Cooper, Floyd 1956–

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Cooper, Floyd 1956–

Personal

Born January 8, 1956, in Tulsa, OK; married; wife's name Velma; children: Dayton, Kai Noah. Education: University of Oklahoma, B.F.A. Hobbies and other interests: Basketball, tennis, bicycling, nature walks, movies, all types of music, books.

Addresses

Home—Easton, PA. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Author and illustrator. Worked in advertising and for Hallmark, Kansas City, MO; freelance illustrator, 1984—.

Awards, Honors

Notable Book selection, American Library Association (ALA), and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)/Children's Book Council (CBC) Notable Children's Book in the field of Social Studies designation, both for Grandpa's Face by Eloise Greenfield; Parents' Choice Award, Parents' Choice Foundation, 1990, for Laura Charlotte by Kathryn Osebold Galbraith; Bank Street College Child Study Children's Book of the Year designation, 1993, for The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars by Jean Merrill, 1996, and for Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Fleming; Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Illustration, ALA, 1994, for Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea by Joyce Carol Thomas, 1995, for Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes, and 1999, for I Have Heard of a Land by Thomas; ALA Notable Book selection, Notable Trade Book in the Language Arts designation, Bank Street College Child Study Children's Book

of the Year designation, and NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Book in the Field of Social Studies designation, all 1996, all for Coming Home.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes, Philomel (New York, NY), 1994.

Mandela: From the Life of the South African Statesman, Philomel (New York, NY), 1996.

Cumbayah, Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

Jump!: From the Life of Michael Jordan, Philomel (New York, NY), 2004.

Willie and the Barnstormin' All-Stars, Philomel (New York, NY), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR

Margaret Davidson, The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball, Dell (New York, NY), 1988.

Eloise Greenfield, Grandpa's Face, Philomel (New York, NY), 1988.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, Chita's Christmas Tree, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Kathryn Osebold Galbraith, Laura Charlotte, Philomel (New York, NY), 1990.

Jacqueline Woodson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Birthday, Silver-Burdett (Parsippany, NJ), 1990.

Karen Lynn Williams, When Africa Was Home, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Deborah Eaton, Petey, Silver Burdett (Parsippany, NJ), 1992.

Denise Burden-Patmon, Imani's Gift at Kwanzaa, Modern Curriculum Press (Cleveland, OH), 1992.

Jean Merrill, The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars: A Twelfth-Century Tale from Japan, Philomel (New York, NY), 1992.

Virginia M. Fleming, Be Good to Eddie Lee, Philomel (New York, NY), 1993.

Joyce Carol Thomas, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea: Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Wade Hudson, selector, Pass It On: African-American Poetry for Children, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

Sandra Belton, From Miss Ida's Porch, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Gerald Hausman, reteller, Coyote Walks on Two Legs: A Book of Navajo Myths and Legends, Philomel (New York, NY), 1993.

Nikki Grimes, Meet Danitra Brown, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1994.

Kathryn D. Jones, Happy Birthday, Dr. King, Modern Curriculum Press (Cleveland, OH), 1994.

Candy Dawson Boyd, Daddy, Daddy, Be There, Philomel (New York, NY), 1995.

Joyce Carol Thomas, Gingerbread Days: Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, Papa Tells Chita a Story, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Wade and Cheryl Hudson, selectors, How Sweet the Sound: African-American Songs for Children, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

Carol J. Farley, King Sejong's Secret, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1995.

Virginia Hamilton, Jaguarundi, Blue Sky Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Jane Kurtz, Pulling the Lion's Tale, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Alan Schroeder, Satchmo's Blues, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.

Nancy Lamb, One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1996.

Bill Martin and Michael Sampson, Si Won's Victory, Celebration Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1996.

Patricia C. McKissack, Ma Dear's Aprons, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1997.

Jane Yolen, Miz Berlin Walks, Philomel (New York, NY), 1997.

Virginia L. Kroll, Faraway Drums, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1998.

Joyce Carol Thomas, I Have Heard of a Land, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Ziporah Hildebrandt, reteller, Sea Girl and the Dragon King: A Chinese Folktale, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1998.

James Haskins and Kathleen Benson, African Beginnings, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1998.

