And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison’s Life in Stories features the teamwork of two award-winners at the top of their game: writer Andrea Davis Pinkney and Caldecott Honoree Daniel Minter. The result of their collaboration is a truly exquisite picture book that, as Pinkney explains in her author’s note, is “a love letter to an outspoken sparrow” whose writing changed the lives of many, including Pinkney herself, who struggled in school and had a hard time identifying with classroom reading lists until “like a glistening key that unlocked my soul’s need to see myself, Toni Morrison’s storytelling came into my life.”
Both the author’s and illustrator’s passion for their subject shines on every page, providing young readers with an inspiring introduction to Morrison’s life and works, urging them to use their own imaginations and “make your mark on the tar. Stitch your story.” Readers learn how Morrison, born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, based her debut novel on her childhood in Lorain, Ohio, and how she wrote before dawn as a young mother. A timeline provides additional helpful details.
Minter’s art does justice to this literary star, conveying Morrison’s energy, magic and inspiration in a variety of bright, glowing palettes, beautifully melding biographical facts in illustrations such as that of the home Morrison grew up in, or a gorgeous childhood portrait referencing The Bluest Eye, with the spiritual effect of her presence and accomplishments. In a particularly informative, fascinating artist’s note, Minter aptly calls the book “a praise poem,” while directly addressing the late author to “look closely at the lines, because some of them might resemble characters that could have lived in your novels.”
While several excellent children’s biographies of Morrison already exist, And She Was Loved is a welcome addition, bound to be treasured, just like the author herself.
