Literary powerhouses Renée Watson and Ekua Holmes combine forces to create Black Girl You Are Atlas, a phenomenal poetry collection celebrating sisterhood, womanhood, Black culture and the power of family and friendship. This book revels in the promise of adolescence while acknowledging its accompanying landmines of fear, self-doubt and uncertainty.
Renowned poet, novelist and Newbery Honoree (Piecing Me Together) Watson offers high-impact, widely accessible poems that address topics like her childhood, the teenage journey from innocence to awareness, and current events (through poems for Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor). Verses in poems such as “How to Survive Your Teen Years” and “Sixteen Reasons to Smile” are filled with comfort and joy. No matter the subject, Watson’s words resonate on a personal level, as in these lines from “Turning Seven”: “I will always remember this birthday as the one where I met / my dad and lost my uncle and learned that men are good at / disappointing and disappearing.” Black Girl You Are Atlas explores the world in depth: In contrast to “Turning Seven,” an ode to her older brother (“King”) concludes, “And when there’s all this talk about what Black men are not, / I think about all he is.”
Caldecott Honor recipient Holmes’ torn paper collage and mixed-media art is the perfect accompaniment, featuring joyous and brightly colored figures among bits of newsprint and other ephemera. Shimmering with radiance at first glance, they reveal even more layers of meaning upon closer examination.
Black Girl You Are Atlas compels young readers to honor their past while creating their own paths forward. As “Lessons on Being a Sky Walker” urges: “When they tell you / the sky is the limit, vow to go past that.”
