Little man, little man: A story of childhood

by James Baldwin, Yoran Cazac (Illustrator)

Four-year-old TJ spends his days on his lively Harlem block playing with his best friends WT and Blinky and running errands for neighbors. As he comes of age as a “Little Man” with big dreams, TJ faces a world of grown-up adventures and realities. Baldwin’s only children’s book, Little Man, Little Man celebrates and explores the challenges and joys of black childhood.

Now available for the first time in forty years, this new edition of Little Man, Little Man—which retains the charming original illustrations by French artist Yoran Cazac—includes a foreword by Baldwin’s nephew Tejan "TJ" Karefa-Smart and an afterword by his niece Aisha Karefa-Smart, with an introduction by two Baldwin scholars. In it we not only see life in 1970s Harlem from a black child’s perspective, but we also gain a fuller appreciation of the genius of one of America’s greatest writers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, African American, Classics, Fiction, Race, Juvenile

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Works of American writer James Arthur Baldwin, outspoken critic of racism, include Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel, and Notes of a Native Son (1955), a collection of essays.

James Arthur Baldwin authored plays and poems in society.

He came as the eldest of nine children; his stepfather served as a minister. At 14 years of age in 1938, Baldwin preached at the small fireside Pentecostal church in Harlem. From religion in the early 1940s, he transferred his faith to literature with the still evident impassioned cadences of black churches. From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France but often returned to the United States of America to lecture or to teach.

In his Giovanni's Room, a white American expatriate must come to terms with his homosexuality. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in city of New York.

James Baldwin offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s.
He first partially autobiographically accounted his youth. His influential Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time informed a large white audience. Another Country talks about gay sexual tensions among intellectuals of New York. Segments of the black nationalist community savaged his gay themes. Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers stated the Baldwin displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." People produced Blues for Mister Charlie , play of Baldwin, in 1964. Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, defended Baldwin.

Going to Meet the Man and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone provided powerful descriptions. He as an openly gay man increasingly in condemned discrimination against lesbian persons.

From stomach cancer, Baldwin died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. People buried his body at the Ferncliff cemetery in Hartsdale near city of New York.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Baldwin's only story for children is a surprising look at being a child in a New York neighbourhood that is at once friendly and a little frightening. The main character, T.J. is named after his own nephew, and by all reports was an accurate portrayal of a helpful, happy little boy. His older friends look after him when the streets get tough, and have good times when they can. T.J. goes to the store for a woman who locks herself away in her home, but the other kids go along to protect him, although he is unaware that this is what they are doing. There is a clear difference between the adults and the children in the story - this being that the adults have lost their innocence, while for the children life is about being happy when they can, and trying not to worry too much. There are many illustrations by Yoran Cazac, adding a colourful and exuberant dimension to this unusual glimpse into childhood.

[Effie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little troublesome to catalog because it's long for a picture book and the protagonist is a 4 year old boy. The art work is quirky and wonderful - I really love the pictures of Blinky with her glasses. I enjoyed reading this book. I think Baldwin got into the mindset of a child really well. The writing is wonderful. I have to disagree with the reviewer that says the characters are underdeveloped. I think that the characters are quite developed, but seen through the eyes of a child that doesn't quite grasp the detail of what's happening with them, though the impression he has of each person and how they make him feel is quite vivid. It's important for kids to see themselves represented in books and though sometimes the subject matter may be a bit grim, for a lot of kids it's like that. I'm so glad this book is getting another release.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

The term of endearment in the title is very telling, because the book "tackles such mature themes as poverty, police brutality, crime, intergenerational relations, addiction, racism, and social marginality through the voice and vision of a black child." (from the introduction.) I thought he really captured a kid's point of view and the feeling of his Harlem neighborhood.

It's also noteworthy because Baldwin deliberately chose to write it in a black vernacular voice, very much related to reasons he wrote about in, ”If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?", his 1979 essay/opinion piece for the NY Times, published a few years after this book came out.

The ink and watercolor illustrations by Cazac are frenetic raw, and scribbly. Not really my cup of tea, but they're definitely unique and distinctive. (You get a taste of it from the cover.)

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than a picture book and less than a novel. It's a story about childhood, written for adults. Using the vernacular of his nephew’s Harlem community, this book provides a window into a young black boy’s experience in the 1970’s. While the story is illustrated, it’s not a picture book in a traditional sense. It’s more like an illustrated short story. It doesn’t follow a traditional story arc. Rather, it’s a string of anecdotes that reveal what ordinary life was like for children living there at the time. It isn’t without trauma as is shown when TJ, the little man, imagines cops on the street searching for someone. Adults are mostly kind, but that doesn't mean they don't have their own issues.

I can imagine readers gasping at the thought of sending a four year old to the store. This resonated as normal for me since a dozen or so years earlier than this, when I was only four, my mother regularly sent me off to pick up groceries for her.

I decided to read the story before reading the forward, afterward, and additional notes. I'm glad I did, but these additions provide important background knowledge about the community at that time.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is most definitely not your conventional children's story. Written in the mid 1970s and published in 1976, this is James Baldwin's only children's book and one he wrote for Tejan Karefa-Smart, his then about 8 years old, who wanted to know when his Uncle Jimmy was going to write a book about him. Well, Uncle Jimmy came through for him with Little Man Little Man, whose 4 year old main character TJ is loosely based on his nephew.

Baldwin has captured life on the streets of Harlem as seen through the eyes of four-year-old TJ, while he plays outside with his friends WT, a 7 year old boy, and Blinky, an 8 year old girl. TJ, despite being only 4, has the uncanny ability of all urban children of being able to play outside with his friends while also observing what he sees around him, and applying the logic and often the humor of a child to explain or question things. For example, Blinky says she needs glasses to see, but when TJ tried her glasses on, he couldn't see anything, hence, "if he can't see out them, how she going to see out them?" (pg. 8)

But this is also a book that interrogates some very mature themes like police abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence, and some of what TJ sees around him may sound very scary to today's readers. TJ sees other boys playing ball, shooting craps, and playing cards, then heading to the roof "to shoot that dope in their veins..." and looking like they're asleep when they come back. Luckily, WT is looking out for TJ, so he doesn't become like those boys. In the end, readers will find that Little Man Little Man is how TJ, WT, and Blinky navigate the challenges they face as they grow up, but also about the strength of their friendships, with each other and with some of the adults around them.

Little Man Little Man is told in the third person from only TJ's point of view. It is told in Black English, which, according to NYU professor Nicolas Boggs, Baldwin celebrated as an art form and as a form of politics."

The watercolor illustrations by French artist Yoran Cazac are the original illustrations from the 1976 edition. Cazac has really captured the dynamics of the neighborhood people living in1970s Harlem.

I found for me that what makes this book so important is that it is not historical fiction, but one of the few children's books that gives us a window into the realities of what life was like for Harlem's black children in the mid-1970s. I grew up in NYC, I played on the streets with my friends, and although I didn't live in Harlem, I felt that this was a very honest book about childhood at that time and a wonderful addition to the growing body of books for African American readers young and old.

A Teacher's Resource Guide for Little Man, Little Man is available from Duke University Press.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Duke University Press

[Nóra Ugron · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best children's book I have ever read, I wish I had stuff like this as a kid. Even though the context I have grown up in, a post-socialist, 90s Eastern European, Hungarian speaking small town in Romania, some of the things the kids have been up to, doing errands for neighbours, stepping in glass in front of the block, skipping rope, lol, etc, was so very relatable. But then there is also the very specific experience of Black children in Harlem in the 70s, which is told in a beautiful vernacular Harlem dialect, and which opens up in its complexity. Very difficult topics like racism, drug use and police violence are thematized in a way that is suitable for both children and adults.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute children's book - originally noted as being 'for adults'. But if people who speak with moderately decent grammar and word usage can get past that sticky point, they could read it to their grandchildren and explain that 'this is the way some people talk.'

Published originally in 1976 for his nephew [and niece], Baldwin already was well known. I especially enjoyed the Foreword and the Afterword which explained a bit about the history of the author, the illustrator and the book itself. Praise to the illustrator for a wonderful job.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Pepe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-warming, intimate, and cheerful. Using the Afro-American Vernacular English, Baldwin explores the youngsters’ lives in the neighborhood of Harlem. This is an ordinary child story, in the community where no one looks for wisdom but there’s plenty of it. The close-knit community that is possible outside the mainstream narrative of families in the State. “He a pain, but he beautiful” .

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang.

Truly, I love the very particular time and tone of 70s kidlit, especially set in NY. This is obvs different than run-of-the-mill kidlit of the era -- it's Baldwin! -- but there's something about the pace of the story and the independence of the protagonists that still feels very much of a piece with Harriet & co.

[Dylan Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing James Baldwin cannot write, and write beautifully.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This looks like a children's book, but it is not. Instead, it is a book about childhood that Baldwin wrote for his nephew. Illustrated by Yoran Cazac, the pictures capture the images created by Baldwin's prose, and demonstrate the tone. This is a short book about life in 1970s Harlem. Baldwin shows us life on the streets as seen by a four-year boy, including what adults were doing. He uses the vernacular, and while showing us children's activities and friendships, he includes the realities of alcoholism, racism, drug addiction, and economic disparity. I got the 1976 version from the library, but there is a 2018 version now available for sale.

[Mitchell Hahn-Branson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm lucky that my library had a copy of James Baldwin's only book for children. It's apparently way out of print and incredibly expensive on Amazon. It's also unbelievably beautiful, so much so that I'm planning to do some research for the first time on how to suggest to Penguin Random House that they should order a reprint. A pity that Baldwin never wrote for children again.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is most definitely not your conventional children's story. Written in the mid 1970s and published in 1976, this is James Baldwin's only children's book and one he wrote for Tejan Karefa-Smart, his then about 8 years old, who wanted to know when his Uncle Jimmy was going to write a book about him. Well, Uncle Jimmy came through for him with Little Man Little Man, whose 4 year old main character TJ is loosely based on his nephew.

Baldwin has captured life on the streets of Harlem as seen through the eyes of four-year-old TJ, while he plays outside with his friends WT, a 7 year old boy, and Blinky, an 8 year old girl. TJ, despite being only 4, has the uncanny ability of all urban children of being able to play outside with his friends while also observing what he sees around him, and applying the logic and often the humor of a child to explain or question things. For example, Blinky says she needs glasses to see, but when TJ tried her glasses on, he couldn't see anything, hence, "if he can't see out them, how she going to see out them?" (pg. 8)

But this is also a book that interrogates some very mature themes like police abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence, and some of what TJ sees around him may sound very scary to today's readers. TJ sees other boys playing ball, shooting craps, and playing cards, then heading to the roof "to shoot that dope in their veins..." and looking like they're asleep when they come back. Luckily, WT is looking out for TJ, so he doesn't become like those boys. In the end, readers will find that Little Man Little Man is how TJ, WT, and Blinky navigate the challenges they face as they grow up, but also about the strength of their friendships, with each other and with some of the adults around them.

Little Man Little Man is told in the third person from only TJ's point of view. It is told in Black English, which, according to NYU professor Nicolas Boggs, Baldwin celebrated as an art form and as a form of politics."

The watercolor illustrations by French artist Yoran Cazac are the original illustrations from the 1976 edition. Cazac has really captured the dynamics of the neighborhood people living in1970s Harlem.

I found for me that what makes this book so important is that it is not historical fiction, but one of the few children's books that gives us a window into the realities of what life was like for Harlem's black children in the mid-1970s. I grew up in NYC, I played on the streets with my friends, and although I didn't live in Harlem, I felt that this was a very honest book about childhood at that time and a wonderful addition to the growing body of books for African American readers young and old.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Duke University Press

[Sonia Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Little Man, Little Man, James Baldwin captures the nuances of childhood in 1970s Harlem. Like his adult fiction, Baldwin draws readers into the silences and outbursts lurking within an inner city landscape. The protagonist TJ guides readers into playtime with his friends WT and Blinky, his interactions with neighbors, and relationship with his parents.

TJ, WT, and Blinky find joy in each other's company while circumventing the outbursts of bullying, gentrification, and poverty in their neighborhood. Like the outbursts, the silences of addiction, parental loss, domestic strife, and working-class labor are like stones that TJ collects in building his sense of friendship, family, and community. These stones informs TJ's identity as a young African American boy, growing up during a time where the elders kept watch over the youngsters and the youngsters tended to the elders' needs, where technology didn't interfere with socializing, where children who were forced to grow up fast were vigilant in protecting themselves and the lives of their loved ones. We see varying degrees of these moments in present times.

This book was inspired by Baldwin's niece who inquired about the creation of a book chronicling her life. The illustrations by Yoran Cazac are vibrant in color and distinct in detail. There are sketched images, painted colors varying in degrees of lightness and darkness. These illustrations compliment the snapshots of TJ's wanderings and imaginings. I recommend Little Man, Little Man to adolescents and adults alike to read.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It is not the black child's language that is despised. It is his experience. A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled. A child cannot be taught by anyone whose demand, essentially, is that the child repudiate his experience, and all that gives him sustenance, and enter a limbo in which he will no longer be black, and in which he knows he can never become white. Black people have lost too many children that way."(-from If Black English isn't a Language, Then Tell Me What is?)

What is there to say about this brilliant writer? There is nothing that he penned or said that left me unmoved and this little book is no exception. Written for his young nephew, it is a child's story for adults. But only if you are willing to let go and see the world from a 4-year old black child's view in Harlem in the '70s. Baldwin's writing allows us, gives us entrance to, permits us to inhabit TJ's experience and his world. As I read this, my molecules altered, I expanded to include this world and to recall my own childhood which was surrounded by trauma that I saw through innocent eyes.

This storytelling is gentle, yet acute, loving, yet painful. Baldwin brings the complexity of innocence and tragedy together in a way that leaves us enlightened and more available. He touches us and invites us to open our eyes and see, look again and see, the beauty that is here.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard one. This is a picture book for adults (not the only one I've read this year!) and a substantial amount of the introduction focuses on the fact that people didn't give it good ratings because they thought it was meant for kids and that it was considered pointless for the demographic... but I am an adult and ... I did find it a bit meandering and unfocused (not pointless, mind you, but close)

I do get the importance of it existing as an interesting look at a typical day in the life of a Harlem kid during this time, but as much as that is interesting and it's written beautifully, there is no actual focus. And the repetition (although it does accurately mimic authentic kids' speech patterns) goes sometimes, long enough to be annoying.

The illustration is too highbrow for the project. The characters aren't consistent (and although I get that they weren't trying for consistency, I feel it would have made the story better) and there were more than a couple of pages in which I was confused by what they were trying to show me.

I like the idea of this book but still found the execution to be not as enjoyable to read as I would have thought a Balwin book should be.

ps. I am a Hispanic woman from Puerto Rico by way of Florida so I don't have the lived experience of either a black kid or a kid from Harlem in general... so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right away, even before I knew the context of why this book was written and what audience it is for, I knew right away that this wasn't a children's book, but in actuality, an adult children's book. This is a special little book in that it's obscure and will probably only be re-discovered by the hardcore James Baldwin fan who wants to read everything he's ever done. Sadly, despite its importance, it's not James's best works, but it's not entirely his fault, per se. I don't think the illustrations did this book justice, for some reason they didn't quite work. Perhaps this needed a better editor, did it have an editor? This read so much like a rough draft. While reading, I couldn't quite understand or follow what the story was about. Besides it being about a young Black boy and his everyday humdrum life in the city, there wasn't really a plot here and none of the characters stood out in this sea of so much meandering, this project felt very unfocused and fell short all around. Its worst flaw is that this just wasn't enjoyable to read. Little Man, Little Man never got interesting and never quite got to the point of what it was trying to say, which is not what I'd expect from an out-of-print James Baldwin adult children's book. It has all the markers of one intriguing and tantalizing read, but it never reached the greatness that we'd expect and that it most definitely deserved.

[Cecilia Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is marketed as Baldwin’s only children’s book, it is really a story written for adults to see the lives of Black people through the eyes of a child. It’s very cleverly written. It is probably one of the most positive story’s about inner city living in NYC and all of its challenges that I have ever ready.

The introduction includes a reference to a BALDWIN ESSAY published in the NYTIMES in 1979 titled: IF BLACK ENGLISH ISN’T A LANGUAGE, THEN I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS?” ( https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim... ),
that really outlines his outlook on the detriment of Black children’s psyche when taught by people who despise them, and who also repudiate their experiences. The final paragraph from that is printed in the introduction says”….BLACK people have lost too many children that way.”

The Forward and Afterward are written by Baldwins nephew TEJAN (a.k.a. TJ) who is the main character in the book; and his niece Aisha both who reflect on their lives in a home where their Uncle James brought a unique and special presence in their lives.

The book while only 96 pages long, kept me mesmerized this afternoon. I wanted to read more written from this very unique perspective on the lives of Black people!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1976, and hard to find since then. With the release of a fim version of Baldwin's "If Beale Street Could Talk", a strong interest in this title, Baldwin's only "childrens" book. But it is a childrens book for adults. Drugs and sex and alcohol and violence, and abandoned buildings.
Thanks to Duke U Press,, who released this with an Intro and Afterword by his niece and nephew (the TJ of the book), and footnotes - and beautiful color on the ilustrations. Illustrated by Yoran Cazac, they knew each other through Af Am artist Beauford Delaney, who was a mentor to both, and to whom the book is dedicated.
My favorite scene is when Baldwin describes the neighborhood house by house, storefront by storefront, church by church, as a "crime film". Cops block off each end of the street, and search the neighborhood house by house - where is the perp? Will he escape? Cazac illustrates to the side, looking like a film strip.
With the recent increased interest in Baldwin, and added respect, well worth an evening (or less) of your time. And then move on to some other of his books.

[Kasandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never knew Baldwin had written a children's book until I found this in a little free library! This is a singular and unusual book, written with adults in mind, but told from a Black child's point of view. For those who grew up in poverty, and in public housing (which I did), this will ring true and feel familiar, even if you aren't a person of color. Baldwin dives into police brutality, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and race, but in a way that feels natural, not forced, and all the while, we're seeing Harlem through the eyes of a little boy about to start first grade in the fall. The neighborhood adults keep an eye out for the kids, the way it was when I grew up, and the kids entertain themselves simply, as this was written in the mid-70s (oh, to go back to a time before smartphones!). The illustrations are wobbly and watercolor, very painterly, not the usual sort of illustrations for a children's book - and they fit perfectly. A definite keepsake for my library, highly recommended.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Baldwin wrote this story in honor of his nephew, depicting a day in the life of three children in their Upper West Side block in New York City in the 1970s. It's a rather mundane story of children playing in the street, running errands for the adults in their building, and the colorful characters that inhabit the neighborhood.
What makes the story memorable, though, is that it is written in AAVE, making for a linguistic experience for the reader that is specific and culturally resonant. It does contain some harsh and even adult language and themes, but it's nothing the young protagonists wouldn't have heard or been exposed to naturally in their environment.
For a James Baldwin work, this one is definitely more obscure and lesser known, an oddity really, and while it's not his strongest work (there is a similarly themed and more accomplished tale in the collection "Going to Meet the Man"), it's still worth checking out, especially for Baldwin fans.

[ddip]

I learned about James Baldwin's illustrated children's book, his only one, at the Schomburg Center retrospective on James Baldwin on our visit to NYC in late January 2025. They had an exemplar on display.
It was originally published in 1976 and only recently brought back into print (2018). It's not at all plot-driven and is more of a mood piece, expertly balancing the menace of police raids, poverty, violence, drug and alcohol addiction/abuse with tender moments of family love, friendship among the three main kids, and the joy of movement and dance and music. It's also written in Black vernacular, which at the time must have been a powerful affirmation of Black culture and works nicely in the 21st century too.
One of the forwards led me to The Black Book, a collage curated by Toni Morrison in 1974 with a view to showing the breadth and depth of Black cultural contribution. I've got it on hold at MPLIC.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Man, Little Man was out of print for about 40 years and I have to say, it’s probably in the top five most disturbing children’s books I’ve ever read. Jedi master James Baldwin had writing chops as we all know, but the subject matter here is pretty out there. Everything takes place in 1970’s Harlem and there are allusions to gambling, drug use, and possibly prostitution. However, it’s mostly about the odd life these kids had. There’s a carefree vibe to it and it’s so carefree that the story doesn’t connect very well. I would say there’s a plot only in the loosest sense. LMLM is worth reading if for no other reason than it’s uniqueness in Baldwin’s canon.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never had a childhood. I was born dead
--Saint Paul de-Vence


I found Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood a disturbing but informative read in that it tells the story of how children who live with Attention deficit syndrome (ADS)] are dealt a bad hand and who rarely have a hands-up in 21st Century America!

What I liked about the story is how it described the everyday life of kids who grow-up in low-income America.

I believe readers and non-readers alike will enjoy the story and I believe non-readers will especially enjoy the story because of its cadence.

[Thomas DeWolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

How wonderful that this 40-year old, out-of-print story from James Baldwin would be re-issued now, including a Foreword written by his nephew (and inspiration for this story) and an Afterword written by his niece. A slice of life about a young African American boy in Harlem; a life this "white" boy would never have been exposed to in highly segregated United States. Catch a glimpse of life in 1970's Harlem, and a new, fuller appreciation of the brilliance of James Baldwin. Highly recommended!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reprint of a children's book that Baldwin published in 1976. It's timely, beautifully done, and a tribute to the childhood of black children growing up in Harlem. It tells the story of 4 year old TJ and his friends' escapades. Neighbors, family and social structure paint a vivid picture of their daily lives. Baldwin wrote this book in response to a request from his nephew (who gives a heartfelt introduction). It's a children's book, but wonderful for adults too.

[Esplin Oh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. The surrounding materials say that it is a children's book for adults, and maybe so, but I didn't find much to learn or celebrate. There are some interesting subjects touched on by the book, and it's novel to see them from the perspective of a child. Still, I found myself disappointed that I paid for this book and generally distracted during my reading of it.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book. Poignant, funny, sad, real. I think my favorite thing about it is the many different ways people’s skin color is described: chocolate cake, peaches and cream, honey and watermelon. Yoran Cazac’s artwork is fantastic. I’m so glad Duke University Press brought this book back into print. Oh, and I love the paper it’s printed on. Old production manager habits die hard.

[Anthony Manna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The vignettes that hold this story together reveal the lives and circumstances of an urban African neighborhood. Friends and family members move through a world of bias, drug dealers, despondency, hopes, dreams, and, ultimately, resilience and determination. Yoran Cazac's wispy line drawings, many in full color, drive the narrative with movement, drama, and tension.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to agree with Julius Lester who, in his 1977 New York Times review, said the book "has no storyline" and "lacks intensity and docus." It's certainly not a conventional children's book, but it is interesting because it is by James Baldwin. I like the carefree vibe to this story set in Harlem and the illustrations by Yoran Cazac.