much more than change hair. Walker was the first free-born child of a large, loving family. Thriving on their small farm was nearly impossible with the threats of poverty, disease, hard labor, and the KKK. After her parents' death, young Sarah moved to St. Louis where the stresses of early marriage, overwork, and poor nutrition resulted in loss of her hair. Inspired by a dream and prayer, she creates a concoction to rebuild healthy hair. She builds not just hair strength, but the esteem of black women by praising and enhancing their given physical appearance and employing them as a work force. Once she has attained and encouraged others' pride and financial independence, Walker goes on to fight for the rights of women and African-Americans in areas of culture and social justice concern. Illustrator Nneka Bennett, who, as a child was taught by her mother about the beauty and wonders of African-American hair, lauds the inner and outer beauty of the story's characters.
While I'm in a rebellious mood, I want to note other recently published biographies that come from a mix of eras and cultures. Russell Freedman rarely writes a biography without receiving accolades. His latest is Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion (Clarion, $18.00; ages 9 and up) The fourth of seven children born to poor Swedish immigrants, it seems Babe's life was set up for struggle. During her life she fought poverty, gender stereotyping, the world's confusion at a female athlete whose passion for and skill at sports crossed mediums, and until she met her final contender - cancer. Freedman does an excellent job of surrounding Babe in historical and personal context so her individualistic and sometimes apparently self-proud persona makes total sense. The book is filled with wonderful photographs, pithy quotations, and the depth of research and understanding for which Freeman is deservedly esteemed. One of the most chilling biographies I read this year was Marian Calabro's The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party (Clarion, $20.00, ages 12 and up) This book is not for the faint-hearted, for the author lays out the terrible truths, horrid conditions, and suspected actualities of the ill-fated trip. There, with supporting pictures, are the tragic stories of pride and misdirection that lead eighty-one people to become lost, and then trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevadas with little food and water that made them resort to severe methods of survival. A young adult I know, and whose opinions I trust, was deeply disturbed by this book. This is due, not only to the book's theme's, but the author's excellence of relating them.
I discovered several biographical collections of note. Margaret Mulvihill compilation, The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs (Viking, $19.99; ages 8 and up) begins, "every saint has a story and there is a story and a saint for every human circumstance.² The book's portrayal is artistic and humanistic, and far-reaching in terms of time and place. The book begins with historic explanations, significances, and descriptions of bestowing sainthood. Then masterpieces from all periods of art accompany short biographies in describing more than forty-five saints from the more familiar Mary and Joseph, to twentieth century Nigerian Father Cyprian Michael Tansi.
Kathleen Krull takes us on a quick tour of psychic history in They Saw the Future: Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers, and Pretty Good Guessers (Atheneum, $19.99; ages 9 and up) Crossing time and cultures, Krull begins with the Oracle at Delphi and ends with Marshall McLuhan. She discloses personalities, societal problems of non-acceptance, the miracles of prophecies, and best of all, the quirks of these famed predictors. Krull, adept at these longitudinal looks at historic themes, is clear in her writing, humorous in tone, and gifted at choosing details that children will enjoy.
Michael Cooper's Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Ways (Clarion, $15.00; ages 9 and up) is a sad picture of a shameful period of American history. The book describes many facets I was familiar with; how numbers of children were removed from their parents, some of them dragged across the country, how many died from depression and disease. Cooper describes various schools, their set ups, and the way students were educated, housed, directed, and disciplined. The true poignancy of the books comes from Cooper's relating the students' stories and offering a wealth of old photographs which serve as further witness to the heartbreaking tales of these once-proud children whose hair, dress, and customs were stolen from them. There are victories hidden in the tales of those who coped with the horrors and maintained a sense of self against adult assaults to their dignity.