In Picture Book Biographies, Black Kids Can See Themselves, and What They Can Be
Griffin-EL: This holiday season, there's no greater gift than a tool that can help inspire children to pursue their dreams.
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Recently, former President Barack Obama paid a visit to the Bessie Coleman Branch of the Chicago Public Library. Sitting before a group of elementary school students, he read How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight by Karen Parsons, about how this trailblazer pursued her dreams and became the first Black female pilot in the United States in 1921. Obama then presented each child with a book, asked them what they want to be when they grow up
It’s a simple question, one that adults often ask of children. But as a co-founder of a bookstore in Pittsburgh, I know that Obama’s gift, coupled with his question, could be life-changing for those students.
Books can be powerful tools for dreaming. When I was a graduate student, I spent many hours on the phone with my grandfather talking about life. I vividly remember him telling me he didn’t know much about the world I was experiencing in graduate school; I would have to figure it out for myself.
I turned to biographies, autobiographies and memoirs of people I admired, of people who pursued big dreams, overcame big and small barriers, and sought to make this world better — because that is what I wanted to do.
Many years later, I stumbled on picture book biographies with my young sons. One day, when we were at our local library, my oldest son grabbed a book titled Preaching to Chickens off the library shelf. He and his younger brother had a running joke about chickens; they would say “chicken” to every question I asked them. So, of course, this book caught his eye.
I’d had my fill of chicken jokes, so I told them it was off limits. Then, my youngest son began crying, and like all fathers in public libraries, I folded. We checked the book out. It was about how future congressman John Lewis would make speeches to chickens as a child and imagine they were people. It gave me so much insight into the childhood of the Civil Rights Movement giant and taught me a lesson too: that sometimes, when children play, it can be a dress rehearsal for the person they will become.
From that moment, I realized that picture book biographies can be powerful tools for helping Black children imagine their future selves, overcome personal barriers, navigate big emotions, even use their talents to make the world a better place.
The book Ode to Grapefruit, for example, reveals how James Earl Jones’ childhood stutter left him silent in school, until a caring teacher inspired him to write a poem and perform it in class. Presenting the poem out loud inspired him to take on acting, for which he became famous. His platinum voice became the gold standard. Ode to Grapefruit is a powerful illustration of overcoming personal obstacles, a lesson that can inspire children going through their own struggles.
As any parent knows, managing big emotions can be especially challenging for young children. In the book A Flea for Justice, author Valerie Bolling shows how Marian Wright Edelman used her frustration and disappointment over racial injustice to make the world a better place by founding the Children’s Defense Fund and the Freedom Schools initiative. For kids struggling with big emotions, this book can be a tool to help them convert those feelings into positive change.
Finally, in her book Miles of Style, Lisa Brathwaite writes about how fashion icon and entrepreneur Eunice Johnson used her exceptional fashion sense to found Ebony Magazine, which serves as an inspiration for Black women and continues to spark the imagination of Black people across the country. In addition to creating the magazine, Johnson founded the Ebony Fashion Show, which traveled to 66 cities across the United States from 1958 to 2009 to raise money for philanthropic causes. It’s an enduring lesson for children about how to use their talents to impact their community in big and small ways.
For me, picture book biographies are not cradle-to-greatness stories for kids. Rather, they’re tools to inspire children to pursue their dreams. This holiday season, as you think about the young people in your lives, perhaps consider a picture book biography, keep in mind Obama’s simple question. There’s no better time to encourage children to dream big.
