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WORK TITLE: BETWEEN TWO WINDOWS
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CITY: Elkridge
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Married; children: one daughter.
EDUCATION:Fashion Institute of Technology, B.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling, weight lifting, watching animated movies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Notable Social Studies Trade Book Award, CBC-NCSS, 2024, for All Aboard the School Train.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Keisha Morris is a writer and illustrator based in Maryland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Morris has released self-illustrated volumes and has provided illustrations for books by other authors.
Among her collaborators was Michael W. Waters, with whom she wrote the 2020 volume, For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World. It tells the story of a boy named Jeremiah, who becomes frustrated with the gun violence in his community and vows to work toward ending it. “Encouraging but simplistic, the book strives to offer dignity, agency, and hope for a new generation of black youth but doesn’t quite manage,” commented a Kirkus Reviews critic. However a Children’s Bookwatch reviewer described the volume as “an honest and intimate look at one family’s response to racism and gun violence.”
When My Cousins Came to Town, by Angela Shanté, finds a young Black girl whose seven cousins come to visit her each summer. This summer, the girl hopes her cousins will give her a nickname. Finally, she receives her wish on the last day of her cousins’ visit. Morris illustrating the story of Amber Hayes, reviewer in Booklist, suggested that the story is “smartly complemented by Morris’ bold, vivid illustrations of the cousins’ summer antics.” A Kirkus Reviews writer described the volume as “an adorable book about being true to yourself and the joys of family, especially cousins.”
In Hair Story, by NoNieqa Ramos, curly-haired best friends, Preciosa and Rudine, endure hair-straightening, which they each find uncomfortable. They are relieved when they are able to wear their hair naturally curly once again. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews commented that the art in the book “excels at conveying emotion throughout the story.”
Morris provides illustrations for the nonfiction book, A Girl Can Build Anything, written by Pat Zietlow Miller and e.E. Charlton-Trujillo. Its text asserts that girls are just as capable as boys of using tools to create physical things. The projects shown in the book include a box, a bookshelf, birdhouses, and a tree house. In an interview with Miller on the Picture Book Builders website, Morris discussed the process of creating the pictures in the book, stating: “I used tissue paper and Mod Podge and collaged it together in Photoshop. With this book, I also used tools I found around my house to add into the artwork.” Regarding the message for readers of the book, Morris told Miller: “I want readers to take away the idea that as long as you try, you will move closer to succeeding.” Reviewing the volume in Booklist, Maryann Owen suggested: “The tissue-paper collage illustrations are full of movement and engaging details as well as a variety of perspectives.”
Morris has also illustrated books about historical events, including When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s “Lost Generation and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision, All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Story from the Great Migration, and When the Rain Came Down. In When the Schools Shut Down, Yolanda Gladden tells her story to Tamara Pizzoli. Gladden recalls the backlash that occurred when she was slated to become one of the first Black students to integrate the school system in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Carolyn Phelan, reviewer in Booklist, called the volume “an attractive, informative picture book on school desegregation.” “Collaged tissue paper and digital media art by Morris offers a lushly layered backdrop to the events,” asserted a writer in Publishers Weekly. A young girl named Thelma imagines riding a train to various real and fictional destinations in All Aboard the Schooltrain. Set in the 1930s, it finds Thelma initially living in Louisiana, where she learns Black history and other subjects in a one-room schoolhouse. Later, she and her family board a train to make a new life in California. A Kirkus Reviews critic described the book as “a vivid evocation of place and era rolling solidly on a bed of timeless values.” “Morris’ imaginative digital illustrations feature lively, active scenes and expressive character portrayals,” noted Phelan in Booklist. A community deals with a catastrophic flood in When the Rain Came Down, by Leslie Helakoski. The residents come together to help one another and also receive help from people from far away. A Kirkus Reviews writer described the book as “an intimate image of community and the rising tides of climate change.”
Morris’s first self-illustrated book is the 2024 volume, Between Two Windows. It finds Kayla and Mateo meeting and sending artwork to one another via the clothesline that connects their two apartments. When their clothesline is temporarily removed, they meet outside and in various locations around their neighborhood. A critic in Kirkus Reviews suggested that the book “honors the joy and simplicity of childhood.” “This appealing story by a debut author-illustrator celebrates friendship and creativity in a satisfying way,” asserted Yesica Hurd in Horn Book.
In an interview with a contributor to the Lerner Books website, Morris offered this advice to aspiring authors and illustrators: “Keep going, keep learning, keep growing and never give up!”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 15, 2021, Amber Hayes, review of When My Cousins Come to Town, p. 68; November 1, 2021, Carolyn Phelan, review of When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s ‘Lost Generation’ and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision, p. 56; December 1, 2022, Carolyn Phelan, review of All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration, p. 128; March 1, 2023, Maryann Owen, review of A Girl Can Build Anything, p. 58.
Children’s Bookwatch, December, 2020, review of For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World.
Horn Book, January-February, 2024, Yesica Hurd, review of Between Two Windows, p. 81.
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2020, review of For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World; April 1, 2021, review of When My Cousins Come to Town; September 1, 2021, review of Hair Story; November 15, 2022, review of All Aboard the Schooltrain; November 15, 2023, review of Between Two Windows; January 15, 2024, review of When the Rain Came Down.
Publishers Weekly, November 23, 2022, review of When the Schools Shut Down, p. 42; February 27, 2023, review of A Girl Can Build Anything, p. 60.
ONLINE
Keisha Morris website, https://www.keishamorris.com/ (April 2, 2024).
Lerner Books website, https://lernerbooks.com/ (April 2, 2024), author interview.
Painted Words, https://www.painted-words.com/ (April 2, 2024), author profile.
Picture Book Builders, https://picturebookbuilders.com/ (May 5, 2023), Pat Zietlow Miller, author interview.
Keisha Morris is an illustrator living and working in Maryland. What she loves about her illustration process is getting to create characters whose personality jumps off the page and the need to tell their story. She earned her BFA in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and mentored with illustrators such as Sean Qualls, Selina Alko and Dan Santat. She is a freelance writer and illustrator for picture books and a member of SCBWI. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two crazy cats Elphie and Ollie!
Awards & Recognition:
2018 SCBWI Spring Spirit Illustration Portfolio Showcase– Second Place
Clients include:
Beaming Books
Benchmark Education
Callisto Media
Harper Collins
Fifth Avenue Press
Flyaway Books
Lerner Publishing Group
Scholastic
Spider Magazine - Cricket Media
West Margins Press
Keisha Morris grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia and currently resides in Maryland. She spends her days creating stories and developing characters that inspire, bring joy, and promote wonder. She creates her illustrations by collaging tissue paper and finishing her illustrations in Photoshop. This allows her to produce whimsical, vibrant, and eye-catching illustrations that ignite the imagination. In her free time, Keisha enjoys spending time with her wife, daughter, and two crazy cats, Ollie and Elphie (named after Elphaba from Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, and yes, she is a black cat!). She also enjoys traveling, watching re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, animated movies, listening to podcasts, and weight lifting.
CLIENT LIST
Beaming Books
Spider Magazine – Cricket Media
Benchmark Education
Fifth Avenue Press
Callisto Media
Flyaway Books
AWARDS / HONORS
2024 CBC-NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book Award – All Aboard the School Train
2024 Black Caucus ALA Best of the Best List for 2023- All Aboard the School Train and Words of Wonder from Z to A
2023 Kirkus Best of 2023 – All Aboard the Schooltrain
2023 3 Starred Reviews (Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly- All Aboard the Schooltrain
2022 Booklist from Rise: A Feminist Book Project- Legacy
2022 Bank Street Books List- When My Cousins Come to Town
2020 Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice – For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World
2018 SCBWI Spring Spirit Illustration Portfolio Showcase – Second Place
QUOTED: "I used tissue paper and Mod Podge and collaged it together in Photoshop. With this book, I also used tools I found around my house to add into the artwork."
"I want readers to take away the idea that as long as you try, you will move closer to succeeding."
Home Fiction picture book How Keisha Morris built the art for A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING — and a giveaway!
How Keisha Morris built the art for A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING — and a giveaway!
Pat Zietlow Miller May 5, 2023
I’m happy to welcome illustrator Keisha Morris to the blog today. Keisha created the art for A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING, written by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and me, which joined the world on April 18.
When e.E. and I were writing the book, we thought it would be super-cool if the book’s art was physically created or built in some way to echo the theme of the book. Viking Books agreed, and that’s where Keisha came in.
In the Q&As below, Keisha explains how she made the amazing art.
What process did you follow to determine your creative direction for the art in A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING? I assume you started by reading the text, but then what happened?
Once I’ve read the manuscript, I let the ideas flow in and start with scribbling those ideas in a sketchbook or on my iPad. I try not to stay too long on a single spread during this part, I want to move quickly to get the ideas out fast. At this stage, I like having more than one idea for each spread so when I go back and create detailed sketches, I can select the strongest idea to move forward with.
I knew I wanted to incorporate tools into the artwork somehow, so I had to keep that in mind as I moved forward with the sketches. And, when I think about the characters in any book, I want to make sure there is a wealth of diversity and inclusion throughout. I know I won’t get every one of every background in the book, but it’s always on my mind when illustrating books for kids.
What materials did you use to create the art for A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING? How long did it take to complete the art?
I used tissue paper and Mod Podge and collaged it together in Photoshop. With this book, I also used tools I found around my house to add into the artwork. It was a bit of a different process for me, so completing the final artwork took a little longer than usual. It took a couple of months to get everything together and turned in.
Which spreads are your favorites? Why?
This is a hard question to answer … but I think my favorite spreads are the first spread, as it feels the most whimsical and dreamy of the bunch. And then, I love the spread where you see all the girls creating, building, and crafting different things. That was the type of kid I was – always trying to make something with whatever materials I had.
Here are some of Keisha’s beginning sketches before she created them with tissue paper and Mod Podge.
What’s something readers might not realize as they look at your art?
If you see a cat on any spread in the book it’s one of my cats, Ollie or Elphie.
What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
I think I want readers to take away the idea that as long as you try, you will move closer to succeeding.
What’s your experience building and creating things? Are you handy?
When I was a kid, I was always making things but never had the right materials to build exactly what I wanted. But that didn’t stop me from making things.
I’m kind of handy. I’m sure if I watch enough YouTube videos on whatever it is I want to build, I can make it happen. Or at least try to make it happen!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever made? What would you like to be able to make?
In high school I made a life-size human figure out of paper mâché for my multimedia craft class! I don’t know if it was my best work at the time, but it was shown in the local art museum, so that was cool!
I always wanted to make a foldable motorized scooter that could fold into a briefcase or a backpack. Kind of like “The Jetsons” – how the car folded into a briefcase. Same idea!
What books are you working on next?
I am currently working on a handful of books, but I am super excited about my author/illustrator picture book debut called Between Two Windows out January 2024! It’s about two kids, Kayla and Mateo, who form a friendship by passing drawings to each other across their connected clothesline.
Website or social media accounts you want to direct people to?
Website: www.keishamorris.com
Instagram: kekkerz86
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Keisha_Morris
Thank you, Keisha! I can’t wait to see your upcoming titles. And, if you haven’t seen A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING yet, it’s available from libraries, independent bookstores and online booksellers.
And, if you want to know a bit about why e.E. and I wrote the book, here’s a video of us discussing our inspiration, the things we’d like to build and why I should never be let anywhere near sharp tools.
THE GIVEAWAY — We’re giving away a copy of A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING. To enter, leave a comment below. If you want a second entry, share a link to this post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #agirlcanbuildanything
QUOTED: "Keep going, keep learning, keep growing and never give up!"
KEISHA MORRIS
Keisha Morris is a freelance writer and illustrator based in Maryland. She loves creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. She earned her BFA in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and mentored with illustrators such as Sean Qualls, Selina Alko and Dan Santat. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two crazy cats Elphie and Ollie!
Book Me
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INTERVIEW
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!” –Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Faith Ringgold, Christian Robinson and Dan Santat!
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I love to draw and tell stories and picture books felt like the best medium for me to do that.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Keep going, keep learning, keep growing and never give up!
QUOTED: "Encouraging but simplistic, the book strives to offer dignity, agency, and hope for a new generation of black youth but doesn't quite manage."
Waters, Michael FOR BEAUTIFUL BLACK BOYS WHO BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD Flyaway Books (Children's None) $18.00 9, 22 ISBN: 978-1-947888-08-1
One family navigates their young son through what seems to be an unending cycle of race-related gun violence.
Pastor, professor, and activist Waters draws on intimate family experiences in this attempt to answer many of the critical questions that have arisen over the past decade. Violence seems to be everywhere Jeremiah looks. On the computer is the story of Trayvon Martin; on the television, Michael Brown. In the paper is the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church. One night, the gunshots even ring outside Jeremiah’s home as the family gathers together. All the while, Jeremiah accumulates these experiences until he finally exclaims: “I’m tired of people hurting each other! I’m tired of people shooting each other!” His parents recognize his deep frustration and encourage him to channel the energy, as they do, into actions that combine to create new realities: voting, marching, praying, organizing, and educating. For them, all these strategies show that change is possible and will come one day if we commit to them en masse. However, Waters conflates police violence, white-supremacist violence, and neighborhood violence into one simplified linear narrative. Although they all affect communities like Jeremiah’s, they demand different remedies, a critical understanding that’s not made explicit for young readers. Morris’ simple, heartfelt illustrations reflect the book’s emotions.
Encouraging but simplistic, the book strives to offer dignity, agency, and hope for a new generation of black youth but doesn’t quite manage. (author’s note, discussion guide) (Picture book. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Waters, Michael: FOR BEAUTIFUL BLACK BOYS WHO BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A625183111/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=174c660c. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "an honest and intimate look at one family's response to racism and gun violence."
For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World
Michael W. Waters, author
Keisha Morris, illustrator
Flyaway Books
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 4020-1396
www.flyawaybooks.com
9781947888081, $18.00, HC, 40pp
https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Black-Believe-Better-World/dp/1947888080
The televised reports of neighborhood shootings keep coming, and so do Jeremiah's questions about them. But Dad doesn't have easy answers. Still that doesn't mean he won't talk about it--or that he won't act. But what if Jeremiah doesn't want to talk anymore? None of it makes sense, and he's just a kid. Even if he wants to believe in a better world, is there anything he can do about it?
Inspired by real-life events, "For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World" is an honest and intimate look at one family's response to racism and gun violence that also includes a discussion guide created by the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, a multicultural center and museum committed to promoting respect, hope, and understanding.
Very highly recommended for family, elementary school, and community library Contemporary Social Issues and Black Studies picture book collections for children ages 6-10, it should be noted that a portion of the publisher's sales proceeds will be donated to nonprofit organizations that facilitate the empowerment of Black communities. For personal reading lists, "For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.00).
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
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"For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World." Children's Bookwatch, Dec. 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A648418688/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ae8694e9. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "smartly complemented by Morris' bold, vivid illustrations of the cousins' summer antics."
When My Cousins Come to Town. By Angela Shante. Illus. by Keisha Morris. May 2021.32p. West Margin, $17.99 (9781513267227). K-Gr. 2.
This endearing picture book from Shante (The Noisy Classroom, 2020) is a beautiful ode to Black families and the bond cousins have. The main character is a young Black girl who is anticipating the arrival of her cousins, who typically come to stay with her for the summer. She is the smallest of her cousins and clearly looks up to them and all of their accomplishments. One thing that each of the cousins has in common is that they've all done something to deserve a nickname. This year, the littlest protagonist has decided that she is old enough to have a fun nickname as well. Throughout the summer, the main character imitates her cousins in hopes that something she does will become a newly minted nickname. Shante's love letter to Black families and the typical relationship Black children have with their cousins is smartly complemented by Morris' bold, vivid illustrations of the cousins' summer antics, often from the main character's perspective. This story about wanting to feel included will be a storytime must! --Amber Hayes
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Hayes, Amber. "When My Cousins Come to Town." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2021, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A656304147/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=19d64ce7. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "an adorable book about being true to yourself and the joys of family, especially cousins."
Shanté, Angela WHEN MY COUSINS COME TO TOWN West Margin Press (Children's None) $17.99 5, 4 ISBN: 978-1-5132-6722-7
The cardinal rule of nicknames is that you cannot name yourself. Knowing this, a little girl is hopeful that this is the summer her cousins finally choose a nickname for her.
The main character, an African American girl with her hair in Fulani braids and gold beads, can count on three things every summer: Her seven cousins will arrive in the city when school lets out, they will watch The Wiz together, and before they leave they will give her an “amazing” birthday present. This summer, more than anything, she wants that present to be a nickname of her very own. She takes on the characteristics of each of her cousins in turn to see if their nicknames will fit her, and when they don’t, she worries that there may not be a name for her. On the last day of the visit, when her birthday present seems in danger of being lost, she finds a way to help and finally earns her nickname. Shanté effectively communicates the young narrator’s increasing anxiety as her birthday approaches, concluding statement after statement with worry. Morris’ illustrations complement this, the narrator’s expressive face and posture the visual embodiments of worry. Overall, they capture the closeness of this family, rendering their skin in many shades of brown and giving the cousins different hairstyles.
An adorable book about being true to yourself and the joys of family, especially cousins. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Shante, Angela: WHEN MY COUSINS COME TO TOWN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A656696414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8b4a3d90. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "excels at conveying emotion throughout the story."
Ramos, NoNieqa HAIR STORY Carolrhoda (Children's None) $17.99 9, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5415-7916-3
A story about two girls with curly/Afro-textured hair.
Best friends Preciosa and Rudine, both with brown skin and tight, vibrant curls, share this hair story. It begins with their births, both girls adored by their families. Conflict soon arrives in the form of "cyclone" hair that family members attempt to straighten. Preciosa's and Rudine's expressive faces, rendered in Morris' colorful digital-and-collaged-tissue art (which excels at conveying emotion throughout the story), make it clear that hair-straightening rituals are both unpleasant and unwanted. Freedom comes in the form of heat that sets their natural hair free once more. At this point, the story may confuse readers with scenes (of the girls, of their moms, of famous Black and Latinx people) that aren't always connected. Ultimately, this well-intentioned story leaves some important questions unanswered, but it also affirms the beauty of natural hair. Despite obstacles, those looking for more stories centering hair diversity may find this a good conversation starter. Preciosa and her family all have brown skin and speak Spanish, and Rudine and her family are Black; the story is porous enough that Afro-Latinx readers might see themselves in either girl.
Confusing but celebratory. (Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Ramos, NoNieqa: HAIR STORY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673649731/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4aabacf6. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "an attractive, informative picture book on school desegregation."
When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision. By Tamara Pizzoli and Yolanda Gladden. Illus. by Keisha Morris. Jan. 2022.40p. Harper, $18.99 (9780063011168). K-Gr. 3.323.
