Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present
As seen:
By Jamia Wilson, and and, Andrea Pippins
avg rating
17 reviews
“…to be revisited again and again…The candy-colored pages and straightforward stories are hard to resist…” –The New York Times
“Gorgeously illustrated…vibrant and comprehensive…will be brought down from the bookshelf again and again"" –Evening Standard“Glorious celebration of 52 black heroes…big and bold…this is what young people of all races need to see."" –The Independent
“An essential book for inspiring even the tiniest children to face the world with boldness and self-belief.” –The Observer
Meet 52 icons of colour from the past and present in this celebration of inspirational achievement – a collection of stories about changemakers to encourage, inspire and empower the next generation of changemakers. Jamia Wilson has carefully curated this range of black icons and the book is stylishly brought together by Andrea Pippins’ colourful and celebratory illustrations.
Written in the spirit of Nina Simone’s song “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black,” this vibrant book is a perfect introduction to both historic and present-day icons and heroes. Meet figureheads, leaders and pioneers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks, as well as cultural trailblazers and athletes like Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams.
All children deserve to see themselves represented positively in the books they read. Highlighting the talent and contributions of black leaders and changemakers from around the world, readers of all backgrounds will be empowered to discover what they too can achieve. Strong, courageous, talented and diverse, these extraordinary men and women’s achievements will inspire a new generation to chase their dream… whatever it may be.
The 52 icons: Mary Seacole, Matthew Henson, Ava Duvernay, Bessie Coleman, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cathy Freeman, George Washington Carver, Malorie Blackman, Harriet Tubman, Mo Farah, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jesse Owens, Beyonce Knowles, Solange Knowles, Katherine Johnson, Josephine Baker, Kofi Annan, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Brian Lara, Madam C.J. Walker, Yannick Noah, Maurice Ashley, Alexandre Duma, Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Simone Biles, Stevie Wonder, Esperanza Spalding, Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, Pele, Nelson Mandela, Louis Armstrong, Rosa Parks, Naomi Campbell, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Muhammad Ali, Shirley Chisholm, Steve McQueen, Zadie Smith, Usain Bolt, Wangari Maathai, Mae Jemison, W.E.B. Du Bois, Nicola Adams, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Misty Copeland.
Reviews
I think it was really good as it told lots of facts about these people who had an impact on the world today and this book was very factual and it was very good to read .I would recommend it to everyone as it was very interesting so people should read it and they might enjoy it like me.
This wonderfully informative book looks at fifty-two black people, current and historic, and their successes in life.
I chose this book because I strongly believe no-one should be defined by their skin colour and we should celebrate everyone’s successes. Black history is upsetting and I want to learn about these individuals who have changed the world by making it a better place with more equal rights.
I particularly enjoyed reading about Rosa Parks; I admire her for standing her ground and standing up for what matters to her and many other block people. If I were to be able to change anything about this book, it would be the illustrations. They are drawn well but I would have preferred real faces.
If you want to learn of some incredible real life stories, I recommend this book.
I love how they added HARRIET TUBMAN because I've watched the movie. Now everybody can know about YOUNG,GIFTED AND BLACK people.
I learnt so much facts about black people from the past who were great at many things but weren't given the chances due to racism.
Factual book, good
This book tells you a short story of 52 black people from all over the world who have achived grate things.
I liked the book because it shows us about the amazing things that black people have achieved even though people doubted them.
I really really love this amazing book because it has lots of facts about different people who did good things for the world also helping racism and sexism which is why I love it.
This is a factual book which contains beautiful, vibrant stories about influential black people. I really enjoyed learning about everyone's different achievements!
This book introduces readers to 52 black heroes from past and present. The subjects are all trailblazers in their own way, from leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela to cultural icons from the world of sport, fashion and music including Mo Farah, Naomi Campbell and Beyoncé. The accompanying illustrations are bright and vibrant, matching the overall tone of the book. The book highlights the importance of children seeing themselves positively represented in stories. Readers of all backgrounds will feel inspired and empowered by the content. I would recommend this book for children of 7 years upwards and believe it would encourage children to think about the 52 individuals in the book and also what their own dreams and aspirations for the future might be.
nice book
there are so many things
i am and can be
I loved learning about different people it was very interesting one off the people I liked best out of them all would be Mary seacole i found her story very interesting I would recomend it to people that like non fiction books
I originally shared this book with my class as part of Black History Month and modelled how a non-fiction book can be read at different points over a prolonged period. The presentation and illustrations in this book are beautiful and engaging. The range of people focused upon in this book are very interesting and includes those which children are familiar with and those which they will not have any prior knowledge of. This book interested me as I had seen other teachers include it within their classrooms and thought that children would benefit from this text.
Definitely would like this for our school library.
Represented in the book are black people from all walks of life and times.
This is a lovely book to share with children. It focuses on Black heroes in the past and present. While it is a brilliant book to share at any time of the year, it felt particularly current to read it during Black History Month. The children can research different heroes they hear about in the book. The fact that some of the heroes are from the past allows for a historical perspective, however the children enjoyed learning about Black heroes who are still alive today.
Colourful and vibrant illustrations, succinct and interesting stories explaining how childhood experiences influenced later lives. Inspiring, fact filled and interesting reading.
This book is wonderful it is filled with amazing facts about the black people such as Martin Luther king, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Usain Bolt who contributed to many peoples lives, in the past and present. By the time I finished reading this book my head was filled with fantastic facts.
I would definitely recommend this to a friend.