Amy Littlesugar, Shake Rag: From the Life of Elvis Presley, Philomel (New York, NY), 1998.

Amy Littlesugar, Tree of Hope, Philomel (New York, NY), 1999.

Robert H. Miller, Reflections of a Black Cowboy, 4 volumes: Cowboys, The Buffalo Soldiers, Pioneers, Mountain Men, Silver Burdett (Parsippany, NJ), 1999.

Michael Sampson, Caddie, the Golf Dog, Tommy Nelson (Nashville, TN), 1999.

Fatima Shaik, On Mardi Gras Day, Dial (New York, NY), 1999.

Monalisa DeGross, Granddaddy's Street Songs, Jump at the Sun/Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

James Haskins and Kathleen Benson, Bound for America: The Forced Migration of Africans to the New World, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1999.

Margaret Wise Brown, A Child Is Born, Jump at the Sun/Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Jacqueline Woodson, Sweet, Sweet Memory, Jump at the Sun/Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson, City Scenes, Learning Matters Africa (Durban, South Africa), 2000.

Amy Littlesugar, Freedom School, Yes!, Philomel (New York, NY), 2001.

Joyce Carol Thomas, The Blacker the Berry: Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Nikki Grimes, Danitra Brown Leaves Town, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Ruth Vander Zee, Mississippi Morning, Eerdmans Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 2003.

Marty Crisp, The Most Precious Gift: A Story of the Nativity, Philomel (New York, NY), 2006.

Curtis L. Crisler, Tough Boy Sonatas, Wordsong (Honesdale, PA), 2007.

Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson, Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color (poems), Wordsong (Honesdale, PA), 2007.

Carole Weatherford Boston, Becoming Billie Holiday, Wordsong (Honesdale, PA), 2008.

Sidelights

Winner of three Coretta Scott King honor awards for illustration, author and illustrator Floyd Cooper brings to life stories, poems, songs, and works of nonfiction detailing centuries of the African-American experience. "Luminous" is perhaps the single most often used word by critics to describe Cooper's art, beginning with his contribution to the 1988 picture book Grandpa's Face, with a text by Eloise Greenfield. The illustrator is consistently hailed by critics for what a Publishers Weekly reviewer called his "painterly, sun-drenched portraits" and Lois F. Anderson lauded as "reveal[ing] keen observations of people and neighborhood" in a Horn Book review. His "large, warm oil paintings" for Ruth Vander Zee's text in Mississippi Morning "create the perfect sense of time, place, and atmosphere," maintained School Library Journal contributor Mary N. Oluonye. In addition to creating images to pair with the works of writers such as Nikki Grimes, Amy Littlesugar, Joyce Carol Thomas, Margaret Wise Brown, and Carole Weatherford Boston, Cooper has also penned several original, self-illustrated books, all of which feature African-American themes.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1956, Cooper first tried his hand at illustration as a three year old. As he noted on the Teachers at Random Web site, "My earliest recollection of actually doing drawing is on the side of my father's house." While Cooper's father continued his work, his young son found a stray piece of drywall and began drawing the picture of a "duck of some sort," as

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

Cooper recalled. Though he had to ultimately erase this piece of artwork, he has been drawing ever since. "The biggest influence on me as a child was my mother," Cooper further noted. "She played a major role in my direction. Everything. I lived in the projects as a child. We were from very modest means, but she was always able to instill in me a sense of value that I carry with me today." Cooper's mother also had a wealth of stories which she shared with her imaginative young son.

Cooper studied fine art at the University of Oklahoma, then spent several years in the advertising field and worked for Hallmark greeting cards. Moving to New York City, he "stumbled into an agent's office" one afternoon after searching for work for several months, and was offered a chance at illustrating Grandpa's Face.

Grandpa's Face is a sensitive portrait of a young girl named Tamika who sees her grandfather's expression become scary. Unaware that he is practicing for the part of an angry character in a play, the girl purposefully misbehaves to see if Grandpa could get angry enough at her to wear such a mean expression. Illustrating Greenfield's story in muted pastel tones of gold and rich warm brown, Cooper's work was praised by a Publishers Weekly critic for "reinforc[ing] in the pictures the feelings of warmth and affection that exists between generations." Cooper kindles similar feelings in his artwork for Kathryn Galbraith's Laura Charlotte, a picture book in which a girl's fear of the dark at bedtime is diminished with the story of how her favorite stuffed animal—an elephant who once belonged to her mother—came to be. Cooper's grainy, "somber-toned illustrations envelop the reader in their warmth as they capture the mood of summer nights and cozy bedrooms," noted a Publishers Weekly commentator.

Sandra Belton's From Miss Ida's Porch evokes an earlier age as elderly residents of a city's African-American neighborhood gather in the early evening hours and recall musical idols Duke Ellington and Marian Anderson. As a counterpoint to Belton's lyrical prose, Cooper's oil-wash illustrations "add to the warmth and sense of community," according to School Library Journal reviewer Elizabeth Hanson. A Publishers Weekly commentator noted that the illustrator's images "affectingly capture the fading light on the young and old faces and complement the nostalgic quality of the story." Cooper opens a similar window to the past in his contribution to Patricia C. McKissack's Ma Dear's Aprons, as young David tells the story of how he can always tell what day of the week it is by the apron his widowed mother, a domestic servant, wears to work. "The love between the mother and son is palpable," noted Maeve Visser Knoth in a Horn Book review of the book, the critic adding that "the composition and colors of the illustration emphasize the strength of the relationship." Also praising Cooper's oil-wash artwork, Hazel Rochman commented in Booklist that his illustrations "show the exhausting work, as well as the proud and loving bonds of family."

In addition to prose stories, Cooper has also illustrated poetry collections, including four volumes by poet Joyce Carol Thomas. For Thomas's first collection, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea: Poems, Cooper contributed watercolor illustrations that a Publishers Weekly reviewer characterized as "essentially realistic but enveloped in a haze of light." In Gingerbread Days: Poems, Thomas's twelve poems—one for each month of the calendar year—are "made even stronger by Floyd Cooper's glowing golden illustrations," in the opinion of Horn Book critic Martha V. Parravano. Praising the illustrator's work for Wade Hudson's compilation Pass It On: African-American Poetry for Children, Jane Marino remarked on Cooper's characteristic "glowing colors and skillfully drawn faces" in her School Library Journal review.

Working again with Thomas, Cooper illustrates the poet's "lyrical tribute to the pioneer spirit," according to Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper, in a review of I Have Heard of a Land. Documenting the black pioneers in the Oklahoma land runs of 1889 and 1893, the book is a poem of praise to one woman who has heard of a land where she can start a new life. Jody McCoy, writing in School Library Journal, noted that Thomas's "poem is exalted by Cooper's warm, joyous, and majestic paintings." Similarly, Cooper wrote that the verse is "matched by the artist's always evocative artwork." A contributor for Publishers Weekly likewise lauded the book's "signature grainy, dreamy oil-wash portraits." Cooper won a Coretta Scott King Honor award for his illustrations in I Have Heard of a Land.

Granddaddy's Street Songs by Monalisa DeGross, Faraway Drums by Virginia Kroll, and Sweet, Sweet Memory by Jacqueline Woodson all present more personal tales. In the first, a grandfather recounts stories about the good old days, the second finds a girl frightened by the night sounds of her new neighborhood, and in the third a child helps prepare for her beloved grandfather's funeral. In School Library Journal, Alicia Eames praised Cooper's "brightly colored yet softly muted pastels" for Granddaddy's Street Songs, while Booklist critic Stephanie Zvirin found the artist's "hazy yet saturated oil paintings … just right" for Faraway Drums. Marianne Saccardi, in a School Library Journal review of Sweet, Sweet Memory, had similar praise for Cooper's art, calling it "the perfect complement for Woodson's gentle text." Saccardi further noted that the characters' faces, as rendered by Cooper, are "filled with a range of emotions, from sorrow to joy to determination to continue with the business of living."

In 1994, Cooper published his first work as both author and illustrator. In Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes he focuses on the poet's lonely childhood and his search for a stable home despite his parents' extended absences. Cooper describes Hughes's early years "in a warm and intimate tone that conveys both the deprivations and sources of strength" in the writer's youth, according to Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books critic Roger Sutton. Cooper's "writing proves equal to his artwork in highlighting elements that convey the emotion and important events" from Hughes's boyhood, Louise L. Sherman maintained in School Library Journal.

Cooper profiles other black leaders in Mandela: From the Life of the South African Statesman and Jump!: From the Life of Michael Jordan. Retaining a focus on his subject's youth, in Mandela Cooper illuminates the South African leader's philosophical influences as a child growing up in a Transkai village and outlines the genesis of the strong character that enabled Mandela to withstand personal difficulties—including an almost thirty-year prison term—as he fought to end apartheid in his homeland. Praising Cooper's artwork, a Publishers Weekly critic deemed Mandela "a forceful, credible picture of a strong and deeply devoted statesman."

A "lovingly rendered" picture-book profile of basketball star Michael Jordan, according to School Library Journal critic Anne M. Holcomb, Jump! features the author/illustrator's "signature … soft outlines and harmonious tones." Praising Cooper for presenting an aspect of Jordan's life that "demonstrate[s] how losing can be motivational," Susan Dove Lempke wrote in Horn Book that "the faces of the people in Cooper's oil paintings tell the story without words." In Booklist, Gillian Engberg cited the book's "casual, colloquial language," which personalizes the tale from Jordan's childhood and "credits Jordan's determination and support from others … for his glorious success." Another sport, baseball, is the backdrop of another of Cooper's self-illustrated stories. In Willie and the Barnstormin' All-Stars, he takes readers back to 1930s Chicago, as a boy watches a game between the All-Stars of the Negro League and Major League All-Stars and taps into the same determination that fueled Jordan's career.

In another self-illustrated text, Cooper's Cumbayah blends the well-known verses of the spiritual with "glowing illustrations to tell a global tale far beyond the words," according to Jane Marino in School Library Journal. Each stanza of the song is illustrated with a different group of children and adults from around the world taking part in the singing. Cooper also adds original verses to the song, creating a book that "will be welcomed by religious instructors, music teachers and families," according to a Publishers Weekly critic. In Booklist Lempke had similar praise, calling Cumbayah a "warm, inviting book."

In addition to picture books and poetry for young readers, nonfiction works have also benefited from Cooper's

artistic talents. In response to the tragedy that occurred in Oklahoma City in 1995, during which nineteen young people were among the many victims that day, Nancy Lamb and Cooper collaborated on One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing. According to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, Cooper's "softly focused renderings of children … effectively serve as all-purpose, emotion-laden backdrops to the disquieting but ultimately life-affirming text." In Booklist Kay Weisman asserted that the artist's "muted pastel illustrations convey the intense emotion of the survivors from a discrete distance."

Cooper has explored the African-American experience—both on the individual level and on the larger historical scene—in numerous books created in collaboration with other writers. Working with the poet Nikki Grimes, he has provided illustrations for both Meet Danitra Brown and Danitra Brown Leaves Town. Both books relate the tale of a simple friendship through letters between the friends Danitra and Zuri Jackson. Reviewing the first title, a contributor for Publishers Weekly commented on "Cooper's misty oil paints [that] depict two proud, happy kids in an often grim urban landscape." Booklist critic Rochman also lauded Cooper's artwork for Meet Danitra Brown, remarking favorably upon the "rich shades of brown and purple," while Betsy Hearne, writing in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, found the pictures "as upbeat as the poetry." In Danitra Brown Leaves Town, the two friends must learn to do without each other one summer while Danitra visits relatives. In School Library Journal, Catherine Threadgill felt that "Cooper's photo-realist artwork in soft hues … is a lovely complement to the girls' many moods." Similar praise came from a critic for Kirkus Reviews, who noted that "Cooper's paintings simply burst with energy and expressiveness."

Cooper teams up with James Haskins and Kathleen Benson in several books exploring both African and African-American history. In African Beginnings they turn to Africa and range in their focus from the Nubian culture in 3800 BC to the Egyptian civilization, covering music, dance, religion, contact with Europe, and issues such as slavery. Lempke wrote that the book's art "reflect[s] Cooper's exceptional ability to capture people's faces [and] portray the varied cultures with dignity and spirit." Eunice Weech, writing in School Library Journal, called African Beginnings "a handsomely illustrated overview of Africa's ancient empires" as well as a "stunning introduction to African history." Another collaboration between illustrator and authors, Bound for America: The Forced Migration of Africans to the New World provides an overview of the slave trade from Africa to Europe, with its subsequent high loss of life in transport across the Atlantic. "Cooper's strong oil-wash paintings, with their focus on individual faces, make intensely personal these statistics," wrote Rochman in a Booklist review.

Other collaborations include working with author Amy Littlesugar on Shake Rag: From the Life of Elvis Presley, Tree of Hope, and Freedom School, Yes! Shake Rag documents the early years of the future rockabilly king in the largely black community of Shake Rag, Tennessee. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that Cooper's paintings, "luminous as ever and glowing in tones of browns, yellows and earthy greens—draw readers into a fascinating era." In Tree of Hope, author and artist "join forces to vividly evoke the past," according to another critic for Publishers Weekly. Set during the Great Depression, Tree of Hope follows a young girl and her adventures with her father, an actor trying to revive Harlem's once popular theaters. Miriam Lang Budin, writing in School Library Journal, asserted that Cooper's art "capture[s] the emotions that make Littlesugar's characters vivid," and Rochman noted that the illustrations display "the harsh poverty, the warmth of family bonds, and also the excitement and magic of being part of a show."

In Freedom School, Yes! Littlesugar presents a fictionalized account of the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project and the Freedom Schools that were opened in the South by volunteers from the North. Barbara Buckley, reviewing the book in School Library Journal, called Cooper's artwork for the book "masterful and lush," and further commended his representation of faces which exhibit "exquisite strength and real pain." For Buckley, Freedom School, Yes! takes a "unique and poignant look at a moment in history," and a Publishers Weekly critic concluded that Cooper's illustrations "depict the strength shining in the faces of people newly enlightened." Another account of the efforts to educate black Americans is recounted in Elizabeth Alexander's Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Set against Alexander's rhyming evocation of the efforts of a nineteenth-century teacher to school African-American girls from her home in rural Connecticut, Cooper's "soft pastel illustrations provide a muted counterpoint to the text," according to a Kirkus Reviews writer.

"My inspiration for illustrating picture books primarily comes from the text," Cooper explained on the Teachers at Random Web site. "Someone writes a story, and I'll read it and become totally affected by it…. I'll get inspired by what's going on and actually be transported to that place. I want to do that with my art—bring the viewer along with me and tell the story in the same way that I feel it when I read the story. And so that's what I attempt to do with my paintings: to sort of take you into the place that's happening in the story."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 60, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2000, pp. 14-28.

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, November, 2000, review of A Child Is Born, p. 78.

Booklist, September 1, 1992, Ilene Cooper, review of The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars: A Twelfth-Century Tale from Japan, p. 54; September 15, 1993, Janice Del Negro, review of Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea: Poems, p. 115; February 15, 1994, Hazel Rochman, review of Meet Danitra Brown, p. 1085; December 15, 1994, Hazel Rochman, review of Jaguarundi, p. 753; May 15, 1996, Kay Weisman, review of One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing, p. 1583; September 15, 1996, Bill Ott, review of Satchmo's Blues, p. 251; February 15, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Ma Dear's Aprons, p. 1027; February 15, 1998, Susan Dove Lempke, review of African Beginnings, pp. 1002-1003; February 15, 1998, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Faraway Drums, p. 1008; February 15, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review of I Have Heard of a Land, p. 1009; February 15, 1998, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Cumbayah, p. 1014; December 15, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Bound for America: The Forced Migration of Africans to the New World, p. 746; March 1, 1999, Julie Corsaro, review of Mardi Gras Day, p. 1223; June 1, 1999, Michael Cart, review of Granddaddy's Street Songs, p. 1838; December 15, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Tree of Hope, p. 790; February 15, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Freedom School, Yes!, p. 1155, and Henrietta M. Smith, review of Cumbayah, p. 1160; February 15, 2002, Hazel Rochman, review of Danitra Brown Leaves Town, p. 1033; September 1, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Jump!: From the Life of Michael Jordan, p. 114; November 15, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of The Most Precious Gift: A Story of the Nativity, p. 52.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July-August, 1994, Betsy Hearne, review of Meet Danitra Brown, p. 357; January, 1995, Roger Sutton, review of Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes, p. 162; February, 2001, review of Freedom School, Yes!, p. 229; April, 2002, review of Danitra Brown Leaves Town, p. 280; January, 2005, Elizabeth Bush, review of Jump!, p. 205.

Childhood Education, fall, 2001, review of Freedom School, Yes!, p. 50.

Horn Book, March-April, 1989, Hanna B. Zeigler, review of Grandpa's Face, p. 197; November-December, 1993, Lois F. Anderson, review of From Miss Ida's Porch, pp. 743-744; September-October, 1994, Lois F. Anderson, review of Coming Home, pp. 604-605; September-October, 1995, Martha V. Parravano. review of Papa Tells Chita a Story, pp. 626-627; March-April, 1996, Martha V. Parravano, review of Gingerbread Days: Poems, p. 219; May-June, 1997, Maeve Visser Knoth, review of Ma Dear's Aprons, p. 310; November-December, 2004, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Jump!, p. 725.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 1994, review of Meet Danitra Brown, p. 557; December 15, 2001, review of Danitra Brown Leaves Town, p. 1758; October 15, 2004, review of Jump!, p. 1003.

New York Times Book Review, February 14, 1999, Peter Keepnews, review of Shake Rag: From the Life of Elvis Presley, p. 27.

Publishers Weekly, October 28, 1988, review of Grandpa's Face, p. 78; February 9, 1990, review of Laura Charlotte, p. 60; January 18, 1993, review of Pass It On: African-American Poetry for Children, p. 471; July 26, 1993, review of From Miss Ida's Porch, p. 73; October 11, 1993, review of Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, p. 87; April 11, 1994, review of Meet Danitra Brown, p. 65; August 26, 1996, review of Mandela: From the Life of the South African Statesman, p. 98; March 23, 1998, review of Cumbayah, p. 94; March 30, 1998, review of Faraway Drums, p. 81; April 6, 1998, review of I Have Heard of a Land, pp. 77-79; November 2, 1998, review of Shake Rag, p. 82; January 25, 1999, review of Satchmo's Blues, p. 98; February 8, 1999, review of On Mardi Gras Day, p. 214; November 29, 1999, review of Tree of Hope, p. 70; December 13, 1999, review of Mandela, p. 85; December 20, 1999, review of Ma Dear's Aprons, p. 82; September 25, 2000, review of A Child Is Born, p. 67; November 20, 2000, review of Miz Berlin Walks, p. 70; January 8, 2001, review of Freedom School, Yes!, p. 65; July 30, 2001, review of Shake Rag, p. 87; November 29, 2004, review of Jump!, p. 40; September 25, 2006, review of The Most Precious Gift, p. 71.

School Library Journal, May, 1993, Jane Marino, review of Pass It On, pp. 99-100; November, 1993, Elizabeth Hanson, review of From Miss Ida's Porch, p. 76; November, 1994, Louise L. Sherman, review of Coming Home, pp. 95-96; April 15, 1996, review of One April Morning, p. 69; September, 1996, Tim Wadham, review of Satchmo's Blues, p. 191; May, 1998, Dawn Amsberry, review of Faraway Drums, p. 119, and Jane Marino, review of Cumbayah, pp. 130-131; June, 1998, Eunice Weech, review of African Beginnings, p. 130; July, 1998, Jody McCoy, review of I Have Heard of a Land, p. 84; July, 1999, Alicia Eames, review of Granddaddy's Street Songs, p. 68; November, 1999, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Tree of Hope, p. 123; October, 2000, review of A Child Is Born, p. 56; January, 2001, Barbara Buckley, review of Freedom School, Yes!, p. 104; April, 2001, Marianne Saccardi, review of Sweet, Sweet Memory, p. 126; February, 2002, Catherine Threadgill, review of Danitra Brown Leaves Town, p. 101; Linda Ludke, December, 2002, review of Caddie, the Golf Dog, p. 108; September, 2004, Mary N. Oluonye, review of Mississippi Morning, p. 182; December, 2004, Anne M. Holcomb, review of Jump!, p. 127; October, 2006, Linda Israelson, review of The Most Precious Gift, p. 95.