Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up
A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson. Now in paperback!
New York Times bestselling author Renée Watson writes about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender in this semi-autobiographical collection of poems with full color art throughout by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes.
Using a mixture of poetic forms from haiku and tanka to prose poems and free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power. This is both a gift and a tool for anyone who reads it. Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a shared sense of anger, celebration, and sisterhood.
About the Author
Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, educator, and community activist. Her books have sold over one million copies. Her novel Piecing Me Together received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor. Her picture books and novels for teens have received several awards and international recognition. She has given readings and lectures at many places including the United Nations, the Library of Congress, and the US Embassy in Japan and New Zealand. Her poetry and fiction centers the experiences of Black girls and women, and explores themes of home, identity, and the intersections of race, class, and gender.
Author Residence: Portland, Oregon
Author Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Ekua Holmes is a collage-based artist who investigates family histories, relationship dynamics, childhood impressions, and the power of hope, faith, and self-determination in her work. She has created and led workshops, been a visiting artist and lecturer, and held artist residencies throughout New England. For her work in illustrating children’s literature, Holmes is the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King’s John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, Robert Siebert and Horn Book awards. She is also currently Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Boston Art Commission and Associate Director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MassArt.
Illustrator Residence:Roxbury, MA
