A visually stirring portrait of a remarkable woman.
From cotton fields in segregated 1930s Arkansas to gallery walls worldwide, Effie Mae Martin stitched a legacy entirely her own.
Long before she became the visionary artist Rosie Lee Tompkins, Effie was one of 15 children in a loving, faith-filled family of Black sharecroppers. Fieldwork was grueling, but sewing—taught by her mama—offered refuge. Effie dreamed of leaving the segregated South, where African American children were denied the same education and access as white youths. At 22, Effie moved to California, where she became a nurse, a wife, and a mother. After a mental health crisis led to hospitalization, she returned to sewing as a source of safety and healing. Using unconventional materials like velvet, charmeuse, and even old T-shirts, she broke from traditional quilting conventions to create bold, deeply personal and political works rooted in Black life, faith, memory, and survival. Eventually, collector Leon Eli began sharing Effie’s work with the world under the now-famous name Rosie Lee Tompkins, helping preserve her privacy. While the sparsely worded poetic format makes weighty topics like mental illness and segregation more accessible for younger readers, it leaves less room to dive into what made her quilt designs so groundbreaking and reflect on the broader impact of her work. Moore’s stunningly tactile gouache, watercolor, and collage illustrations are what set this book apart: Richly textured, they echo the layered, improvisational beauty of Effie’s quilts.
A visually stirring portrait of a remarkable woman. (about Rosie Lee Tompkins, selected sources) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781419776267
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song.
Through the power of music, Lucimarian Tolliver is reminded of what’s important.
Lucy is one of the only children of African descent on her block—called Lucy Street—in 1930s Akron, Ohio, but all her neighbors share one commonality: poverty. Lucy’s carefree spirit is dampened when her family’s furniture is repossessed one day. She visits her grandfather, who comforts her by singing the folk standard “This Little Light of Mine.” Grandpa tells Lucy that she’s destined for greatness and that she should never stop singing, even through life’s toughest moments. Back at home, Lucy’s father scolds her for singing at the dinner table, so she quickly finishes eating and wanders outside and sings into the night. Her voice reaches her family and neighbors, who are all touched by her song. Digital illustrations evoke the time period in muted tones, featuring endearing characters with simple yet expressive features. The visual subject matter is repetitive from page to page, as are the incorporated lyrics of “This Little Light of Mine.” Based on Lucimarian Tolliver’s experiences growing up during the Depression, the text contains an epilogue but lacks backmatter detailing historical context or more information about Lucy’s life. Though the themes of optimism and the importance of family, faith, and music shine through the text, readers may be left with more questions than answers.
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song. (Picture-book biography. 5-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063222540
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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