In 1954, Yolanda Gladden was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and the Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education decision, mandating the desegregation of schools. Yet in 1959, when Yolanda was old enough to begin her formal education, local authorities decided to close the county's schools rather than integrate them. Some in the Black community protested in the streets, while others organized schools to educate their children, meeting in homes and churches for the duration. Besides traditional subjects, Yolanda learned Black history in the basement of First Baptist Church. And in 1964, when the county was forced to reopen and desegregate its schools, she was well prepared academically and proud of her heritage. Spotlighting an often-overlooked aspect of civil rights history, the text portrays Gladden as a child within a strong community that rose up against injustice, protected its children, and provided them with hope for a better future. The vibrant digital illustrations feature elements of color and texture created using layered tissue-paper collage. An attractive, informative picture book on school desegregation.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Phelan, Carolyn. "When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's 'Lost Generation' and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 5-6, 1 Nov. 2021, p. 56. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684472048/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=720d02fc. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "Collaged tissue paper and digital media art by Morris offers a lushly layered backdrop to the events."
When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision
Yolanda Gladden, as told to Tamara Pizzoli, illus. by Keisha Morris. HarperCollins, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-301116-8
Acknowledging the importance of oral history in African diasporic traditions, this nonfiction account by Gladden (b. 1954), transcribed by Pizzoli, offers an engaging, community care-centered examination of segregation in the Virginia school system before and after Brown v. Board of Education. Four years after the decision was handed down, when Gladden was to begin school, officials closed every public school in her county to avoid integrating the institutions. The community reacted by creating its own schools. Pizzoli's rhythmic prose drives the narrative forward: "When Yolanda's mama and Aunt Dorothy graduated from high school in 1953, the conditions of public schools in Prince Edward County were still separate, still unequal, and still unfair." Collaged tissue paper and digital media art by Morris offers a lushly layered backdrop to the events, emphasizing the expressions and closeness of the Black community portrayed in this informative, warmly personable autobiography. Back matter features notes from the authors, a timeline of desegregation of the American school system, and sources and further reading. Ages 4-8.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's 'Lost Generation' and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 49, 23 Nov. 2022, pp. 42+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A728493799/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f2550b35. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "a vivid evocation of place and era rolling solidly on a bed of timeless values."
Armand, Glenda ALL ABOARD THE SCHOOLTRAIN Scholastic (Children's None) $19.99 1, 3 ISBN: 978-1-338-76689-9
Climbing aboard a "train" to a better life, third grader Thelma joins other African American children on the walk to school.
Again drawing on family history, the author of Black-Eyed Peas and Hoghead Cheese (2022), illustrated by Steffi Walthall, reframes her mother Thelma's childhood as a series of imagined train rides--first to a one-room school, then, in class, further on to dazzling destinations like Oz and Treasure Island and back in time to hear about Harriet Tubman and other heroes. On the way, Thelma learns that "Mr. Jim Crow" isn't a mean man who has driven her aunt and uncle away from their Louisiana town to California but a set of discriminatory laws and customs. "Just keep riding that schooltrain," her father says. But Thelma has one more train to board, the kind with wheels, when her father loses his job. On the platform, her teacher calms her worries about going to a new school in Los Angeles by handing her a book: "You have your ticket." Morris uses tissue collage and digital finishing to create richly hued scenes of brown-skinned, actively posed adults and children in small-town settings with, often, train tracks visible in the background. In a long afterword well stocked with personal photos, Armand retraces both the metaphorical and actual journeys, filling in details about Jim Crow as well as the Great Migration and her family's experience of them. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A vivid evocation of place and era rolling solidly on a bed of timeless values. (Historical picture book. 7-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Armand, Glenda: ALL ABOARD THE SCHOOLTRAIN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A726309437/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c48db301. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "Morris' imaginative digital illustrations feature lively, active scenes and expressive character portrayals."
All aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration. By Glenda Armand. Illus. by Keisha Morris. Jan. 2023.48p. Scholastic, $19.99 (9781338766899). PreS-Gr. 3.
During the 1930s, Thelma, a third-grader, lives with her parents and little sisters in rural Louisiana. After "Mr. Jim Crow" made trouble for Uncle Ed, he and Aunt Bea moved to California. Thelma loves waving to passing trains, and she enjoys taking a different kind of train to school: walking single file with other children, led by an eighth-grader as engineer and watched over by a sixth-grader as caboose. At each "stop" (a student's home), the kids chant, "Schooltrain! Schooltrain! Don't be late! / The school bell rings at half past eight!" In their one-room schoolhouse, the teacher emphasizes Black history and reminds her students that it will take education and courage to do away with Jim Crow. After Thelma's father loses his job, the family boards a train bound for California and new opportunities. The genuine warmth of the text derives from Armand's portrayal of Thelma's supportive family and close-knit Black community, which nurture and protect her. The story is firmly rooted in experiences from the authors childhood and her mother's. The narratives setting is the small, rural Louisiana town where her parents grew up. Morris' imaginative digital illustrations feature lively, active scenes and expressive character portrayals. A child-friendly picture book introducing the Great Migration. --Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Phelan, Carolyn. "All aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 7-8, 1 Dec. 2022, p. 128. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A731042755/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2c0c8efa. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
A Girl Can Build Anything
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, illus. by Keisha Morris. Viking, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-593-46374-1
"A girl can build many things./ A girl can build anything." Employing this emboldening refrain Throughout, previous collaborators Charlton-Trujillo and Zietlow Miller (the Lupe Lopez books) empower readers to dream--and build--big in this book boasting a cast of construction-capabie girls. As affirming text kicks off with "a vision./ A sketch./ And a plan," digitally collaged tissue papet scenes from Morris (All Aboard the Schooltrain) depict a child, shown with brown skin, drawing in a notebook. In subsequent scenes, a communal cast ranging in abilities, ages, body types, and skin tones works to build a variety of structures, starting with simple objects ("A box?/ A birdhouse?// A bookshelf?") and leading to more elaborate projects, all improvements to an abandoned playground strewn with "caution" tape. Text introduces building materials ("Sheetrock./Shingles./ Or shutters") as well as tools ("Drivers./ Handles./ Levers") as characters construct a trellis, a table, a tree house, and more. Acknowledging that some projects may lean, wobble, or completely collapse, growth-mindset lines invite creators to return to the drawing board ("Failure isn't final./ It's where new ideas are made"). It's a confidence-boosting look at teamwork that shows the whole as greater than the sum of its parts. Ages 4--8. Authors' agents: (for Charlton-Truji/lo) Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary; (for Miller) Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Claire Easton, Painted Words. (Apr.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
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"A Girl Can Build Anything." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 9, 27 Feb. 2023, pp. 60+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A739891286/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a51985f. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "The tissue-paper collage illustrations are full of movement and engaging details as well as a variety of perspectives."
A Girl Can Build Anything. By e. E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller. Illus. by Keisha Morris. Apr. 2023.32p. Viking, $18.99 (9780593463741). PreS-Gr. 2.
This empowering book encourages girls to make their creative ideas a reality. Direct-address narration talks them through the process with an ongoing reminder that whatever a girl can imagine, she can accomplish. Simple projects such as a box or a bookshelf are suggested as the first step in building and learning to use tools. From there, more difficult projects can be attempted. Wood, plywood, or plastic can turn into a table or tree house. With practice, using a hammer and nails or a drill can become second nature. Birdhouses, a trellis, or playground equipment--nothing's off-limits to girls who want to create, and if mistakes are made, the book urges, don't give up, "because failure isn't final. It's where new ideas are made." The tissue-paper collage illustrations are full of movement and engaging details as well as a variety of perspectives. Adult supervision is subtle but visible as girls are shown working with saws and paint and ladders. Teamwork and making friends with others who share the same interests stand out in this comprehensive title.--Maryann Owen
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
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Owen, Maryann. "A Girl Can Build Anything." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 13, 1 Mar. 2023, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A741103750/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8a8f6986. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "honors the joy and simplicity of childhood."
Morris, Keisha BETWEEN TWO WINDOWS Harper/HarperCollins (Children's None) $19.99 1, 2 ISBN: 9780063235106
Two neighborhood children become friends through their art.
