Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewTate weaves Barnes’ own voice into his smoothly told narrative, to great effect. Will inspire young readers to stay true to themselves. * Kirkus Reviews *
Tate’s tale illuminates the structural and social obstacles Barnes faced—from intense peer pressure to the adult Barnes’s longed-for first trip to an art museum, where he was told “your people don’t express themselves this way”—and clearly highlights the idea that there need be no division of interests between arts and sports. * Publishers Weekly *
The nicely composed mixed-media collage illustrations establish the twentieth-century settings while capturing the stages of Barnes’ life. An expressive, engaging picture-book biography. * Booklist *
It is impossible to tell the story of a Black American artist born in the 1930s without discussing segregation and racism, and Tate weaves those threads seamlessly into his narrative, drawing particular attention to the moment when Barnes exhibits his work at the North Carolina Museum of Art, a place where he had once been told by a docent that “your people don’t express themselves this way.” * The Horn Book Magazine *
