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Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller
From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library.
Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there’s a will, there’s always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.
As Mrs. Baker herself put “Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell .”
Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there’s a will, there’s always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.
As Mrs. Baker herself put “Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell .”
40 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2024
2 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
About the author
Breanna J. McDaniel
5 books36 followersTop Eight Things to Know About Me:
1) I’m from Atlanta, GA. To be more specific I grew up in College Park and East Point, GA surrounded by my siblings and cousins. While I will always love how vibrant my home community is, it’s changing quite a bit. I just hope some things never change, especially the menu at Big Daddy’s on Old National! Yum!
2) I write children’s books, my favorite genre is picture books and my first picture book,Hands Up!will be published in 2019 by Dial Books for Young Readers.
3) Growing up I dreamed of being a combo archaeologist/lawyer. I would make huge historical finds and then use my law degree to protect the artifacts that I found. My friends who are attorneys now tell me that’s not exactly how it works¯_(ツ)_/¯ Soooo, I am not a lawyer but I do dream of becoming a college professor. And I haven’t completely given up on every part of my dream. When I finally grow up, I will be a professor/author/archaeologist, it’s gonna happen. #NeverStopDreaming
4) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson are three of my favorite books. I try to reread them every year along with A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle which is probably number one in my top 5 fav books. Grateful to be alive during a time when Ava Dubernay’s interpretation is in theaters, go see it! Never thought I’d see #AMegLikeMe !
5) Traveling is one of my favorite things to do but vacations kind of stress me out. I always feel like I should be working on a project, reading for my research or doing something that helps build my writing and academic goals BUT when I finally do relax, I’m always excited to try new activities and foods. Adventure is my middle name…Not really, but it should be.
6) Opera is amazing, and a great moment in the history of Bre was feeling goosebumps raise on my arms as Morris Robinson sang out the first line of “Bess You Is My Woman Now” during a concert at Spelman College. My face was WET with tears, it was so incredibly beautiful.
7) The huge amount of concentrated love in the circle of exceptional black women and girls that surround me is magical. I’m blessed by their love, support and prayers.
8) I’m a proud alumna of Simmons College (MA Children’s Literature). In 2017 one of my biggest dreams came true when I accepted a full scholarship to attend the University of Cambridge for my PhD. Go big or go home y’all!
1) I’m from Atlanta, GA. To be more specific I grew up in College Park and East Point, GA surrounded by my siblings and cousins. While I will always love how vibrant my home community is, it’s changing quite a bit. I just hope some things never change, especially the menu at Big Daddy’s on Old National! Yum!
2) I write children’s books, my favorite genre is picture books and my first picture book,Hands Up!will be published in 2019 by Dial Books for Young Readers.
3) Growing up I dreamed of being a combo archaeologist/lawyer. I would make huge historical finds and then use my law degree to protect the artifacts that I found. My friends who are attorneys now tell me that’s not exactly how it works¯_(ツ)_/¯ Soooo, I am not a lawyer but I do dream of becoming a college professor. And I haven’t completely given up on every part of my dream. When I finally grow up, I will be a professor/author/archaeologist, it’s gonna happen. #NeverStopDreaming
4) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson are three of my favorite books. I try to reread them every year along with A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle which is probably number one in my top 5 fav books. Grateful to be alive during a time when Ava Dubernay’s interpretation is in theaters, go see it! Never thought I’d see #AMegLikeMe !
5) Traveling is one of my favorite things to do but vacations kind of stress me out. I always feel like I should be working on a project, reading for my research or doing something that helps build my writing and academic goals BUT when I finally do relax, I’m always excited to try new activities and foods. Adventure is my middle name…Not really, but it should be.
6) Opera is amazing, and a great moment in the history of Bre was feeling goosebumps raise on my arms as Morris Robinson sang out the first line of “Bess You Is My Woman Now” during a concert at Spelman College. My face was WET with tears, it was so incredibly beautiful.
7) The huge amount of concentrated love in the circle of exceptional black women and girls that surround me is magical. I’m blessed by their love, support and prayers.
8) I’m a proud alumna of Simmons College (MA Children’s Literature). In 2017 one of my biggest dreams came true when I accepted a full scholarship to attend the University of Cambridge for my PhD. Go big or go home y’all!
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February 22, 2025
I once had a dream that I was left overnight in a library. I remember being amazed at all the stacks of books and my opportunity to have the whole night to just be amongst them.
If you haven’t guessed by now (or through my many reviews), I obviously have a great love of libraries and books. I spent 12 years, after retiring from teaching college, providing programs at my local library. I was even President of the Friends of the Library for a few years, and definitely enjoyed the camaraderie and sense of community-giving that was involved in this role.
So, whenever I see any book that has to do with libraries, or librarians, I am interested. Even, if it is a children’s book – like this one.
How can readers not be fascinated by the opportunity to read about an influential librarian and master storyteller, who just happened to be Augusta Baker? Which, even as a children’s book, becomes a wonderful historical read between adults and children. And, if you don’t know who Augusta Baker is, this is a great introduction book to her.
The author, Breanna J. McDaniel is noted as an inaugural Black Caucus American Library Association Award honoree. It is also illustrated beautifully by the Illustrator Honor Award winner, April Harrison.
This is Augusta Baker’s story which starts as a child and showcases all the various people who influenced her love of reading and storytelling. She was also encouraged to go to college, and learn more about what she was meant to do in her life. Her journey takes her to becoming a children’s librarian, where she recognized the need to expand the library collection to include books that reflected the community.
“She wanted Black children to have heroes that rose up and looked, talked and shined bright, just like them.”
There is so much more to her story for readers to appreciate in these pages. Which makes her story truly inspiring. And, a great educable read for children and adults, as well.
Reading level: 5 – 8 years+
If you haven’t guessed by now (or through my many reviews), I obviously have a great love of libraries and books. I spent 12 years, after retiring from teaching college, providing programs at my local library. I was even President of the Friends of the Library for a few years, and definitely enjoyed the camaraderie and sense of community-giving that was involved in this role.
So, whenever I see any book that has to do with libraries, or librarians, I am interested. Even, if it is a children’s book – like this one.
How can readers not be fascinated by the opportunity to read about an influential librarian and master storyteller, who just happened to be Augusta Baker? Which, even as a children’s book, becomes a wonderful historical read between adults and children. And, if you don’t know who Augusta Baker is, this is a great introduction book to her.
The author, Breanna J. McDaniel is noted as an inaugural Black Caucus American Library Association Award honoree. It is also illustrated beautifully by the Illustrator Honor Award winner, April Harrison.
This is Augusta Baker’s story which starts as a child and showcases all the various people who influenced her love of reading and storytelling. She was also encouraged to go to college, and learn more about what she was meant to do in her life. Her journey takes her to becoming a children’s librarian, where she recognized the need to expand the library collection to include books that reflected the community.
“She wanted Black children to have heroes that rose up and looked, talked and shined bright, just like them.”
There is so much more to her story for readers to appreciate in these pages. Which makes her story truly inspiring. And, a great educable read for children and adults, as well.
Reading level: 5 – 8 years+
August 18, 2024
Let’s talk a bit about what happens when picture book biographies preach to the choir. I am talking, of course, about that phenomenon of featuring heroic librarians in children’s books. We see this in fictional picture books all the time where there is often some story about a librarian that made all the difference in a child’s life. There is nothing inherently wrong in such books, it’s just that who’s buying a chunk of these titles? The librarians themselves, of course. Even more so when the book is nonfiction, since most informational books are passed over by bookstores. So it is that the librarians buy the books about librarians for kids. So has has ever been. So it will ever be. It means that whenever I see a book like Go Forth and Tell which focuses on the late great Augusta Baker, I (a librarian myself) don’t just approach it with a grain of salt. I come at it with a whole chunk of the stuff. In a way, this makes it a little more difficult for a perfectly decent book to burst through my defenses and impress me. But since I already knew the story of Augusta Baker, Go Forth and Tell already had a leg up by featuring someone as impressive as she. Add in a great text and art from the illustrious April Harrison and you’ve got on your hands a librarian biography that’s a cut above the rest. A book that surpasses its form. A tale worth telling.
Born in Baltimore, young Augusta was a keen fan of storytelling in all its iterations. Enamored of stories and storytelling, she took that passion into teacher’s college. Then, in a surprising turn of events, she turned her sights to librarianship. In Harlem, at the 135th Street Branch, she began her time as a librarian, noticing too how few books published for kids contained Black characters and stories that weren’t out-and-out offensive. Her purpose clear, she set about promoting the books and authors that deserved attention for their, “honest, caring depictions of Black folks.” And as her work progressed, so did her career, inspiring others and the book industry itself. Backmatter includes a timeline of Augusta’s life, a list of Citations, and a touching Author’s Note that serves the dual purpose of explaining why Breanna McDaniel wrote this book as well as honoring her own childhood librarian Ms. Michelle Carnes.
No fool she, Breanna McDaniel knew that the key to this book was not to lean into the librarian aspects of Baker’s life right at the get-go. If the first sentence of this book was, “Augusta Braxton Baker grew up to be a master librarian” you would hear the tell-tale flap of covers being closed all around this fair country of ours. Instead, the sentence reads, “Augusta Braxton Baker grew up to be a master storyteller.” Much more universal. A smart move. If you’ll notice, that pairing of “storyteller” alongside “librarian” is the key to the book. Particularly when you lean into the fact that Baker lived in an era when not everyone’s stories were being told.
I worked as a New York Public Library children’s librarian for around eleven years. At the time, NYPL was very invested in teaching its incoming librarians about the history of the institution. Augusta Baker, the first Black woman to serve as the Coordinator of Children’s Services, was definitely mentioned but I didn’t really know much about her. I was familiar with her James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection at the 135th Street Branch, though I didn’t really know that Ms. Baker had created it. In the book, all of this is covered in the text, not just the backmatter, and it includes a rather impressive image of all the libraries in New York City. In the illustration, Ms. Baker sits beside this map, and it’s correctly color coordinated to make it clear that there are three different library systems (NYPL, Brooklyn and Queens). If I were a stickler I could see whether or not all the branches listed truly existed at the time of her work as Coordinator, but that feels a bit ridiculous. It’s enough to know that the creators of this book cared for my old employer and did it due diligence on the page. The book may be aware that storytelling is the way to entice younger readers but it’s no fool. We come for the storytelling. We stay for the librarianship.
Not that that guarantees a good book. I read loads of new picture book biographies in a given year and let me tell you that a whole slew of people sure as heck that think they can write them. They can too… technically. It’s just that a lot of them are pretty samey. Decent but, quite frankly, dull. To write a biography well you ideally write about the subject matter while also writing about something bigger that that person was a part of. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: Listen to these last lines of Go Forth and Tell, “There, under trees and tents with food and friends, griots and authors tell tales, shining a bright light and painting a more brilliant, bold world with their words.” See, now that is how you end one of these titles. It doesn’t sound like a school assignment on a famous person. It sounds like a work of literature. And happily it doesn’t come out of nowhere. McDaniel understands that the key to this telling is the universality of a person’s life, as it applies to others. It’s about how this person affects not simply people at the time, but people in the future as well.
I’ve always found April Harrison’s art style to be interesting. It’s not to everyone’s taste, I suppose, but it has a raw honesty to it that I’ve always appreciated. The publication page just says that she works in “mixed media collage, acrylics and artist pens” but that’s too a simple an explanation for art that doesn’t feel simple. Let’s just look at this cover for starters. The image we have of Baker here is one in which her hands are accentuated and made large. She’s in the middle of telling a story, a pile of books visible in one hand. The typography of the title, the positioning of the subtitle, and even the way in which the author and illustrator’s names have been boxed at the bottom all indicate a carefully thought out process. Inside, the texture of the paper on which Harrison paints often works its way into the art, giving a three-dimensional quality to some of these images. Harrison’s faces remind me a bit of how Bryan Collier does them too. Often they’re not the focus of her work. That said, there were a couple faces here I particularly enjoyed. On the second page of this book you see a young Augusta kneeling next to a woman telling her a story. The expression on her face, with its sly eyes and cocked eyebrow looks like she knows the woman talking to her is pulling her leg, but she’s willing to go along with it. It’s the background papers and patterns that are the true draw, though. People are great. The papers that are used are better.
At the height of Augusta Baker’s time at NYPL librarians were the driving force when it came to purchasing children’s literature. There were no big box stores or online retailers, and very few bookstores per capita. There were, however, a lot of libraries and those libraries had children’s rooms. That meant that librarians had a surprising hold over the children’s book publishing industry. They wanted folktales and they got them. They wanted fairy tales and they got them. These days that sway is almost entirely gone, except perhaps in one key respect. Bookstores and online retailers still don’t quite know what to do with nonfiction for kids. Walk into any bookstore and locate the nonfiction children’s book section. It’s almost always scant, at best. Walk into a children’s library and shelves and shelves are dedicated to informational texts for kids. As a result, the old power that librarians one wielded over all of children’s literature has been concentrated into this one specific area. That is, honestly, why books like Go Forth and Tell are able to get published. This subject is important in and of itself, but if it were solely reliant on the public and bookstores to purchase it, it would flail a bit in sales. So I may scoff a little at books that lean into the heroic librarian model, but when the subject deserves it, as Augusta Baker does, then I am grateful for the way things are. I am grateful that we get to see a book like Go Forth and Tell on our shelves in this day and age. And finally I am grateful that Breanna McDaniel, who knows how to tell a story about a storyteller, and that April Harrison, who knows how to bring that story to visible life, were the ones who got to tell this story.
Born in Baltimore, young Augusta was a keen fan of storytelling in all its iterations. Enamored of stories and storytelling, she took that passion into teacher’s college. Then, in a surprising turn of events, she turned her sights to librarianship. In Harlem, at the 135th Street Branch, she began her time as a librarian, noticing too how few books published for kids contained Black characters and stories that weren’t out-and-out offensive. Her purpose clear, she set about promoting the books and authors that deserved attention for their, “honest, caring depictions of Black folks.” And as her work progressed, so did her career, inspiring others and the book industry itself. Backmatter includes a timeline of Augusta’s life, a list of Citations, and a touching Author’s Note that serves the dual purpose of explaining why Breanna McDaniel wrote this book as well as honoring her own childhood librarian Ms. Michelle Carnes.
No fool she, Breanna McDaniel knew that the key to this book was not to lean into the librarian aspects of Baker’s life right at the get-go. If the first sentence of this book was, “Augusta Braxton Baker grew up to be a master librarian” you would hear the tell-tale flap of covers being closed all around this fair country of ours. Instead, the sentence reads, “Augusta Braxton Baker grew up to be a master storyteller.” Much more universal. A smart move. If you’ll notice, that pairing of “storyteller” alongside “librarian” is the key to the book. Particularly when you lean into the fact that Baker lived in an era when not everyone’s stories were being told.
I worked as a New York Public Library children’s librarian for around eleven years. At the time, NYPL was very invested in teaching its incoming librarians about the history of the institution. Augusta Baker, the first Black woman to serve as the Coordinator of Children’s Services, was definitely mentioned but I didn’t really know much about her. I was familiar with her James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection at the 135th Street Branch, though I didn’t really know that Ms. Baker had created it. In the book, all of this is covered in the text, not just the backmatter, and it includes a rather impressive image of all the libraries in New York City. In the illustration, Ms. Baker sits beside this map, and it’s correctly color coordinated to make it clear that there are three different library systems (NYPL, Brooklyn and Queens). If I were a stickler I could see whether or not all the branches listed truly existed at the time of her work as Coordinator, but that feels a bit ridiculous. It’s enough to know that the creators of this book cared for my old employer and did it due diligence on the page. The book may be aware that storytelling is the way to entice younger readers but it’s no fool. We come for the storytelling. We stay for the librarianship.
Not that that guarantees a good book. I read loads of new picture book biographies in a given year and let me tell you that a whole slew of people sure as heck that think they can write them. They can too… technically. It’s just that a lot of them are pretty samey. Decent but, quite frankly, dull. To write a biography well you ideally write about the subject matter while also writing about something bigger that that person was a part of. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: Listen to these last lines of Go Forth and Tell, “There, under trees and tents with food and friends, griots and authors tell tales, shining a bright light and painting a more brilliant, bold world with their words.” See, now that is how you end one of these titles. It doesn’t sound like a school assignment on a famous person. It sounds like a work of literature. And happily it doesn’t come out of nowhere. McDaniel understands that the key to this telling is the universality of a person’s life, as it applies to others. It’s about how this person affects not simply people at the time, but people in the future as well.
I’ve always found April Harrison’s art style to be interesting. It’s not to everyone’s taste, I suppose, but it has a raw honesty to it that I’ve always appreciated. The publication page just says that she works in “mixed media collage, acrylics and artist pens” but that’s too a simple an explanation for art that doesn’t feel simple. Let’s just look at this cover for starters. The image we have of Baker here is one in which her hands are accentuated and made large. She’s in the middle of telling a story, a pile of books visible in one hand. The typography of the title, the positioning of the subtitle, and even the way in which the author and illustrator’s names have been boxed at the bottom all indicate a carefully thought out process. Inside, the texture of the paper on which Harrison paints often works its way into the art, giving a three-dimensional quality to some of these images. Harrison’s faces remind me a bit of how Bryan Collier does them too. Often they’re not the focus of her work. That said, there were a couple faces here I particularly enjoyed. On the second page of this book you see a young Augusta kneeling next to a woman telling her a story. The expression on her face, with its sly eyes and cocked eyebrow looks like she knows the woman talking to her is pulling her leg, but she’s willing to go along with it. It’s the background papers and patterns that are the true draw, though. People are great. The papers that are used are better.
At the height of Augusta Baker’s time at NYPL librarians were the driving force when it came to purchasing children’s literature. There were no big box stores or online retailers, and very few bookstores per capita. There were, however, a lot of libraries and those libraries had children’s rooms. That meant that librarians had a surprising hold over the children’s book publishing industry. They wanted folktales and they got them. They wanted fairy tales and they got them. These days that sway is almost entirely gone, except perhaps in one key respect. Bookstores and online retailers still don’t quite know what to do with nonfiction for kids. Walk into any bookstore and locate the nonfiction children’s book section. It’s almost always scant, at best. Walk into a children’s library and shelves and shelves are dedicated to informational texts for kids. As a result, the old power that librarians one wielded over all of children’s literature has been concentrated into this one specific area. That is, honestly, why books like Go Forth and Tell are able to get published. This subject is important in and of itself, but if it were solely reliant on the public and bookstores to purchase it, it would flail a bit in sales. So I may scoff a little at books that lean into the heroic librarian model, but when the subject deserves it, as Augusta Baker does, then I am grateful for the way things are. I am grateful that we get to see a book like Go Forth and Tell on our shelves in this day and age. And finally I am grateful that Breanna McDaniel, who knows how to tell a story about a storyteller, and that April Harrison, who knows how to bring that story to visible life, were the ones who got to tell this story.
May 23, 2024
A really lovely picture book about a librarian and storyteller. I loved learning about Baker's life and her impact on the New York Public Library and beyond. The story got a wee bit bogged down in the details telling about Baker's accomplishments (which were many, but her titles need explaining to most children and name-dropping is only effective in small doses in picture books). However, that's nowhere close to a deal-breaker and is a learning opportunity for listeners. The art is fantastic. It simply leaps off the page.
Highlight: the author includes a picture of herself and her childhood librarian at the end!
Highlight: the author includes a picture of herself and her childhood librarian at the end!
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February 14, 2024A wonderful biography and at the same time, an homage to librarians and the difference they can make not only to the lives they touch directly, but also the rest of us by inspiring new generations of writers. I love how the author's note expresses this. Beautiful illustrations by April Harrison.
February 8, 2024
I love that this is a picture book biography about a storyteller that could actually be read aloud. The text is luminous and flows in a clear narrative that is informative and inspirational. The illustrations are so vibrant and so full of life and so good. I love the layering of different media to create rich, larger-than-life graphics.
February 26, 2024
A gorgeous picture book biography about the master storyteller and groundbreaking librarian Augusta Baker. It begins with Augusta listening to her grandmother's stories and how those stories fostered a love of words and learning. "In these worlds, people who started out discarded and mistreated became heroes who slayed dragons or used their smarts to get themselves out of trouble!" Not only does Augusta's love of storytelling inspire her to go to school, become a librarian and storyteller, but it leads to her work that inspired other educators, librarians, and writers. A beautiful picture book with the wonderful message that stories, learning, and following your passions can lead to a life where one can make a difference. Also don't miss the additional information at the back which includes an author's note, a timeline, photographs, and a list of citations!
"Let the story tell itself, select well, prepare well, and then go forth, and just tell." Augusta Baker
"Let the story tell itself, select well, prepare well, and then go forth, and just tell." Augusta Baker
May 4, 2024
At a time when Black people could scarcely be found on the shelves of any library, Augusta Braxton Baker became a librarian and was determined to make a difference. Baker was a champion of Black stories, an incredibly storyteller herself, and the first Black person to hold the role of coordinator of children's services to the New York Public Library branches. The vibrancy and strength of Augusta Braxton Baker is portrayed through the words and beautiful illustrations in this picture book biography. The text carries you from childhood through her career. The illustrations are incredible collaged works of art. A beautiful tribute to an important woman but also to the power all librarians have to shape lives one story, one book at a time.
March 4, 2025
Another thank you to the 2025 ALA Youth Media Awards for putting a picture book on my radar. Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller was a 2025 King Illustrator Honor Book selection. This retired librarian sees the words “book” or “library” or “librarian” in a book title and immediately gets curious and digs deeper. This time I was blessed to read a beautiful picture book and learn of another master storyteller and librarian, similarly to how I learned about Pura Belpré in Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré.
The mixed media artwork meshed perfectly with the biographical words. Every time I turned a page, I felt a very “beat poet” and “storyteller” vibe. There is much to glean from the pictures—so don’t rush by them but stop and absorb!
Another “do not skip it” in this book is the author’s note. I had a rush of excitement when I read of Breanna McDaniel running into her childhood librarian at a library conference in New Orleans. What a blessing to be able to have their paths cross and for Breanna to have the opportunity to say “thank you” and “I’m here because of you.”
The mixed media artwork meshed perfectly with the biographical words. Every time I turned a page, I felt a very “beat poet” and “storyteller” vibe. There is much to glean from the pictures—so don’t rush by them but stop and absorb!
Another “do not skip it” in this book is the author’s note. I had a rush of excitement when I read of Breanna McDaniel running into her childhood librarian at a library conference in New Orleans. What a blessing to be able to have their paths cross and for Breanna to have the opportunity to say “thank you” and “I’m here because of you.”
January 13, 2025
for children’s literature and related materials:
I was utterly moved by this in a way I hadn’t expected— the artistry and the way this is written — it’s amazing to see Augusta Baker remembered and highlighted this way. If I’m honest, I hadn’t known her history at all and that’s what makes this even more impactful. childrens literature is in a great place if Breanna J. McDaniel continues to make amazing works like this. Shoutout to April Harrison for this illustration as well — beautiful overall. Also really appreciated the timeline at the end and the real life photo of Augusta.
I was utterly moved by this in a way I hadn’t expected— the artistry and the way this is written — it’s amazing to see Augusta Baker remembered and highlighted this way. If I’m honest, I hadn’t known her history at all and that’s what makes this even more impactful. childrens literature is in a great place if Breanna J. McDaniel continues to make amazing works like this. Shoutout to April Harrison for this illustration as well — beautiful overall. Also really appreciated the timeline at the end and the real life photo of Augusta.
April 17, 2025
I absolutely Understand the reason this picture book won numerous awards including being recognized as Best book of the year more than once. Just tears for me... 🥹
The only word I have right not is: JUBILANT 💛💚💛
The only word I have right not is: JUBILANT 💛💚💛
September 15, 2024
Inspiring!!!
March 2, 2025
Inspiring true story of an amazing woman. Beautifully illustrated
December 7, 2024
Absolutely amazing. Every school library and elementary classroom should have this book about the amazing Augusta Baker and the power of stories.
“Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well, and then go forth and just tell.” -Augusta Braxton Baker
“Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well, and then go forth and just tell.” -Augusta Braxton Baker
March 14, 2024
A delightful--and needed--celebration of a librarian and the difference she made in the lives of the children she served! Make sure this one is on the shelves of your public or school library--don't miss it!
April 29, 2025
Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
Kirkus Best Books of the Year
Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year
New York Public Library Best Books of the Year
ALSC Notable Children's Books
Horn Book Fanfare
BolognaRazzi Award- Braw Amazing Bookshelf Sustainability Selection
ILA 2025 Notable Books for a Global Society
Five Starred Reviews
From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children's services at all branches of the New York Public Library.
Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br'er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there's a will, there's always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.
As Mrs. Baker herself put it- "Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell." (read less)
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October 13, 2023
Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, Augusta Braxton Baker eagerly listened to her grandmother's tales of Br'er Rabbit and King Arthur, becoming aware that heroes often use their smarts to get out of trouble. She used this lesson throughout her life, attending teacher's college in New York, honing her skills as a storyteller, and becoming a children's librarian (read more)
Horn Book Magazine
Horn Book Magazine
From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children's services at all branches of the New York Public Library.
Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br'er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there's a will, there's always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.
As Mrs. Baker herself put it- "Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell." (read less)
April 7, 2024
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Augusta Baker grew up in Baltimore listening to her grandmother's stories, which fed her imagination. She grew up to be the first Black person to earn a degree in library science from SUNY Albany, and went on to be a children's librarian in New York City. She realized that while many of her patrons were Black, there were few books that showed realistic depictions of what life was like for them. She made it her mission to find and tell stories that would appeal to young readers and would showcase more diversity. She published story books like The Talking Tree, as well as publications for professionals like Storytelling: Art and Technique. She was a storyteller in residence at the University of South Carolina until her death in 1998, and the university holds a yearly festival in her honor: A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen: A Celebration of Stories. Throughout her life, she held on to the belief that "when there's a will, there's a way".
Harrison's illustrations evoke the folk art of Aminah Robinson or Faith Ringold, with rich, warm colors and a collage-like feel to the pictures. The changing styles of clothes during Baker's lifetime are well depicted, and the use of patterns and designs really make the drawings pop.
Young readers who are unaware of the lack of diversity in children's literature until the start of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement in 2014 will be surprised that there was a time when books didn't have characters of color in them, or had problematic characters. Showcasing this title along with books by prominent black authors like Floyd Cooper, Derrick Barnes, Vanessa Brantley-Newton and Patricia C. McKissack is a good way to show that some progress has been made since Baker's time.
The timeline, bibliography, and note from McDaniel about meeting her own school librarian after she had grown up add an extra depth to this biography. Now, I need to go find a video of Baker's appearance on Sesame Street!
Librarians and teachers like to think we make a difference in the lives of children, but those who actually do are few and far between. Augusta Baker's career deserves a place in the pantheon of other women from different walks of life who have made a noticeable impact in the reading experiences of children, as shown in books like Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Conrad and David Hohn, The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Barnett, Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Denise and Escobar, and Jackie and the Books She Loved by Diamondstein and Langley.
Augusta Baker grew up in Baltimore listening to her grandmother's stories, which fed her imagination. She grew up to be the first Black person to earn a degree in library science from SUNY Albany, and went on to be a children's librarian in New York City. She realized that while many of her patrons were Black, there were few books that showed realistic depictions of what life was like for them. She made it her mission to find and tell stories that would appeal to young readers and would showcase more diversity. She published story books like The Talking Tree, as well as publications for professionals like Storytelling: Art and Technique. She was a storyteller in residence at the University of South Carolina until her death in 1998, and the university holds a yearly festival in her honor: A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen: A Celebration of Stories. Throughout her life, she held on to the belief that "when there's a will, there's a way".
Harrison's illustrations evoke the folk art of Aminah Robinson or Faith Ringold, with rich, warm colors and a collage-like feel to the pictures. The changing styles of clothes during Baker's lifetime are well depicted, and the use of patterns and designs really make the drawings pop.
Young readers who are unaware of the lack of diversity in children's literature until the start of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement in 2014 will be surprised that there was a time when books didn't have characters of color in them, or had problematic characters. Showcasing this title along with books by prominent black authors like Floyd Cooper, Derrick Barnes, Vanessa Brantley-Newton and Patricia C. McKissack is a good way to show that some progress has been made since Baker's time.
The timeline, bibliography, and note from McDaniel about meeting her own school librarian after she had grown up add an extra depth to this biography. Now, I need to go find a video of Baker's appearance on Sesame Street!
Librarians and teachers like to think we make a difference in the lives of children, but those who actually do are few and far between. Augusta Baker's career deserves a place in the pantheon of other women from different walks of life who have made a noticeable impact in the reading experiences of children, as shown in books like Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Conrad and David Hohn, The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Barnett, Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Denise and Escobar, and Jackie and the Books She Loved by Diamondstein and Langley.
May 10, 2024
Read this important biography and then go forth and tell others about the remarkable life of Augusta Baker. (For now, just click on her name to learn something while waiting to get the book.) Written by Breanna J McDaniels, a history-making librarian of her own standing, and illustrated by April Harrison, award-winning artist who captures and expands visually on Baker's charismatic personality and power.
This is both a biography and a virtual "how to" life model for ways to raise a literate, community-engaged adult. Living with her grandmother set the stage for their incredibly deep connection and offered inspiration for Baker's storytelling. "Lap time" is shown, but spot illustrations reveal that every experience, from mundane daily chores to intentional shared time, involved colorful and theatrical storytelling of a vast and varied nature. Throughout it all, Augusta greeted her grandmother's words with "eager ears" As a result, Augusta's own reading left her fascinated with words and stories, while hoping to claim storytelling as her own, using those skills to help others grow their own"eager ears".
The account has Augusta taking that dream to college, discovering that she and her "lilting, tilting voice" belong in front of a crowd. That ranged from students in a classroom, to young groups at a library, and on to inspiring other adults to listen and connect. Her work as children's librarian allowed her to cull racist and hateful or simply incorrect books from her shelves and fill them with books that celebrated uplifting stories and provided heroes, real and imagined. Among her young audiences were eventual stellar Black authors and storytellers. Her storytelling and literary guidance fillied their minds and hearts with stories that threw open possibilities not encountered in daily life.
As the cover art suggests, Baker's impact embraced the entire city and beyond. Her role in New York's Public Library earned her the nickname Mistress of Storytelling. She has been honored with awards, festivals, and the support of countless literary stars. Throughout her life, including her leadership of educators and librarians, Baker stressed that the human elements of oral storytelling animated literature with magic: voice, expression, gesture. When those skills are effective, listeners lean in with "eager ears". Back matter includes a very personal author note, quotation citations, a timeline, and captioned photos. Together with the main text account, this is a comprehensive and glowing introduction to a remarkable woman everyone should know.
This is both a biography and a virtual "how to" life model for ways to raise a literate, community-engaged adult. Living with her grandmother set the stage for their incredibly deep connection and offered inspiration for Baker's storytelling. "Lap time" is shown, but spot illustrations reveal that every experience, from mundane daily chores to intentional shared time, involved colorful and theatrical storytelling of a vast and varied nature. Throughout it all, Augusta greeted her grandmother's words with "eager ears" As a result, Augusta's own reading left her fascinated with words and stories, while hoping to claim storytelling as her own, using those skills to help others grow their own"eager ears".
The account has Augusta taking that dream to college, discovering that she and her "lilting, tilting voice" belong in front of a crowd. That ranged from students in a classroom, to young groups at a library, and on to inspiring other adults to listen and connect. Her work as children's librarian allowed her to cull racist and hateful or simply incorrect books from her shelves and fill them with books that celebrated uplifting stories and provided heroes, real and imagined. Among her young audiences were eventual stellar Black authors and storytellers. Her storytelling and literary guidance fillied their minds and hearts with stories that threw open possibilities not encountered in daily life.
As the cover art suggests, Baker's impact embraced the entire city and beyond. Her role in New York's Public Library earned her the nickname Mistress of Storytelling. She has been honored with awards, festivals, and the support of countless literary stars. Throughout her life, including her leadership of educators and librarians, Baker stressed that the human elements of oral storytelling animated literature with magic: voice, expression, gesture. When those skills are effective, listeners lean in with "eager ears". Back matter includes a very personal author note, quotation citations, a timeline, and captioned photos. Together with the main text account, this is a comprehensive and glowing introduction to a remarkable woman everyone should know.
May 29, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this picture book biography of a famous children's services librarian and storyteller from last century. The book does tell us that she got her first library job in 1937, but the author doesn't tell the reader if she ever retired before her passing in 1998. August Baker was an interesting woman and did much to improve literature for black children in her day. The mixed media collage, acrylic and pen illustrations fit very well with Augusta's story. The book concludes with a timeline, a bibliography, an author's note, and a couple of photos. One of the photos is of Mrs. Baker showing a book to a young girl. This book is a great companion to other books about children's librarians: Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré, Librarian on the Roof! A True Story, and Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children.
February 22, 2025
As some other reviewers have noted, librarians will adore this book [3.5 for me!], yet another tribute to those important keepers of the literacy flame, but it's somewhat questionable whether its intended audience will appreciate it in the same way. Perhaps they will be curious to learn more or to explore the times in which its subject, Augusta Baker, lived. Perhaps not. While I can appreciate the fact that Baker was a groundbreaker, the first Black person to receive a degree in library studies from SUNY Albany and the first Black person to serve as coordinator for Children's Services for the New York Public Library system, making her something of a pioneer in her field, I wanted to know more about her storytelling gifts, her determination to make available books depicting Blacks in a positive light, and how her efforts influenced the authors mentioned in the story. A picture book biography for children can only do so much, of course, and these areas could have been clarified in the text or as part of the back matter. I ended up liking the striking illustrations, created with mixed media collage, acrylics, and pens, with memorable images and words and expressive faces and proud posture, large hands, a paintbrush, more than the story itself although I'm glad to see Baker receiving the attention she is due. Oddly, the note on the copyright page stating that "This is a work of nonfiction. Some names and identifying details have been changed" struck me as problematic and leaving me with some unanswered questions.
November 19, 2024
I loved the centrality of stories to Augusta Baker's life--her grandmother as a storyteller and then Augusta finding words herself. We've made progress with representation in recent years, so this biography was a good reminder that "There were hardly any books with Black people in them. The ones that the library did have were RUDE, MEAN, and JUST PLAIN WRONG." I'm grateful for her pioneering work and amazed to learn that she nurtured James Baldwin and Audre Lorde! For me, one measure of a good picture book biography is that it motivates me to research further. This book did that for me, as names were mentioned that beckoned further study. I was intrigued to learn about A(ugusta) Baker’s Dozen annual storytelling festival sponsored by the University of South Carolina and the Richland County Public Library. I was curious to learn more about Baker's involvement with Sesame Street; I couldn't find a video clip, but she was said to have been a consultant for the show. The mixed media collage artwork grew on me and seemed fitting for this book.
February 23, 2025
When I was at the beginning of my library career and Augusta Baker was nearing the end of hers, I had the privilege of hearing her tell a tale of Uncle Bouki and Ti Malice. I think it must have been a blend of several tales because we were completely enthralled for twenty minutes. Thus I was delighted that a picture book biography of her was a Coretta Scott King Honor book for 2025.
The honor was for April Harrison’s illustrations in line and paint on collage. They flow from dreamy imagination to realistic portraits of the writers Baker influenced. One particularly effective page shows Baker’s reaction to the “RUDE, MEAN, and JUST PLAIN WRONG” portrayals of Black people in the children’s literature available early in her career. Baker was a force in changing that by encouraging writers and informing librarians.
McDaniel’s book is an invitation to celebrate a remarkable librarian and the power of story. She describes Augusta’s childhood delight in her grandmother’s stories and her adult career. The only personal life facts are in the timeline at the end.
The honor was for April Harrison’s illustrations in line and paint on collage. They flow from dreamy imagination to realistic portraits of the writers Baker influenced. One particularly effective page shows Baker’s reaction to the “RUDE, MEAN, and JUST PLAIN WRONG” portrayals of Black people in the children’s literature available early in her career. Baker was a force in changing that by encouraging writers and informing librarians.
McDaniel’s book is an invitation to celebrate a remarkable librarian and the power of story. She describes Augusta’s childhood delight in her grandmother’s stories and her adult career. The only personal life facts are in the timeline at the end.
June 10, 2025
Recommend as an interactive read aloud before introducing students to an inclusive classroom library. McDaniel's writing will draw young students into being the kind of "amazing story listener" that Augusta Braxton Baker was. Harrison's vibrant, collage-like illustrations lend themselves to great discussions in response to questions like, "How does the illustrator bring the author's words to life?" and "What does she add to your undestanding?"
PARTNER THIS TEXT WITH - Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Denise & Escobar or Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories Belpré was a bilingual assistant at the same library (about a decade or so before?) Baker. She worked to bring in more stories for Spanish speaking children into libraries.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Pinborough & Atwell - Moore worked for the New York Public libraries as well (late 18th century?).
PARTNER THIS TEXT WITH - Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Denise & Escobar or Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories Belpré was a bilingual assistant at the same library (about a decade or so before?) Baker. She worked to bring in more stories for Spanish speaking children into libraries.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Pinborough & Atwell - Moore worked for the New York Public libraries as well (late 18th century?).
February 19, 2024
5 stars (I loved it)
I admit, I am COMPLETELY biased here. Being a elementary school librarian and all :)
But I absolutely loved this biography picture book about the inspiring Augusta Baker. I'm more than a little mad at myself that this is the first time I had heard anything about her. It's amazing all the people that Baker influenced. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but this book also reinforced the purpose of my own life/career- getting children instead in reading (I have really bad imposter syndrome so just suggesting I could have any impact even close to what Baker did makes me feel a little uncomfortable). I loved the author's note in the back where McDaniel mentions HER childhood librarian.
Anyway, despite my obvious bias, I do think that children will also enjoy this book and be inspired by it. There is a great message about not giving up ("where there's a will, there's a way"). The mixed media art is very interesting as well.
I admit, I am COMPLETELY biased here. Being a elementary school librarian and all :)
But I absolutely loved this biography picture book about the inspiring Augusta Baker. I'm more than a little mad at myself that this is the first time I had heard anything about her. It's amazing all the people that Baker influenced. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but this book also reinforced the purpose of my own life/career- getting children instead in reading (I have really bad imposter syndrome so just suggesting I could have any impact even close to what Baker did makes me feel a little uncomfortable). I loved the author's note in the back where McDaniel mentions HER childhood librarian.
Anyway, despite my obvious bias, I do think that children will also enjoy this book and be inspired by it. There is a great message about not giving up ("where there's a will, there's a way"). The mixed media art is very interesting as well.
February 24, 2025
"Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well, and then go forth and just tell."
~Augusta Braxton Baker
As a children's librarian, I often skim the latest picture books without really savoring them...but this one was so very different. I had never heard of Augusta Baker, but I was captivated by her journey from avid listener to gifted storyteller...so much so, that I allowed myself to read it from cover to cover, and twice in a row.
I found the irregular typeface somewhat distracting, yet each word of the text was thoughtfully selected. The illustrations were surprising, as they reminded me of stereotypes with exaggerated features--the kind of illustrations I was taught to critically review during my own coursework to become a librarian.
I was inspired by the story of Augusta's influence and dedication, and I look forward to sharing this book with many young listeners/readers.
- A 2025 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
~Augusta Braxton Baker
As a children's librarian, I often skim the latest picture books without really savoring them...but this one was so very different. I had never heard of Augusta Baker, but I was captivated by her journey from avid listener to gifted storyteller...so much so, that I allowed myself to read it from cover to cover, and twice in a row.
I found the irregular typeface somewhat distracting, yet each word of the text was thoughtfully selected. The illustrations were surprising, as they reminded me of stereotypes with exaggerated features--the kind of illustrations I was taught to critically review during my own coursework to become a librarian.
I was inspired by the story of Augusta's influence and dedication, and I look forward to sharing this book with many young listeners/readers.
- A 2025 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
March 7, 2024
Brief summary: Augusta Braxton Baker used to listen to her grandmother's storytelling, which influenced her so much that she became a storyteller. Augusta attended a teacher's college in New York and then worked at the New York Public Library in Harlem.
Her legacy continues even today, through the "Baker’s Dozen: A Celebration of Stories" annual storytelling festival which is sponsored by the University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications and the Richland County Public Library.
Baker was a librarian remembered for her advocacy of creating and encouraging positive and uplifting stories with African-American characters.
Comments: The back sections include Timeline, Citations, and an Author's Note.
The illustrations were created using mixed media, acrylics, and artist pens.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Her legacy continues even today, through the "Baker’s Dozen: A Celebration of Stories" annual storytelling festival which is sponsored by the University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications and the Richland County Public Library.
Baker was a librarian remembered for her advocacy of creating and encouraging positive and uplifting stories with African-American characters.
Comments: The back sections include Timeline, Citations, and an Author's Note.
The illustrations were created using mixed media, acrylics, and artist pens.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
April 4, 2024
It's shameful that I graduated from the library program at UAlbany and currently teach for the program and this is the first time, in a children's picture book about Augusta Baker that I heard that she attended UAlbany and was the first Black person to earn a degree in library science/information studies from there! (in 1934) Why isn't this celebrated??!!
She sounds like a phenomenal woman who singlehandedly changed the face of librarianship and storytelling in how she did it and why she did it-- making sure that Black voices were represented in books and stories and shared them widely as a librarian for NYPL.
A rich story and richly illustrated picture book biography.
"Let the story tell itself. Select well, prepare well and then go forth, and just tell."
"As one journalist said. Wherever Augusta went, she 'painted worlds with her words.'"
She sounds like a phenomenal woman who singlehandedly changed the face of librarianship and storytelling in how she did it and why she did it-- making sure that Black voices were represented in books and stories and shared them widely as a librarian for NYPL.
A rich story and richly illustrated picture book biography.
"Let the story tell itself. Select well, prepare well and then go forth, and just tell."
"As one journalist said. Wherever Augusta went, she 'painted worlds with her words.'"
February 27, 2025
"Go Forth and Tell" follows Augusta Baker and her devotion to telling the stories of black people. Growing up in Baltimore, Baker learned about the art of storytelling from her grandmother and stretched her talent to New York. She told the stories of other black artists, activists, writers, musicians, and more. As one of the best storytellers and librarians in history, her stories are still told all around the world, including her own.
This inspiring book engages readers and tells the story of the influence and power just one person can hold. This book is fantastic for readers of all ages. The illustrations are engaging and pull readers in, coinciding with the storyline. The timeline at the end gives an even more exact picture of her life, with years and their events. Augusta Baker is African American/Black.
This inspiring book engages readers and tells the story of the influence and power just one person can hold. This book is fantastic for readers of all ages. The illustrations are engaging and pull readers in, coinciding with the storyline. The timeline at the end gives an even more exact picture of her life, with years and their events. Augusta Baker is African American/Black.
February 20, 2024
A warm and inspiring picture book biography of Black children's librarian Augusta Baker, first in many of her career positions throughout her life. I loved this book's celebration of Black storytellers and stories. I simultaneously appreciated the way the book named other important Black storytellers, librarians, and writers, and felt that some of the information shared came out a little list-like, a quality that will probably bore some children. In capable hands, however, this book will be a great one for sharing at home or in the classroom, opening the window as it does for learning more about the other authors mentioned.
Themes: Libraries and Librarians, Black History, Stories and Storytellers
Age range: Kindergarten-Early Elementary
Themes: Libraries and Librarians, Black History, Stories and Storytellers
Age range: Kindergarten-Early Elementary
December 22, 2024
This picture book biography of Augusta Baker is told like a story as Baker was a storyteller herself. Though I had not heard of Augusta Baker before reading this picture book, I am grateful her story has been told. She was a learner with a storytelling grandmother. She was a teacher, She was a librarian. She touched the lives of famous writers along her storytelling and storysharing dream. Giving back to the community through the sharing of the right story, the right book, for the right reader is certainly a gift. McDaniel and Harrison depict a very inspirational woman who sought to inspire the children of Harlem where she first worked with the written word. Augusta Baker was a larger than life community activist who deserves a space on our biography shelves!
February 19, 2024
Go Forth and Tell is a book that belongs in every library. After all, it is a picture book biography about librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library.
Author Breanna J. McDaniel writing is warm and clear. Through her, you can almost hear Augusta speak. Her pacing is spot on, just inviting readers to say the words out loud. Illustrator April Harrison’s art is stunning. Her use of mixed media collage, acrylics and artist pens brings Augusta’s story to life.
This is a book I’d happily share with family and friends.
Author Breanna J. McDaniel writing is warm and clear. Through her, you can almost hear Augusta speak. Her pacing is spot on, just inviting readers to say the words out loud. Illustrator April Harrison’s art is stunning. Her use of mixed media collage, acrylics and artist pens brings Augusta’s story to life.
This is a book I’d happily share with family and friends.
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