What do you think?
Rate this book
Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
A picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature.
Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.
Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2021
3 people are currently reading
745 people want to read
About the author
Alicia D. Williams
9 books371 followersWhat's there to know about Alicia D? Well, that depends on who you ask.
If you ask kindergartners, they'd tell you:
1. She likes chunky guacamole.
2. She likes shiny things.
3. She tells good stories.
If you ask her middle schoolers, they'd surely say:
1. She gets us.
2. She makes us laugh with all her jokes.
3. She is Da BOMB.
While all of these may be true, there are a few more points to add . . . Alicia D. is a teacher in Charlotte, NC. She is the proud mother of a brilliant college student. Her love for education stems from conducting school residencies as a Master Teaching Artist of arts-integration. Alicia D infuses her love for drama, movement, and storytelling to inspire students to write. And like other great storytellers, she made the leap into writing--and well, her story continues. Alicia D loves laughing, traveling, and Wonder Woman.
If you ask kindergartners, they'd tell you:
1. She likes chunky guacamole.
2. She likes shiny things.
3. She tells good stories.
If you ask her middle schoolers, they'd surely say:
1. She gets us.
2. She makes us laugh with all her jokes.
3. She is Da BOMB.
While all of these may be true, there are a few more points to add . . . Alicia D. is a teacher in Charlotte, NC. She is the proud mother of a brilliant college student. Her love for education stems from conducting school residencies as a Master Teaching Artist of arts-integration. Alicia D infuses her love for drama, movement, and storytelling to inspire students to write. And like other great storytellers, she made the leap into writing--and well, her story continues. Alicia D loves laughing, traveling, and Wonder Woman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
February 22, 2021
What a perfect picture book pairing of talented author and talented illustrator, text and illustrations! Both capture movement and energy, character and place, in a captivating story that will inspire readers to read, to write, to honor their culture and where they come from, and most of all, to jump at the sun.
January 8, 2021
Delightful picture book biography of Zora Neale Hurston! It is a wonderful book to add to a Harlem Renaissance text set along with picture book biographies Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Jacob Lawwrence, and Langston Hughes.
August 15, 2021
I loved this illustrated, abridged story of how Zora Neale Hurston became a writer. She loved telling and writing stories, and it showed in her writings.
I think that a child might not know who the author is, since a lot of her writing seems to be geared toward adults. Plus, she wrote quite a while ago. It is a story about reaching for your dreams, so a child might enjoy that part of it, though.
The illustrations were beautiful. I really enjoyed them, especially with the word bubbles emphasizing what had been written on the page.
I think that a child might not know who the author is, since a lot of her writing seems to be geared toward adults. Plus, she wrote quite a while ago. It is a story about reaching for your dreams, so a child might enjoy that part of it, though.
The illustrations were beautiful. I really enjoyed them, especially with the word bubbles emphasizing what had been written on the page.
February 17, 2021
Williams and Alcantara do a fabulous job in capturing the energy and force of Zora Neale Hurston's passion and commitment to education and storytelling. This is a compelling and informative picture book biography that will engage and inspire readers. Those who are familiar with Hurston's life and work will be especially fascinated with details added to the illustrations and those who are not familiar will be eager to learn more.
February 17, 2021
Jump at the Sun is perfect. It's a brilliant introduction to the life & work of the incomparable Zora Neale Hurston It's gorgeously illustrated & I'm certain it will capture the imagination of young readers & endear a whole new generation to her genius.
June 17, 2021
Wish I liked this more. I get what the author was trying to do, but the dialect didn't land for me. The woodland critters kind of took up space but didn't add more depth with their snippets of stories. Glad this book exists, though.
January 24, 2021
Stunning. This book will invite readers back into the story and illustrations time and time again.
May 17, 2021
This is an inspirational Children’s biography on Zora Neale Hurston. Well told. Interesting and engaging.
April 21, 2021
With endpapers featuring all the hats and roles she put on during her lifetime, this picture book focuses on talented storyteller Zora Neale Hurston, almost lost to history had it not been for Alice Walker. Created with markers, gouache, and Photoshop, the illustrations are filled with movement and life, somehow capturing the essence of the book's subject, an author, folklorist, and anthropologist who had an ear for a story and collected many of them in the South and the Caribbean. The influence of her supportive mother is clear as the woman encouraged Zora to reach high for her goals, to jump at the sun, to see how close she might come, good advice for anyone about not allowing others' expectations to limit them. She grew up hearing and telling tales of her own in her Florida town. But after her mother died and she and her stepmother didn't get along, Zora was on her own. Never having finished high school, she moved to Baltimore and claimed to be 16 when she was 26, an act of daring. The author uses that concept of "jumping" as she follows each of Zora's moves from one phase of her life to the next, facing challenges with originality, bravery, and determination, and wringing every drop of moisture from life's experiences. I love the fact that she is identified as a "storycatcher" since that is precisely what her research and travels yielded her. I do wonder a bit about the audience for this picture book, given that Hurston is best known for "Their Eyes Were Watching God," a high school text. But perhaps there are teachers who will be inspired to share some of the folktales she collected with their young students. And even if they do not, her story is impressive simply for her originality, cleverness, and example. While landing on the sun is impossible, the idea of setting a goal that might seem out of reach but still gives someone a target is encouraging to those who defeat themselves before they even try. High school and middle grade teachers might consider sharing this profile of Hurston with their classes before teaching her work.
March 29, 2021
I'm never really drawn to picture book biographies but almost every time I read one, I'm so enamored with them, and learn so much...as with this one about writer Hurston. The language is so wonderful - Zora was a girl "who was attracted to tales like mosquitoes to skin" and (when her mother passes away): They "were so sobbing-hearted that even the house seemed to mourn."
The theme of aiming high, "jumping at the sun," as her mom told her to do, carried well through the book, as it covers a LOT of ground in Zora's life. And like any good biography, this one made me want to know more about the person. Illustrations work well for the book, but the style isn't one that I love.
Caldecott-worthy? Maybe
The theme of aiming high, "jumping at the sun," as her mom told her to do, carried well through the book, as it covers a LOT of ground in Zora's life. And like any good biography, this one made me want to know more about the person. Illustrations work well for the book, but the style isn't one that I love.
Caldecott-worthy? Maybe
Read
February 20, 2021This vibrant picture book biography presents the life of African American author Zora Neale Hurston to a young audience, emphasizing her following her dreams to be a writer, even as life got in the way. Encouraged by her mother to "jump at the sun" (you might not land on the sun, but at least you'll get off the ground), Zora never stopped writing. With short excerpts from the folk stories that Zora grew up hearing and later collected as an anthropologist, this is a wonderful book for kids who like stories and may inspire them to pick up more.
May 13, 2021
This lovely book depicts the life of famed storyteller Zora Neale Hurston and how she became a writer as well as a storyteller. Being a picture book, Hurston's complete life story can't be told, but Williams does a fantastic job in choosing which elements of her life to include. The text wonderfully tells how Zora loved listening and telling stories from a young age. She'd hang around the general store as long as possible in order to listen to the tales being swapped by the locals. I found it especially entertaining that she liked to hitch rides with people traveling through town and tell them stories. The beautiful language sweeps the reader right along with Zora as she's told to "jump at de sun" by her mother, but left to do so on her own after her mother's death. Williams clearly shows how hard Zora had to work to get off the ground and reach for the sun of her dreams. On her own at fourteen, Zora struggled to support herself and her dreams. Yet somehow she managed to pull it off. Alcantara's gorgeous illustrations beautifully compliment William's image-filled text. Zora's enthusiasm and zest for life shine through in both the text and the illustrations. One of the best picture book biographies I've ever read. The book also has an author's note with additional information as well as additional reading and source information. Highly recommended.
February 18, 2021
Employing a rich voice drawn directly from Hurston's writing and collected tales, this biography of Zora Neale Hurston, one of the preeminent writers of the Harlem Renaissance and a fabulously talented creator, takes us from childhood to success as an adult. The tenacity and vision Hurston embodied is clear in the text and lively illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantra match the energy of Williams' writing. A delight.
February 25, 2021
Opening Sentences
“IN A TOWN CALLED EATONVILLE—a place where magnolias smelled even prettier than they looked, oranges were as sweet as they were plump, and the people just plain ol’ got along—lived a girl who was attracted to tales like mosquitoes to skin.”
Why I like Jump at the Sun
Jump at the Sun is the biography of African-American novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Nora Neale Hurston (1891—1960). It’s subtitled, The True Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston, for good reasons; Hurston not only wrote her own stories, she also “caught” the stories and folktales that were orally passed from one generation to the next. As you read her remarkable story, you will understand how “unstoppable” this woman was in most aspects of her life. Beginning as a young girl interested in stories townfolk told at Joe Clark’s general store, and into a young adult wanting the education needed to become the famous writer she yearned to become.
Aspiring writers of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can see Hurston’s success as a road they may also travel. They will find much inspiration in Hurston’s life, especially as she was unwillingly pushed out on her own, at age fourteen. Hurston studied when she could, wrote when she had the time, invested in her future, and did what she had to do to survive—even though holding onto a job was not one of her vast skills. Yet when an opportunity presented itself, Hurston made the most of it, from her studies at Howard University and Barnyard College, to her move to New York City.
Ms. Hurston’s work includes many writings and collections, including “cultural songs, dances, tales, religious practices, children’s games, folklores.” Zora collected the tales and folklores she heard at Joe Clark’s general store, which she sold. Titled The Eatonville Anthology, it helped pay the costs of Zora’s education at Barnyard College. She also collected folktales, at a professor’s urging, to complete her anthropology fieldwork. Mrs. Hurston collected folklores in Haiti, the Bahamas, and in southern Florida, including her childhood home in Eatonville. When, as a young girl, Nora was not collecting folk stories, she was writing her own stories—after first creating characters fashioned out of scraps (Reverend Door-Knob, Miss Corn Shuck and Miss Corn-Cob).
Young readers will enjoy her crazy characters and the beautiful, detailed, respectful, and often comical illustrations artist Jacqueline Alcántara created to tell Ms. Hurston’s story. This incredible folklorist might even inspire children to create their own characters and then the stories to match each one. Advanced readers will be able to read this biographical picture book on their own. Younger kids will find some of the words author Alicia D. Williams used out of the range of the typical picture book reader:
anthropology, varmints, sobbing-hearted, mourn, boarding school, tightfisted, commenced, tarrying, plunked, pallet, pondering, literary, lectures, the Charleston, chanting, bootlegger, hold court,
and a few southern accented words such as: “de” (the), “dese” (these),“lemme” (let me), “s’posed” (supposed),“y’all” (you all), “’bout” (about), “tah” (a), and “steada” (instead of).
The many side bubbles give a hint to Ms. Hurston’s folktales and stories, including the accent.
“You know, God did not make folks all at once. He made folks sort of in His spare time . . . . For instance, one day He called everybody and gave out feet and eyes. Another time He give out toe-nails. . . .”
“Y’all been tellin’ and lyin’ ‘bout dese varmints but you ain’t yet spoke about de high chief boss of all de world which is de lion. . . . “
“Dat’s de reason de dog is mad wid de rabbit now—‘cause he fooled de dog. . . .”
Ms. Williams uses many similes while writing Ms. Hurston’s story. She starts by writing, “. . . –lived a girl who was attracted to tales like mosquitoes to skin.” (emphasis mine) This first page helps set the mood for the story, letting readers know this will be a fun, informative biography about an amazing woman.
By the time children and adults finish this picture book—adults should most definitely read Jump at the Sun—they will understand Ms. Zora Neale Hurston is, as Ms. Williams writes, “She is a national treasure.”
Back Matter
An Author’s Note—Alicia D. Williams tells the story of first meeting author Zora Neale Hurston, who had a fondness for giggling. Ms. Hurston’s anthology is titled, I Love Myself When I Am Laughing . . . And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive. She lived out many adventures while bravely driving the back roads of the southern states in her Ford coupe (during the time of Jim Crow laws). I doubt she was truly mean, but Ms. Hurston was most definitely impressive. Read all the gems about this fascinating novelist, folklorist, anthropologist, adventurer, and much more in the Author’s Note.
The back matter also includes a list of Additional Reading; all books by Ms. Hurston (two for children and seven for adults). The Sources used while writing, Jump at the Sun: The True Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston is also listed.
“IN A TOWN CALLED EATONVILLE—a place where magnolias smelled even prettier than they looked, oranges were as sweet as they were plump, and the people just plain ol’ got along—lived a girl who was attracted to tales like mosquitoes to skin.”
Why I like Jump at the Sun
Jump at the Sun is the biography of African-American novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Nora Neale Hurston (1891—1960). It’s subtitled, The True Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston, for good reasons; Hurston not only wrote her own stories, she also “caught” the stories and folktales that were orally passed from one generation to the next. As you read her remarkable story, you will understand how “unstoppable” this woman was in most aspects of her life. Beginning as a young girl interested in stories townfolk told at Joe Clark’s general store, and into a young adult wanting the education needed to become the famous writer she yearned to become.
Aspiring writers of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can see Hurston’s success as a road they may also travel. They will find much inspiration in Hurston’s life, especially as she was unwillingly pushed out on her own, at age fourteen. Hurston studied when she could, wrote when she had the time, invested in her future, and did what she had to do to survive—even though holding onto a job was not one of her vast skills. Yet when an opportunity presented itself, Hurston made the most of it, from her studies at Howard University and Barnyard College, to her move to New York City.
Ms. Hurston’s work includes many writings and collections, including “cultural songs, dances, tales, religious practices, children’s games, folklores.” Zora collected the tales and folklores she heard at Joe Clark’s general store, which she sold. Titled The Eatonville Anthology, it helped pay the costs of Zora’s education at Barnyard College. She also collected folktales, at a professor’s urging, to complete her anthropology fieldwork. Mrs. Hurston collected folklores in Haiti, the Bahamas, and in southern Florida, including her childhood home in Eatonville. When, as a young girl, Nora was not collecting folk stories, she was writing her own stories—after first creating characters fashioned out of scraps (Reverend Door-Knob, Miss Corn Shuck and Miss Corn-Cob).
Young readers will enjoy her crazy characters and the beautiful, detailed, respectful, and often comical illustrations artist Jacqueline Alcántara created to tell Ms. Hurston’s story. This incredible folklorist might even inspire children to create their own characters and then the stories to match each one. Advanced readers will be able to read this biographical picture book on their own. Younger kids will find some of the words author Alicia D. Williams used out of the range of the typical picture book reader:
anthropology, varmints, sobbing-hearted, mourn, boarding school, tightfisted, commenced, tarrying, plunked, pallet, pondering, literary, lectures, the Charleston, chanting, bootlegger, hold court,
and a few southern accented words such as: “de” (the), “dese” (these),“lemme” (let me), “s’posed” (supposed),“y’all” (you all), “’bout” (about), “tah” (a), and “steada” (instead of).
The many side bubbles give a hint to Ms. Hurston’s folktales and stories, including the accent.
“You know, God did not make folks all at once. He made folks sort of in His spare time . . . . For instance, one day He called everybody and gave out feet and eyes. Another time He give out toe-nails. . . .”
“Y’all been tellin’ and lyin’ ‘bout dese varmints but you ain’t yet spoke about de high chief boss of all de world which is de lion. . . . “
“Dat’s de reason de dog is mad wid de rabbit now—‘cause he fooled de dog. . . .”
Ms. Williams uses many similes while writing Ms. Hurston’s story. She starts by writing, “. . . –lived a girl who was attracted to tales like mosquitoes to skin.” (emphasis mine) This first page helps set the mood for the story, letting readers know this will be a fun, informative biography about an amazing woman.
By the time children and adults finish this picture book—adults should most definitely read Jump at the Sun—they will understand Ms. Zora Neale Hurston is, as Ms. Williams writes, “She is a national treasure.”
Back Matter
An Author’s Note—Alicia D. Williams tells the story of first meeting author Zora Neale Hurston, who had a fondness for giggling. Ms. Hurston’s anthology is titled, I Love Myself When I Am Laughing . . . And Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive. She lived out many adventures while bravely driving the back roads of the southern states in her Ford coupe (during the time of Jim Crow laws). I doubt she was truly mean, but Ms. Hurston was most definitely impressive. Read all the gems about this fascinating novelist, folklorist, anthropologist, adventurer, and much more in the Author’s Note.
The back matter also includes a list of Additional Reading; all books by Ms. Hurston (two for children and seven for adults). The Sources used while writing, Jump at the Sun: The True Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston is also listed.
March 23, 2021
How do writers become published authors? From where do their ideas come? Who was Zora Neale Hurston? Crack the covers of this beautiful picture book biography for a peek at some lush artwork that convey the energy and drive that was Zora Neale Hurston. What better image than “jump at the sun” to convey just how big one must dream to achieve goals? Alicia D. Williams passion for ZNH comes through in her words and invite readers to learn more, read more, dream more.
And, why, yes, the “Additional Reading” on the back endpapers did send me immediately to my library’s catalog – and to GR to add yet more titles to my TBR.
And, why, yes, the “Additional Reading” on the back endpapers did send me immediately to my library’s catalog – and to GR to add yet more titles to my TBR.
January 27, 2021
The first listed definition in Merriam-Webster names it as an account of incidents or events. Newbery author and former National Ambassador of Children's Literature, Kate DiCamillo believes it connects us. In an interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN, the National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, who wrote and recited the Inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb, on January 20, 2021, says:
I'm a poet. So often I don't work in images. I work in words and text. . . .
To me words matter.
More than one hundred years before Amanda, another Black girl was born. She believed words mattered. She believed in the power of story to connect us as does Kate. Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books For Young Readers, January 12, 2021) written by Alicia D. Williams with illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantara is a wondrous, joyful celebration of this remarkable author and this searcher and gatherer of folklore. Let us take a leap as she did again and again. Let us be inspired by her courage and conviction.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
I'm a poet. So often I don't work in images. I work in words and text. . . .
To me words matter.
More than one hundred years before Amanda, another Black girl was born. She believed words mattered. She believed in the power of story to connect us as does Kate. Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, Atheneum Books For Young Readers, January 12, 2021) written by Alicia D. Williams with illustrations by Jacqueline Alcantara is a wondrous, joyful celebration of this remarkable author and this searcher and gatherer of folklore. Let us take a leap as she did again and again. Let us be inspired by her courage and conviction.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
April 17, 2021
I read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" during an African American Literature course my freshman year of college. A book I've never stopped thinking about.
September 18, 2021
Outstanding writing and illustrations
March 4, 2021
Young biography of "A genius of the South . . . Novelist, Folklorist, Anthropologist." Quote from Alice Walker's tombstone for Hurston. (According to Author's Note.)
Enjoyed how Zora took 10 years off her age to go to high school.
Enjoyed how Zora took 10 years off her age to go to high school.
August 10, 2021
This bright and beautiful picture book took me right back to Am Lit!
March 24, 2022
Truly captivating–both the illustrations and the stories.
October 29, 2021
A vibrant introduction to the early life and career of writer Zora Neale Hurston luminously illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara.
July 3, 2021
Zora Neale Hurston loved stories and writing, and spent much of her life collecting those stories and writing them down. An anthropologist by training, her education came in fits and starts, but her dedication to telling the stories of African American people was never failing. The text and illustrations are joyful and fun.
My only real complaint is that the Author's Note in the back speeds through some very intriguing details about the rest of Hurston's life. But that's a perpetual flaw in picture book biographies, and to be expected when an entire lifetime is distilled down to its essense.
My only real complaint is that the Author's Note in the back speeds through some very intriguing details about the rest of Hurston's life. But that's a perpetual flaw in picture book biographies, and to be expected when an entire lifetime is distilled down to its essense.
February 22, 2021
I loved this picture book biography about author Zora Neale Hurston. From her youngest days listening to tales being told on the front porch of the general store to her later days trying to make it as an author, I felt it captured her energy, life, and passion for storytelling and what drove her to continue writing even when she faced obstacles and set-backs. Beautiful book about an amazing woman.
December 1, 2021
jump at the Sun tells the story of author, anthropologist, and filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston who likes to make up and tell stories of fiction.
I enjoyed learning about author Hurston and how she overcame adversity
and through perseverance she achieved her goal and that ws to reach the Sun.
jump at the Sun with its beautiful and storytelling illustrations was a very good read.
I enjoyed learning about author Hurston and how she overcame adversity
and through perseverance she achieved her goal and that ws to reach the Sun.
jump at the Sun with its beautiful and storytelling illustrations was a very good read.
March 27, 2021
The energy, joy and determination of Zora Neale Hurston jump off each page of this lively tribute. The language and the immediacy of the writing and the vivid, colorful art draws us through the ups and downs of Zora Neale Hurston's life. A gifted storyteller's story about a legendary storyteller. Loved it!
November 18, 2021
This is a terrific non-fiction picture book biography about Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist and storyteller who spent her life collecting and documenting the stories of Black people in the USA and in neighboring Central American countries (Jamaica, Haiti, and the Bahamas.)
March 18, 2021
I'm going to preface this by saying I'm a big fan of ZNH rather than a Hurston scholar.
I was excited about a younger scaling biography for ZNH. Unfortunately, this picturebook is heavy on the text and not what you'd want for younger readers. Looking at the content, I think it roughly tells the story as accounted from Hurston herself. The trouble with any Hurston biography is that there was not a ton of contemporaneous accounts to draw from and Hurston spread her tale telling to her life. Zora's age in particular was her best true lie and it is barely touched upon (maybe to keep the book pg?).
There is a lot of the zest of Zora missing here. We don't see her hopping around with different guys at different fake ages. The story also ends with a false positive note. So, familiar readers will wonder where the Langston Hughes, benefactor, Mule Bone, the end of her life, and her eventual death somewhat forgotten in poverty. This is particularly confusing since one of the recommended books was Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" and her WPA work is more like a footnote. She didn't just stay a loved storyteller and anthropologist. She had trials and tribulations. I can understand the need for Black joy stories, but her life is unfortunately not one of them. This could have been done better with maybe 1 or 2 specific episodes that focused on a particular moment and a more detailed back bio, but as it is presented now it feels disingenuous to her life.
I worry that unfamiliar readers will be mislead about her place in the canon. This story leaves the reader feeling good and somewhat knowing ZNH with some of her stylistic writing choices and snippets of her works --I actually like story snips from her folklore collections. It just also plays fast and loose with the idea that the literary canon has always had her in it and is a solid rather than malleable, changing thing. That's especially clear on the page where they talk about her friendship and social activity with famous literary and musical members of the literary canon (Langston Hughes, Count Basie, Arna Bontempts, and Fannie Hurst). That's an erasure of Alice Walker's work of re-discovering her --and the last thing a forgotten author needs is to be the cause to forget the work of another Black author who literally paid to put a stone on her unmarked grave.
I also don't like the citation in the back that lumps all of her books together under one citation. It might make design sense and save page space, but it shrinks the bibliograhy makes it look like the author did not look as deeply into the subject as one would expect for a biography. And maybe the didn't. It's worth noting that there are no Eatonville citations outside Zora's fictitious accounts, which is troublesome to say the least for a nonfiction title. (I know what you ZNH fans are thinking, what about Dust Tracks on a Road? Her autobiography has more than a few inaccuracies about her own life and, yes, while her Eatonville was based on the real one, there is a fictional sheen to it in both her nonfiction and fiction writings.) The author needed to do more source work and bias checking in their sources.
I was excited about a younger scaling biography for ZNH. Unfortunately, this picturebook is heavy on the text and not what you'd want for younger readers. Looking at the content, I think it roughly tells the story as accounted from Hurston herself. The trouble with any Hurston biography is that there was not a ton of contemporaneous accounts to draw from and Hurston spread her tale telling to her life. Zora's age in particular was her best true lie and it is barely touched upon (maybe to keep the book pg?).
There is a lot of the zest of Zora missing here. We don't see her hopping around with different guys at different fake ages. The story also ends with a false positive note. So, familiar readers will wonder where the Langston Hughes, benefactor, Mule Bone, the end of her life, and her eventual death somewhat forgotten in poverty. This is particularly confusing since one of the recommended books was Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" and her WPA work is more like a footnote. She didn't just stay a loved storyteller and anthropologist. She had trials and tribulations. I can understand the need for Black joy stories, but her life is unfortunately not one of them. This could have been done better with maybe 1 or 2 specific episodes that focused on a particular moment and a more detailed back bio, but as it is presented now it feels disingenuous to her life.
I worry that unfamiliar readers will be mislead about her place in the canon. This story leaves the reader feeling good and somewhat knowing ZNH with some of her stylistic writing choices and snippets of her works --I actually like story snips from her folklore collections. It just also plays fast and loose with the idea that the literary canon has always had her in it and is a solid rather than malleable, changing thing. That's especially clear on the page where they talk about her friendship and social activity with famous literary and musical members of the literary canon (Langston Hughes, Count Basie, Arna Bontempts, and Fannie Hurst). That's an erasure of Alice Walker's work of re-discovering her --and the last thing a forgotten author needs is to be the cause to forget the work of another Black author who literally paid to put a stone on her unmarked grave.
I also don't like the citation in the back that lumps all of her books together under one citation. It might make design sense and save page space, but it shrinks the bibliograhy makes it look like the author did not look as deeply into the subject as one would expect for a biography. And maybe the didn't. It's worth noting that there are no Eatonville citations outside Zora's fictitious accounts, which is troublesome to say the least for a nonfiction title. (I know what you ZNH fans are thinking, what about Dust Tracks on a Road? Her autobiography has more than a few inaccuracies about her own life and, yes, while her Eatonville was based on the real one, there is a fictional sheen to it in both her nonfiction and fiction writings.) The author needed to do more source work and bias checking in their sources.
September 23, 2021
Zora Neale Hurston, born in 1891, was an African American anthropologist, author, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South. The most popular of her four novels was Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays.
She grew up in Eatonville, Florida, one of the first all-Black towns incorporated in the United States, a place she used in settings for many of her stories.
She was the fifth of eight children; her father was a Baptist preacher and her mother was a schoolteacher. Her mother always told her to reach high, the author reports, to “jump at de sun. You might not land on de sun, but at least you’d get off de ground.”
Williams juxtaposes the narrative with examples of the colloquial prose used in Zora’s stories, set apart by speech balloons that also illustrate Zora’s love of folk stories.
Zora’s mother died when Zora was 13, but Zora never forgot her support and encouragement, especially when, a year later, her father remarried. Her new stepmother evicted her when Zora was 14.
Zora stayed with friends and worked odd jobs for twelve years, traveling from Florida to Baltimore, in and out of school. Finally at age 28 she was able to attend Howard University, where she met successful writers and decided she could be one too.
In 1925 she moved to New York City and joined others in the Harlem Renaissance.
She started winning literary contests in magazines, and Barnard College offered her a scholarship. For a college project, she went back to Eatonville to collect Negro folklore, but didn’t stop there. She traveled all through the South and the Caribbean to gather folktales, finally settling in Florida to write books. Zora, the author writes, “like her mama always dreamed - reached the sun.”
An Author’s Note tells how the author discovered Zora’s work while in college and fell in love with it. She writes that “Zora garnered numerous awards for her plays, articles, musical revues, and novels, yet she never received the financial gains that she deserved.” Later in life Zora even had to work as a maid to survive, and ended her life in a welfare home in 1960. But over sixty years later, her work is still being published. The author concludes with some suggestions for additional reading, and a list of sources.
Illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara uses a colorful palette that includes not only historical details, like Zora’s many hats, but also whimsical folktale figures that surround Zora as she works.
Evaluation: This introduction to Zora Neale Hurston for readers 4 and over is not only inspiring, but will no doubt have readers clamoring to read some of Zora’s folktales for themselves.
She grew up in Eatonville, Florida, one of the first all-Black towns incorporated in the United States, a place she used in settings for many of her stories.
She was the fifth of eight children; her father was a Baptist preacher and her mother was a schoolteacher. Her mother always told her to reach high, the author reports, to “jump at de sun. You might not land on de sun, but at least you’d get off de ground.”
Williams juxtaposes the narrative with examples of the colloquial prose used in Zora’s stories, set apart by speech balloons that also illustrate Zora’s love of folk stories.
Zora’s mother died when Zora was 13, but Zora never forgot her support and encouragement, especially when, a year later, her father remarried. Her new stepmother evicted her when Zora was 14.
Zora stayed with friends and worked odd jobs for twelve years, traveling from Florida to Baltimore, in and out of school. Finally at age 28 she was able to attend Howard University, where she met successful writers and decided she could be one too.
In 1925 she moved to New York City and joined others in the Harlem Renaissance.
She started winning literary contests in magazines, and Barnard College offered her a scholarship. For a college project, she went back to Eatonville to collect Negro folklore, but didn’t stop there. She traveled all through the South and the Caribbean to gather folktales, finally settling in Florida to write books. Zora, the author writes, “like her mama always dreamed - reached the sun.”
An Author’s Note tells how the author discovered Zora’s work while in college and fell in love with it. She writes that “Zora garnered numerous awards for her plays, articles, musical revues, and novels, yet she never received the financial gains that she deserved.” Later in life Zora even had to work as a maid to survive, and ended her life in a welfare home in 1960. But over sixty years later, her work is still being published. The author concludes with some suggestions for additional reading, and a list of sources.
Illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara uses a colorful palette that includes not only historical details, like Zora’s many hats, but also whimsical folktale figures that surround Zora as she works.
Evaluation: This introduction to Zora Neale Hurston for readers 4 and over is not only inspiring, but will no doubt have readers clamoring to read some of Zora’s folktales for themselves.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews