TONI MORRISON

An extremely well-written and powerful entry in the African- American Biographies series about a young girl who became a writer and went on to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Morrison attributes much of her success to her family, who taught her ``that how she felt about herself was not determined by other people.'' Kramer (Amy Tan, p. 746, etc.), in addition to presenting a summary of Morrison's life, explains the themes in all of Morrison's books and discusses Morrison's strengths as a writer: her poetic language, dialogue, and ability to write about villainous characters sympathetically. This book will inspire readers and allow them to see that focus, hard work, and discipline have given Morrison and her work a prominent perch in our literary heritage. (b&w photos, not seen, chronology, notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 11+)