Two award-winning creators work together to produce an inspirational celebration of Black sisterhood in Black Girl You Are Atlas, a semi-autobiographical collection of poems and stunning artwork.
Newbery Honoree and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner Renée Watson (Ways to Make Sunshine; Love Is a Revolution) uses different poetic forms (such as haiku, tanka, and free verse) to illustrate and discuss her experiences growing up as a Black girl. In the titular "at·las | \'at-les\" ("from Merriam-Webster Dictionary"), she defines the word and uses a big block of text to remind Black girls of their strength and importance: "But it is you, always, who holds the world up." Watson's work includes aspects of a memoir as well as poems about the experiences of other Black women. "Knock Knock" ("for Renisha McBride") and "A Pantoum for Breonna Taylor" both focus on how grace is not often given to Black women.
Accompanying Renée Watson's uplifting poems is the majestic artwork of Caldecott honoree and CSK Illustrator Award-winner Ekua Holmes (Voice of Freedom; Black Is a Rainbow Color). Holmes's mixed-media collages layer materials into colorful compositions that sometimes span double-page spreads. Her art symbolically depicts key points in Watson's poems, like themes of resilience, race, gender, class, and sisterhood. Although Black Girl You Are Atlas is written for and about a very specific audience, Watson's strong yet delicate poems are written with such conviction that all readers, no matter their age or ethnicity, can feel and have a sense of pride in themselves after reading this excellent compilation. --Natasha Harris, freelance reviewer