Saturday, October 29, 2022

On Her Wings: the story of Toni Morrison by Jerdine Nolen and James E. Ransome - OPTIONAL

On Her Wings: the story of Toni Morrison by Jerdine Nolen, illustrated by James E. Ransome
. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY. Simon & Schuster, 2022. $19. 9781534478527 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Before she was Toni, she was Chloe – a daughter of a loving family that shared tales and stories of all sorts. Yet it wasn’t until she was 39 that she published her first book – The Bluest Eye. 

Nolen and Ransome bring us the story of Chloe Woffard, who became known as Toni Morrison. Ransome’s illustrations sing, as always. I’m not sure how applicable the book is to elementary readers – although Morrison has a few picture books, the novels are where she really shines. Perhaps a high school or college ELA teacher who is building a collection of author picture books? The whole part about people not being to say “Chloe”, so she accepts “Toni” as a nickname I also found odd. Beautiful end papers and a separate case cover illustration. 

 Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS 

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