Hands Up!

by Breanna J. McDaniel, Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

This triumphant picture book celebrates Black joy by reclaiming a charged phrase and showing readers how resistance can be part of their everyday lives.

A young Black girl lifts her baby hands up to greet the sun, reaches her hands up for a book on a high shelf, and raises her hands up in praise at a church service. She stretches her hands up high like a plane's wings and whizzes down a hill so fast on her bike with her hands way up. As she grows, she lives through everyday moments of joy, love, and sadness. And when she gets a little older, she joins together with her family and her community in a protest march, where they lift their hands up together in resistance and strength.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593326640
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	12/15/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	321,009
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Breanna J. McDaniel is an author and children's literature scholar. She holds an MA in children's literature from Simmons University and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research focuses on representations of Black children in contemporary picture books. Born and raised in Atlanta, she currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Shane W. Evans is the author and illustrator of more than thirty books for children, including Chocolate Me!, We March, and Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, which received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where he runs Dream Studio, a community art space.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/05/2018
McDaniel’s debut picture book offers a jubilant paean to a universal, everyday occurrence that has many interpretations: raising one’s hands. A brown-skinned girl’s day begins with a stretch to “greet the sun, bold and bright,” and additional hands-up motions follow as she lifts her hands to let her parents pull on her shirt, enthusiastically gestures to her teacher (“Please pick me, Ms. B!”), reaches for a book on a high shelf, lifts hands “in praise and worship,” and jumps to score during a basketball game—and then triumphantly raises a trophy above her head. Spare, deeply expressive mixed-media pictures by Evans (Chocolate Me!) feature vivid colors and inventive textures, and they underscore the positive power of helping hands, even in less than ideal situations (adults comfort the girl when she overturns a glass of juice and takes a bicycle spill). Final spreads illuminate the book’s crux, as hands of various skin tones are raised in unison—“High fives all around”—and people fervently hold up placards endorsing love and tolerance. An uplifting celebration of advocating for oneself, aiding those in need, and connecting with one’s community. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Hands Up!

"This book turns the phrase [hands up] on its head to give little ones confidence and pride, culminating in activism."
—USA Today

"In dynamic multi-media art, family, friends, and community fill one African-American girl's life with love. . . . Hands Up! can singularly or simultaneous serve as a kid-friendly preview of growing up, as catalyst for a conversation about the dangers of being black in America, and/or as determined reclamation of a loaded phrase."
—San Francisco Chronicle

“The epitome of #blackgirljoy . . . Empowering.”
—Mashable

* “McDaniel’s debut picture book offers a jubilant paean to a universal, everyday occurrence . . . Spare, deeply expressive mixed-media pictures by Evans feature vivid colors and inventive textures, and they underscore the power of helping hands. . . . An uplifting celebration of advocating for oneself, aiding those in need, and connecting with one’s community.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “This successfully delivers a message of everyday celebration in one simple gesture. As an introduction for children to social activism, this book will serve well. A terrific read-aloud for one-on-one and small group sharing.”
—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Sobering and celebratory both, writer and artist triumphantly assure all audiences, especially young black readers, 'You matter.'" 
—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“A warm and necessary message of empowerment for black children, helping them see that raising their hands is a celebration of their humanity.”
—Kirkus

“A book that highlights the joys of black and brown childhood while it positions very young children as leaders and agents of change.”
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ Winter 2018

PreS-Gr 3—A black girl shares all the ways she puts her hands up. She raises them to greet the morning sun, play peek-a-boo, and to be dressed by her caring parents. As she gets older, she puts her hands up to reach for books, worship, execute ballet poses, and play basketball. As an adult she puts her hands up to advocate for change in her community. Bold digital illustrations with mixed media depict the girl doing everyday activities with her hands lifted in the air. A positive spirit pervades throughout the pages and offers a unique perspective on the phrase most recently associated with the Black Lives Matter chant, "Hands up, don't shoot!" Vibrant colors, heavy on bright yellow, coupled with straightforward prose energizes the pages. A note from the author, a children's literature scholar, explains her desire to illustrate how the phrase applies to everyday lives of African American children, who grow, have struggles, and feel joy. VERDICT This successfully delivers a message of everyday celebration in one simple gesture. As an introduction for children to social activism, this book will serve well. A terrific read-aloud for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services

School Library Journal

2018-11-12

This picture book offers a different take on a black body raising "hands up."

Vibrant, colorfully textured illustrations show different displays of black children raising hands, such as playing peekaboo, getting dressed, and other mundane activities. The book follows one little girl as she puts her hands up to do chores, to reach for books on a high shelf at the library, and even to assume the fifth position in ballet class. She holds up her bun as her grandmother does her hair, throws her arms up "in praise and worship," and hoists a trophy after a victorious basketball game. Riding her bike with her hands up results in a fall, but there is a caring adult there to pick her back up. McDaniel sends a positive and affirming message that normalizes for black children the gesture of raising their hands, redeeming it from the very negative, haunting images of black people raising their hands while being confronted by police. The book closes with a bold illustration of children of all colors raising their hands and holding signs such as "Water = Life," "Spread Love," and "Black Lives Matter." Evans employs a pastel palette that amplifies McDaniel's sunny message. Outlines are done in purple, blue, brown—there are no literally black marks in this book.

A warm and necessary message of empowerment for black children, helping them see that raising their hands is a celebration of their humanity. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews