ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
BIOGRAPHIES
Weatherford, Carole Boston

A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison

48 pp. | HarperCollins/Quill Tree | April, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9780062911032 $19.99
(1) K-3 Illustrated by Khalif Tahir Thompson. In an expressive second-person text addressed to her subject, Weatherford celebrates the life and legacy of the esteemed novelist, professor, and Nobel Laureate. Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison (1931–2019) falls under the "spell of the spoken word" at an early age. Weatherford emphasizes Morrison's trailblazing firsts (first in her family to attend college, first Black senior editor in publishing, first Black woman Nobel Laureate), beginning with first grade: she is the only Black girl in her class, and "the only one who can read. All by yourself." The act of listening is an organizing theme: listening to music and stories as a girl, "to your surroundings," "to your heart," to students and colleagues, to "overlooked and underrepresented" Black voices. When she moves to Washington, DC, to attend Howard University, Morrison becomes even more keenly aware of pervasive racial injustice, heeding "the call to conscience...vowing to write about and for Black people." Thompson's stunning artwork, rendered in "acrylic, oil paint, collage, handmade paper, and stencils on canvas board," has a dignity that reflects Morrison's stature in the literary world. The varied compositions are alive with texture and color, and a regal portrait of Morrison in the role of Queen Elizabeth I for a college theater production is especially powerful. Both the reverent art and the text provide an intimate glimpse into Morrison's remarkable life story. An author's note, a detailed timeline, and a bibliography are appended.
Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

RELATED 

BIOGRAPHIES

Saving American Beach
by King, Heidi Tyline
BIOGRAPHIES

Violet and Daisy
by Miller, Sarah
BIOGRAPHIES

Notes from a Young Black Chef
by , Onwuachi, Kwame & Stein, Joshua David
BIOGRAPHIES

Dr. Fauci
by Messner, Kate
BIOGRAPHIES

Indelible Ann
by Browne, Meghan P.
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?