Ashley Bryan

"Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away"--

Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan

Freedom Over Me

Marla Frazee

Gordon Korman

Kwame Alexander

Tom Angleberger

Grace Lin

Brian Selznick

Rita Williams-Garcia

Alex Gino

Gail Carson Levine

Candace Fleming

Linda Sue Park

Thanhha Lai

Elissa Brent Weissman

R. J. Palacio

Chris Grabenstein

Peter Lerangis

Kathi Appelt

Dan Santat

Chris Gall

Tim Federle

Cynthia Leitich Smith

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Yuyi Morales

Rohmann, Eric

From award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman comes a collection of quirky, smart, and vulnerable childhood works by some of today’s foremost children’s authors and illustrators—revealing young talent, the storytellers they would one day become, and the creativity they inspire today. Everyone’s story begins somewhere… For Linda Sue Park, it was a trip to the ocean, a brand-new typewriter, and a little creative license. For Jarrett J. Krosoczka, it was a third grade writing assignment that ignited a creative fire in a kid who liked to draw. For Kwame Alexander, it was a loving poem composed for Mother’s Day—and perfected through draft after discarded draft. For others, it was a teacher, a parent, a beloved book, a word of encouragement. It was trying, and failing, and trying again. It was a love of words, and pictures, and stories. Your story is beginning, too. Where will it go?

Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids

Our Story Begins

An introduction to the life and career of the writer and artist Ashley Bryan, a three-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award.

Words to My Life's Song

Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award Recipient of a Bologna Ragazzi Non-Fiction Special Mention Honor Award A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 From celebrated author and illustrator Ashley Bryan comes a deeply moving picture book memoir about serving in the segregated army during World War II, and how love and the pursuit of art sustained him. In May of 1942, at the age of eighteen, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a black soldier in a segregated army. He endured the terrible lies white officers told about the black soldiers to isolate them from anyone who showed kindness—including each other. He received worse treatment than even Nazi POWs. He was assigned the grimmest, most horrific tasks, like burying fallen soldiers…but was told to remove the black soldiers first because the media didn’t want them in their newsreels. And he waited and wanted so desperately to go home, watching every white soldier get safe passage back to the United States before black soldiers were even a thought. For the next forty years, Ashley would keep his time in the war a secret. But now, he tells his story. The story of the kind people who supported him. The story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark. And the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again. Filled with never-before-seen artwork and handwritten letters and diary entries, this illuminating and moving memoir by Newbery Honor–winning illustrator Ashley Bryan is both a lesson in history and a testament to hope.

A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace

Infinite Hope

A small boy with a very long name is challenged by his grandmother to find out her real name.

Turtle Knows Your Name

Introduces puppets created out of found objects by describing each with a poem.

Making Something from Everything

Ashley Bryan's Puppets

In a story of the Ila people, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his "blackening brew."

Beautiful Blackbird

Newbery Honor Book Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a person with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away. Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as…a lantern. This gentle yet deeply powerful way goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that can’t be bought or sold: dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his “workers,” the author has created collages around that document, and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry, he imagines and interprets each person’s life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about—their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an overseer or madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you’ve seen.

Ashley Bryan says, "I have subtitled this collection A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals. It could really be called Spirituals for the Young and ALL! And so it could be, for the songs it presents can be enjoyed by people of every age and every level of musical skill. Mr. Bryan goes on to say, "Wherever I travel, people sing these songs. Often they do not know that they are singing spirituals. They associate them with their churches, schools, camps, or clubs and are surprised when told that they are singing spirituals. "Almost a thousand of these songs have been collected since the end of the Civil War. They are unique in the song literature of the world and are considered America's most distinctive contribution to world music." Of the thousand African-American spirituals that are known, Mr. Bryan has here chosen twenty, among them some of the best known and best loved, including the title song, "All Night, All Day," and such others as "This Little Light of Mine,""When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." For each, David Manning Thomas has created an interesting piano accompaniment in support of the melody and has indicated guitar chords. Best of all, full-color pictures capture the spirit and essence of many of the songs to make this a book that can both be used as a fine songbook and treasured for its beauty; for the warmth, liveliness, and inspirational depth of its illustrations.

A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals

All Night, All Day

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Bryan has selected twenty best-known and best-loved African-American spirituals, including the title song, "All Night, All Day," and such others as "This Little Light of Mine," "O When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Glorious full-color pictures, piano accompaniment, and guitar chords help capture the spirit and essence of these timeless songs that can be enjoyed by people of every age and every level of musical skill.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations. Come, sing, and celebrate!

Let it Shine

Jan Spivey Gilchrist

An illustrated children's poem which celelbrates the diversity of America.

My America

Beloved storyteller and creator Ashley Bryan reveals the vibrant spirit of found objects in this magnificent treasury of poetry and puppets. Little Cranberry Island. It’s a small island, with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, but it’s got more than its share of treasures—including the magnificent Ashley Bryan himself, a world-renowned storyteller and author of such classics as All Night, All Day and Beautiful Blackbird. Daily, for decades, Ashley has walked up and down the beach, stopping to pick up sea glass, weathered bones, a tangle of fishing net, an empty bottle, a doorknob. Treasure. And then, with glue and thread and paint and a sprinkling of African folklore, Ashley breathes new life into these materials. Others might consider it beach junk, but Ashley sees worlds of possibilities. Ashley Bryan’s two-foot-tall hand puppets swell with personality and beauty, and in this majestic collection they make their literary debut, each with a poem that tells of their creation and further enlivens their spirit.

Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan's adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia resonates both with rhythm and the tale's universal meanings—appreciating one's heritage and discovering the beauty within. His cut-paper artwork will charm and delight readers of all ages. Black is beautiful, uh-huh! Long ago, Blackbird was voted the most beautiful bird in the forest. The other birds, who were colored red, yellow, blue, and green, were so envious that they begged Blackbird to paint their feathers with a touch of black so they could be beautiful too. Although Black-bird warns them that true beauty comes from within, the other birds persist and soon each is given a ring of black around their neck or a dot of black on their wings—markings that detail birds to this very day. Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ashley Bryan's adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia reso-nates both with rhythm and the tale's universal meanings -- appreciating one's heritage and discovering the beauty within. His cut-paper artwork is a joy.

Ashley Bryan

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