Kayla and Mateo live in buildings across from each other; they often look out at each other through their windows. They create drawings and then exchange them using a creaky old retractable clothesline that runs between their two buildings. Their art depicts everyday items such as the foods their loved ones prepare for them, as well as grand stories drawn from their imaginations. The two embark on fantastical imagined journeys together and even invent new dinosaur species, such as the Pastelito-saurus, inspired by the pastelitos made by Mateo's mami. When the clothesline is unexpectedly taken down to be repaired, Kayla, Mateo, and their neighbors turn the surrounding sidewalks, playgrounds, and building walls into a shared canvas of expression. Sparse yet satisfying text and dialogue, including playful use of onomatopoeia, complement the captivating digital illustrations, created from collaged tissue paper and Photoshop. The bright and colorful illustrations are the star of this work. Images of Kayla and Mateo immersed in their loose-lined doodles of their imagined worlds are a delight; readers will enjoy examining the spreads and finding new details on every page. Kayla presents Black, while Mateo, who is brown-skinned, is cued as Latine; a reference to piraguas, a Puerto Rican dessert, suggests that Kayla might be Afro-Latine.
Honors the joy and simplicity of childhood. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Morris, Keisha: BETWEEN TWO WINDOWS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772515463/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a961b053. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "This appealing story by a debut author-illustrator celebrates friendship and creativity in a satisfying way."
Between Two Windows
by Keisha Morris; illus. by the author
Primary Harper/HarperCollins 48 pp.
1/24 9780063235106 $19.99
Kayla and Mateo live on the top floors of separate buildings in a city, connected by an old, squeaky clothesline. They are bored and alone in their drab bedrooms watching "Dino World," while the outside world is bright with sunshine. One day they greet each other through their windows and begin to send drawings along the clothesline. Mateo draws with a purple crayon, Kayla with a green one, and together they create elaborate worlds that they inhabit--shades of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Eventually, they trade various foods between them, which leads to fanciful new prehistoric creations (such as the "pastelito-saurus" and the "piragua-saurus"). When a worker takes the clothesline down temporarily, Mateo and Kayla come up with another way to continue their adventures. They go outside and draw on sidewalks, old building walls, and playgrounds in a colorful palette beyond purple and green. Morris's collaged tissue-paper spreads add to the childlike feel; the lively illustrations invite readers to create their own crayon worlds. This appealing story by a debut author-illustrator celebrates friendship and creativity in a satisfying way.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Hurd, Yesica. "Between Two Windows." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 100, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2024, p. 81. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A781187755/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d6a73fb0. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
QUOTED: "an intimate image of community and the rising tides of climate change."
Helakoski, Leslie WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's None) $18.99 3, 12 ISBN: 9780374390204
Verse and visuals help readers imagine the devastation of flooding, the hope brought by the helpers, and the long path toward healing.
"When the rain came down" is a consistent reprise in this poetic account of the rising water that displaces thousands from their diverse, urban community. Some neighbors are unable to flee the surging waters, and people can be found on rooftops, boats, and wading helplessly while holding their belongings above their heads in Morris' evocative, collagelike illustrations. With lost dogs barking their pleas for help, the tides seem to turn as the "choppers [thump]" with assistance from above, and then the rain stops. Food is passed around as hope swells among an assortment of people--children, the elderly, dogs, and nurses. Vibrant spreads show the arrival of help "from far and wide," in tractors and trucks, with license plates indicating Maryland, Virginia, Nevada, and New York, and in toolbelts and hardhats. As the sun reappears against the city's skyline with the water settled in the foreground, the story concludes with an insightful author's note detailing Helakoski's experiences with flooding in southern Louisiana's Bayou Vermilion and a complicated reconciliation of the beauty of the region and memories of how precarious it all is when the rain comes down.
An intimate image of community and the rising tides of climate change. (Picture book. 3-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Helakoski, Leslie: WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779191161/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8cef0be9. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.