The Door of No Return and Black Star by Kwame Alexander

 

Over the past week I read The Door of No Return and Black Star, the first two books of a trilogy by Kwame Alexander. These historical fiction novels in verse are about Kofi Offin, a boy who came from Ghana to the United States in 1860, and his twelve-year-old granddaughter, Charley Cuffey. The story begins when Kofi is eleven years old in his village in Upper Kwanta. He enjoys spending time with his family, especially playing oware with his grandfather Nana Mosi, and swimming in the Offin River. He is warned, though, to never go to the river at night. Before the wrestling contests of Bayere, the annual Kings Festival, Kofi agrees to race his cousin, who is also named Kofi, in seven days time in order to prove himself. After disaster strikes when Kofi's older brother, Kwasi, wrestles Yaw Boateng, the prince of Lower Kwanta, Kofi's family fears of retribution and Kwasi retreats into himself. The day before Kofi's big race, Kwasi is more like himself and they both go to the river so that Kofi can train. When night falls and Kofi can't find Kwasi, Kofi is captured and ends up in fight for his life that takes him on a dangerous journey. In Black Star, Charley loves playing baseball and wants to play professionally as a pitcher when she grows up. She also enjoys her grandfather Nana Kofi's stories even though she doesn't always understand his cryptic advice when she asks questions. After she challenges Cecil the Third, a neighborhood bully, to a baseball game that will take place after the church picnic, she must gather enough players to form a team, in addition to her friends, Cool Willie Green and Socks. Although she is determined that her ragtag team will win, when the picnic spreads over to the baseball field in Mosquito Park, she makes the fateful decision to take the game to the new baseball field in Great Bridge's Hickory Park.

The first two books of this series were excellent. Not only was I able to read them quickly, but they were joyful, funny, adventurous, maddening, tragic, and devastating. I really became attached to Kofi and his granddaughter Charley, who were just trying to seek out happiness when their lives were uprooted. Kofi's story specifically reminded me a little bit of a movie that I saw recently called The Woman King, when I learned more about slave trade and how Africans along the western coast responded. I was so disappointed and frustrated when Kofi's story left on a cliffhanger, but I came to enjoy Charley's story as well, even when her story also left me hanging. It makes me wonder who in their family line will be featured in the final book and if they will finally be able to go back to Ghana, even just to visit. Additionally, I enjoyed how much of the story revolves around Ghanaian culture, which I recently learned more about when I read Kwame Crashes the Underworld a few weeks ago. I liked how each chapter began with an Adinkra symbol that related to the themes of the two books. I thought it was cool how Kofi and Charley each had their own sport, swimming and baseball respectively, but it broke my heart how those things set them on life-changing paths. Both books made me cry at their ends at the injustice of it all. While The Door of No Return takes place at the beginning of the Civil War and Black Star takes place during the segregation era as the Great Migration begins, the themes of struggle and determination are universal. This series is an incredible choice for anyone, from middle school kids to adults, especially those who like family sagas.

An American Story by Kwame Alexander and There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds

 

On Sunday, I read two picture books: There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds and An American Story by Kwame Alexander. There Was a Party for Langston tells the story of Langston Hughes and a party that was held in his honor at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in February 1991. Many African American authors attended this event, including Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka who were caught dancing together.

This picture book was both fun and informational. I enjoy learning more about Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Amiri Baraka through the writing of the story, and it was really neat how the illustrators, Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey, used handmade stamps to create the pictures. I especially loved how they incorporated words into the illustrations. I think it shows how Langston Hughes was "the king of letters" and a "word maker" as the story describes him. The scenes from the party were playful and joyful and made me want to join the guests. I liked seeing that the library can be a place for celebration. At the end, there is a note from the author, Jason Reynolds, explaining his inspiration for writing the book. There Was a Party for Langston is a book for all ages and anyone should read it.

Nonfiction in nature, An American Story explains the history of slavery as told by a teacher, Ms. Simmons, to her class. People were stolen from their villages in Africa and taken on crowded ships in chains across the Atlantic to America where they were sold and had to work in fields and homes owned by white people for free. They weren't allowed to learn how to read and write and sometimes families were even split up. Despite the hardships, they were resilient and never lost hope that they would be free someday.

Covering a topic that is difficult to discuss, this picture book is powerful. The author, Kwame Alexander, did a commendable job of explaining slavery for children. As I was reading, I got a sense of how painful it was for Ms. Simmons to tell her students the story of slavery. It made me so sad and angry that something like slavery could happen because people are people no matter what they look like. I especially liked the message that it's important to tell the truth even when it's hard as Ms. Simmons's students remind her. I also thought the mixed-media illustrations by Dare Coulter were absolutely beautiful. When I read that some of the illustrations were sculptures, I was stunned because she used them so seamlessly with paintings and drawings. I had to take a second or third look at some of the illustrations to see how she created them. She is really an amazing artist, and I'll definitely keep a look out for books illustrated by her in the future. Finally, because slavery is a horrific part of American history, I appreciated the moments of hope and strength in An American Story. At the end of the book, there are notes from both the author and the illustrator. Although this book is written for children, I recommend it to everyone.