(2) K-3 Illustrated by AG Ford. Young Langston is thrilled when he sees a flyer announcing that Muhammad Ali, "boxing champion of the world," is coming to town for a "meet & greet" at the high school. Ford's quiet city neighborhood scenes give way to two powerful images of Ali himself. First the boxer jabs in front of a yellow background with frenetic purple and white swirls resembling butterfly wings, his famous words "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" incorporated into the text. In the following spread his boxing glove is aimed straight at readers, as Ali throws down one of his signature poetic boasts. While excitedly waiting for the event, Langston gets "his afro shaped to look...like the champ's" and demonstrates his own ­Ali-inspired swagger: "I'm smart as a fox / and fast as a hound. / I can sneak up on you / without making a sound." When the big day finally arrives, Langston and his mother are denied admission (it's for high school students only), but help comes from a surprising source. The lively third-person narrative and the bright acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations are a one-two punch that will hook readers. An author's note adds more information about Ali's influence and explains the story's roots in an actual event.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) PS Illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker. In this cozy board book, Asim (Preaching to the Chickens) lists, in rhythmic rhyming text, what a baby girl loves about Christmas. The cartoon illustrations show the wide-eyed girl's wonder and delight as she explores (with her pet cat) holiday flourishes within her home. Details around the house reinforce the family's love and pride in their culture, including a Black Santa figurine on the mantle.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Before John Lewis was a member of the civil rights movement's "Big Six" and a U.S. congressman, he was a farm boy from southern Alabama. After church on Sundays, he liked to preach to the chickens; soon, John's siblings started calling him Preacher, foreshadowing the days when he would "speak before thousands." Bucolic-looking watercolor and gouache landscapes accompany the conversational text.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bryan Collier. The emphasis of this brief portrait of Booker T. Washington is on his quest for knowledge: as a young boy living in slavery, wanting to learn to read, and then as a young adult attending the Hampton Institute. Watercolor and collage illustrations show the powerful determination on the subject's face, and everything about the bookmaking reverberates with the importance of books and learning. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013