I Am Every Good Thing
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
An upbeat, empowering, important picture book from the team that created the award-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. A perfect gift for any special occasion!
I am
a nonstop ball of energy.
Powerful and full of light.
I am a go-getter. A difference maker. A leader.
The confident Black narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is. He's got big plans, and no doubt he'll see them through--as he's creative, adventurous, smart, funny, and a good friend. Sometimes he falls, but he always gets back up. And other times he's afraid, because he's so often misunderstood and called what he is not. So slow down and really look and listen, when somebody tells you--and shows you--who they are. There are superheroes in our midst!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With a refrain that reads "I am," the creators of the award winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut craft an empowering ode to Black boy joy. In metaphor-driven verse, Barnes moves from the interpersonally specific ("I am that smile forming on your face") to the iconic ("I am a grand slam,/ bases fully loaded"), and from the naturalistic ("I am waves crashing gently on the shore") to the historical ("I am my ancestors' wildest dream"). Employing rich textures and jewel tones in his fine art style, James paints Black boys of varying skin tones and ages engaging in work and play, solo and in community: flying through the air in a cape, getting back up after a skateboard tumble, working with a microscope, and assisting a grandmother crossing the street. A line of uncertainty interrupts the litany, offering a somber moment: "Although I am something like a superhero,/ every now and then,/ I am afraid." But the text quickly moves on, speaking to Black boys' deservingness "of success,/ of respect, of safety, of kindness, of happiness." Together, James's energetic portraiture and Barnes's affirming text powerfully and ecstatically convey the idea that all Black boys are "worthy/ to be loved." Ages 3 7.
