Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History

by Vashti Harrison, Kwesi Johnson (With)

Overview

Author-illustrator Vashti Harrison shines a bold, joyous light on black men through history in this #1 New York Times bestseller.


An important book for readers of all ages, this beautifully illustrated and engagingly written volume brings to life true stories of black men in history. Among these biographies, readers will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include writer James Baldwin, artist Aaron Douglas, filmmaker Oscar Devereaux Micheaux, lawman Bass Reeves, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, and musician Prince.


The legends in Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History span centuries and continents, but each one has blazed a trail for generations to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316475143
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/19/2019
Series:	Leaders & Dreamers , #3
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	33,313
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1080L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Vashti Harrison is the New York Times bestselling creator of Big, which was awarded the 2024 Caldecott Medal, a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor, in addition to being a National Book Award finalist. Vashti is also the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends, and the illustrator of Lupita Nyong’o’s Sulwe (for which she received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor), Matthew A. Cherry’s Hair Love, Andrea Beaty's I Love You Like Yellow, and Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic’s Hello, Star, among others. A two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children, Vashti lives in Brooklyn, New York, and invites you to visit her online @vashtiharrison or at vashtiharrison.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Little Legends:
An Amazon Best Book of 2019
An Amazon Best Book for November 2019, Nonfiction for Kids


* "Inspiring and healing as it educates, this volume belongs beside its companion on every bookshelf."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "This striking book will resonate with readers in search of biographies of pioneering black men in history."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Inventors, authors, musicians, activists and others come to life."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2019

Gr 3–7—Harrison's biographies of trailblazing men are brief enough for elementary school children but enjoyable for readers of any age. The subjects include Benjamin Banneker, the inventor of the first full-size clock; Thurgood Marshall, the first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court; and André Leon Talley, former editor-at-large for American Vogue. Harrison's ideas are thoughtful, thorough, and accessible. She acknowledges that not every exceptional black man in history could be included and adds several mini-biographies at the back of the book with accompanying illustrations. VERDICT This striking book will resonate with readers in search of biographies of pioneering black men in history.—Sara Jurek, Children's English Library, Stuttgart, Germany

School Library Journal

★ 2019-09-29
Harrison celebrated black women of note in Little Leaders (2017); here, with an assist from Johnson, she presents a companion volume of profiles from black history, this one focusing on black men.

This is a book many have been waiting for, and it does not disappoint. The winning formula that endeared Little Leaders to readers is employed again here: One page of biographical text faces a full-page portrait of a young-looking figure with a serenely smiling brown face with closed eyes. The figure's clothing and the background setting design represent his field of contribution. The text begins with each leader's early life and is held together with a thread showing how the leader found an interest, learned and improved, worked hard, and made his work matter in the lives of others. Ordered chronologically, the names include well-known figures such as Frederick Douglass, Alvin Ailey, and Prince, but there are also many lesser-known names, such as historian Arturo Schomburg and astronaut Leland Melvin. Included also are international legends, such as Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène and British Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye. Whereas hairstyling details created an illusion of visual variation in Little Leaders, here the uniformity of the portraits' faces is more pronounced—yet this allows readers to see that a black boy can play at and ultimately grow into any one of these roles. A "Draw Your Own Little Legend" spread at the end invites readers into Harrison's creative process.

Inspiring and healing as it educates, this volume belongs beside its companion on every bookshelf. (further bios, further reading, sources) (Collective biography. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews