Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy

Starred review from April 1, 2018

Gr 2-5-Medina combines the tanka form with the illustrious talents of 13 artists to produce a resplendent collection of poetry dedicated to black and brown children. Drawing inspiration from the historically black neighborhood of Anacostia in Washington, DC, which is becoming more and more gentrified; Wallace Stevens's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"; and Raymond R. Patterson's Twenty-Six Ways of Looking at a Black Man, Medina nimbly crafts a meditation on black boyhood that emphasizes beauty and intergenerational love among family and neighbors ("Mama's little butterfly/Daddy's dimple grin so wide."). In addition to holding a mirror up to readers' multitudinous selves, the poet also offers them flashes of Anacostia and their own neighborhoods-a chance to join in the making, remembering, and sharing of legacies. The artwork is just as dazzling, from Floyd Cooper's snapshot of a family in motion to Tiffany McKnight's electric patterns to Ekua Holmes's signature collage. The volume concludes with more information about the poet, the illustrators, and the poems. VERDICT This shining title deserves a spot in all poetry collections.-Della Farrell, School Library Journal

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2018
In elegant tanka verse, veteran poet Medina focuses the spotlight on the beauty of black boys with the help of an all-star cast of illustrators. A premier slate of illustrators, including Kesha Bruce, Floyd Cooper, Javaka Steptoe, Ekua Holmes, and more, give the poems life. The poems "celebrate the preciousness and creativity" of black boyhood, when the author finds that "Black boys are alive with wonder and possibility / With hopes and dreams." The collection of tanka flows through topics such as family, spirituality, self-confidence, and the stressors of working-class life. While emphasizing their universal appeal, Medina cites that these collected poems were originally inspired by photographs of the residents of Anacostia, a historically black neighborhood threatened by gentrification in the southeast section of Washington, D.C. The title has its own genealogy, emerging from Wallace Steven's 1952 poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" and Raymond Patterson's 1969 "Twenty-Six Ways of Looking at a Black Man," a classic of the 1960s-era Black Arts Movement. The standout introduction, "Thirteen Ways," attunes readers to the "three dimensions" of beauty inspired by these Anacostia black boys: "Black boys be bouquets of tanka / Bunched up like flowers / They be paint blotched into a myriad of colors / Across the canvases of our hearts." The fascinating illustrations matched with the dazzling imagery of Medina's tanka make this a captivating release. (Poetry. 5-adult)

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February 1, 2018
Grades 3-6 Medina riffs off several poetry titles, including Wallace Steven's Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird and Raymond R. Patterson's Twenty-Six Ways of Looking at a Black Man, to present 13 poems that introduce a group of black boys, who, he says in his notes, could be considered an endangered species. Writing in a form of poetry called tanka, Medina shows readers boys who go to church, flirt with girls, patrol the hood, and contemplate life. Each poem is illustrated by a different artist, including some of the most familiar names in children's literaturefor instance, Floyd Cooper and Javaka Steptoebut also illustrators just starting out. The very different artistic renderings, which range from solid to psychedelic, all catch the eye. Though short (only 31 syllables over 5 lines), the poems pack a punch and are a great introduction to reading poetry and the art of writing it. Teachers and other adults will find many ways to use this with children.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

February 5, 2018
A baker’s dozen of artists—Cozbi A. Cabrera, Ekua Holmes, Javaka Steptoe, and others—contribute bold and stylistically diverse images to accompany Medina’s five-line poems, which reflect the lives, dreams, and worries of male black children. Boys of varying ages appear, allowing readers to see both the unvarnished joy of early childhood and the worries that later crop up. Embraced by his parents, a well-dressed toddler grins broadly at readers in a scene drawn with characteristic warmth by Floyd Cooper (“Fly bow tie like wings/ Brown eyes of a brown angel”), but an older boy carrying a bag of groceries home radiates unease in Robert Liu-Trujillo’s painting (“Payday don’t pay much/ Every breath I take is taxed”). The tone of Medina’s poems, however, largely remains encouraging as he emphasizes the multi-
faceted nature of the black youth he honors. Ages 6–11.