Yesterday, I finished reading Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson with art by Ekua Holmes. This semi-biographical poetry collection is about Renée Watson's experiences growing up as a young Black girl. Through different poetry forms, she shares memories of her childhood in Portland, honors the Black women in her life, and calls for Black girls to step into their power. The poems also demonstrate the strength of celebration and sisterhood.
The very first thing I noticed about this book was Ekua Holmes's gorgeous mixed media art. I love it so much because I had never seen anything like it. Most importantly, though, I thought the poems were amazing. I enjoyed that there was a wide variety of poetry forms and I really felt like I got to know Renée Watson as a person through the experiences that shaped her. Some of my favorite poems in this collection are "Resurrection", "atlas", "Turning Seven", "Lessons on Being a Sky Walker", "Underbelly", "Sixteen Reasons to Smile", "King", "How to Survive Your Teen Years", "An Etheree for Moving On", Black Like Me", "Black with a Capital B", "A Tanka for Michelle Obama", "Love It All", and "Phenomenon". Overall, I highly recommend Black Girl You Are Atlas to all girls and young women.
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