CROWNED: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora

by Kahran Bethencourt, Regis Bethencourt, Salamishah Tillet (Foreword by)

Overview

*NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work - Children*

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

From the New York Times bestselling duo who brought you GLORY: Magical Visions of Black Beauty, comes CROWNED: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora. Filled with visual magic and storytelling wonder, these stories reimagine our favorite and most beloved childhood fairy tales and folktales to encourage creativity, empower imagination, and foster self-esteem.

With a Foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Salamishah Tillet

Revisit beloved classics, but with a twist, such as The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, The Poisoned Apple, and find new favorites with stories created especially for the collection: Anansi and the Three Trials, Aku the Sun Maker, How the Zebra Got Its Stripes, The Legend of Princess Yennenga, and John Henry, the Steel-Drivin' Man.

A gift that will keep giving, CROWNED is a joyous celebration of Black beauty, determination, and imagination and a must-have for children and parents everywhere.

"Once again CreativeSoul Photography captures the beauty, innocence, and magic of black children. This is the book I've been waiting to give my grandchildren. It is a wonder of storytelling and imagery." — Michael Eric Dyson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250281388
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/23/2023
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	83,282
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Regis and Kahran Bethencourt are a husband-and-wife duo and the imaginative forces behind CreativeSoul Photography. With more than ten years of working with hundreds of children, families and brands, they specialize in child and lifestyle photography while incorporating authentic visual storytelling. As artists, CreativeSoul Photography is committed to helping kids and brands create fascinating imagery by operating as a one-stop shop offering expert creative direction, vision, planning, strategy, and execution. They've worked with brands small and large around the globe such as Disney, Amazon, Just for Me, CurlyKids Haircare, CamilleRose Haircare and more.

Regis and Kahran Bethencourt are a husband-and-wife duo and the imaginative forces behind CreativeSoul Photography. With more than ten years of working with hundreds of children, families and brands, they specialize in child and lifestyle photography while incorporating authentic visual storytelling. As artists, CreativeSoul Photography is committed to helping kids and brands create fascinating imagery by operating as a one-stop shop offering expert creative direction, vision, planning, strategy, and execution. They've worked with brands small and large around the globe such as Disney, Amazon, Just for Me, CurlyKids Haircare, CamilleRose Haircare and more.

Editorial Reviews

"Vibrant photography and dynamic storytelling combine in this affirming and celebratory volume." - Kirkus

"I devoured this book. It is so visually stunning, filled with magical storytelling, capturing the reader’s imagination from beginning to end." - BlackGirlNerds.com

"[O]ne of the most majestic, most creative storybooks money can buy...a feast for the imagination..." - Caribbean Life

Praise for GLORY:

"An exquisite pictorial love letter to Black children around the world." - Kirkus, starred review

"Glorious, indeed." - Booklist

"“Glory” is Blackness in all its grace and beauty by way of the next generation. [...] Black is beautiful. [...] To be young, gifted and Black is where it’s at." - Chicago Tribune

“But hardly any photo collection compares to the magic that is Glory. A must for our home. A must for Black children, for all children.” —Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestseller and National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be An Antiracist

"Gorgeous photography, but so much more. A truly inspired and inspiring work that speaks eloquently to our inherent beauty and power." — Brittney Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers her Superpower

"Seeing our beauty reflected in our children and having our children see their natural beauty be fully embraced is a gift to the race and a gift to the world. This transcendent work acknowledges the grace, and brilliance held in our black bodies." — Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestseller

"These are not just photographs, this is artistically, politically, and socially important work." — Patrisse Khan-Cullors New York Times bestseller

"They've made the capturing and the depiction of the beauty and the limitlessness of blackness their mission. Their edict." — Damon Young, Founder of VerySmartBrothas.com

From the Publisher

Narrators Dion Graham and Mychal-Bella Bowman's grand and lively performances will have young listeners eager to hear every story in this vibrant collection of African- and African-American-inspired tales. Graham creates imaginative and outsized voices for the stories he leads. He excels at portraying heroic and mischievous animals like a greedy baboon and a trickster spider. Bowman's young voice adds depth and authenticity to the child protagonists; her narration is warm and introspective as she takes on more heartfelt tales like that of a misfit mermaid or a brave girl with magical locks. Each story is accompanied by repeating background music that reflects its tone. The music adds an extra layer of immersion and never overpowers Graham and Bowman's stellar performances. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MAY 2024 - AudioFile

2023-08-11
A folktale and fairy-tale collection that encompasses retold Western stories, African American and African diaspora tales, and original entries.

The first third of this anthology, “Childhood Reimagined,” consists of fairy tales from European traditions that highlight the beauty of Black characters. The original storylines remain largely intact, but these new versions make space for nuanced examinations of the genre, such as in “Goldi, the Girl with the Golden Locs,” in which an indulged, petulant child learns from a bear family about moderation and appreciation. “Our Stories Retold,” the volume’s middle section, presents African and African American tales, from the familiar (“John Henry, the Steel Drivin’ Man”) to ones that may be new to many readers (“Aku, the Sun Maker”). In the closing section, “New Classics: Our Stories,” readers encounter entries that combine contemporary pop-culture references with a fairy-tale lens and ones that present being different as something beautiful. The real highlight is the visual artistry of the photography, which showcases Black children in imaginative outfits and settings—for example, an ethereal Little Mermaid and Hansel and Gretel wearing an Ndebele-influenced take on Bavarian-style clothing. As springboards for further reading and exploration, readers may wish for source notes or context on the stories’ cultures of origin as well as the inspirations for the clothing and adornment.

Vibrant photography and dynamic storytelling combine in this affirming and celebratory volume. (photography credits, model credits) (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews