For this month’s #6degreesofseparation, I do a song and dance routine of girl power (mostly) across forests, flowery fields, and factory floors. And since March 1st is the National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day, I also bring you a bevy of books that is sure to enthrall and educate.
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Shining Stars of Song and Dance and More!
For the Thursday Thirteen meme that I love to join in whenever I can!
Each of these books are picture book bios of amazing women of color in the arts, and for age-ranges starting from 3 years to 10 years of age (and up as well!). And each of these books is amazing and beautiful, like the women they portray!
- Art From Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter by Kathy Whitehead and illustrated by Shane W. Evans
- Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong’s Life in Jazz by Mara Rockliff and art by Michele Wood
- Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins written by Michelle Meadows with art by Ebony Glenn
- Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe by Deborah Blumenthal with art by Laura Freeman
- Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renée Watson and illustrated by Christian Robinson
- Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell with art by Christian Robinson
- The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by Ann Ingalls and Maryann Macdonald and illustrated by Giselle Potter
- Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar: The Musical Story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
- The Met Faith Ringgold: Narrating the World in Pattern and Color (What the Artist Saw) by Sharna Jackson and illustrator Andrea Pippins
- Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd with art by Christian Robinson
- We Are The Supremes by Zoë Tucker with art by Salini Perera
- What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie and illustrated by Loveis Wise
- When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Pam Muñoz Ryan with illustrations by Brian Selznick
From Vision to Celebration: A Song and Dance of Stories
Prophet Song —> Factory Girls —> The Radium Girls —> The Poppy Lady —> The Tree Lady —> Wildwood Dancing —> Song and Dance Man —> Prophet Song
Today’s six degrees takes me across a wide range of books and for varied audiences as well! I have picture book bios and fantasy, fiction and non-fiction.
Prophet Song —> Factory Girls
The link: Ireland
Prophet Song – haven’t read it (yet again)
Prophet Song presents a terrifying and shocking vision of a country sliding into authoritarianism and a deeply human portrait of a mother’s fight to hold her family together.
Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen is a “funny, fierce, and unforgettable read about a young woman working a summer job in a shirt factory in Northern Ireland, while tensions rise both inside and outside the factory walls.” Check out my review of the book here.
Factory Girls —> The Radium Girls
The link: Ireland
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore is a powerful, powerful read based on the true stories of America’s glowing girls who worked with radium day in and day out in the early twentieth century. I loved both this and the Young Reader’s edition of the book but never reviewed it (though mentioned them a couple of times on my blog). Another version is this graphic novel edition from Cy.
The Radium Girls —> The Poppy Lady
The link: girl power!
The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans by Barbara E. Walsh with art by Layne Johnson (7 – 10 years, and up). Check out my thoughts on this beautiful and inspiring read here, one that educated me on a story and a historical figure I had not known of before.
The Poppy Lady —> The Tree Lady
The link: girl power!
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins with illustrations by Jill McElmurry (3 – 8 years, and up). I love this one! And reading stories like this is why I adore picture books. They introduce me to people, places, and concepts in such a compact yet beautiful way!
The Tree Lady —> Wildwood Dancing
The link: trees and woods! (and girl power!)
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (12 years+) is now on my TBR. I love creative retellings of favorite and familiar fairy tales, and this one sounds like a promising reimagining of The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Wildwood Dancing —> Song and Dance Man
The link: dance
Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman with art by Stephen Gammell (3 – 7 years, and up). This one is a sweet lively and totally adorable read!!
Song and Dance Man —> Prophet Song
The link: The word “Song”
Circling back to the starter book with ‘song’ in the title!
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader, have you read any of these books – in the #6degrees chain, or in the 13 books about women of color? What would be in your chain starting with Prophet Song?
Well done on going full circle with your links!