Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children

by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Patrick Dougher (Illustrator)

Overview

When happy things come to you, hold them close and never let go.

From celebrated author of Your Name Is a Song Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, fine artist Patrick Dougher, and photographer Jamel Shabazz, Hold Them Close is a picture book celebration of Black past, present, and future—a joyful love letter to Black children.

As affirming as it is touching and warm, Hold Them Close encourages young children to hold close their joy, the words of their ancestors and elders, as well as their power to change the world. A perfect book for shared story time, this book will inspire young people to march forth with pride, glow, and happiness.

"A love poem to Black children that both educates and bolsters." —Kirkus Reviews

A Bank Street College of Education’s Children’s Book Committee’s Best Children’s Books of the Year pick!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063036178
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	646,225
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is an educator and writer who centers Black and Muslim children in her work. She is the author of Mommy’s Khimar, Your Name Is a Song, and Abdul’s Story and is a contributor to the Once Upon an Eid anthology. She teaches writing to youth in Philadelphia, where she lives with her family.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Patrick Dougher is a self-taught artist, musician, poet, writer, and spiritual activist. He has worked as a teaching artist in New York City public schools, as an art therapist working with HIV-positive children, and as the director of a community arts organization. Patrick uses the arts to empower and support the socioeconomic growth and health of disenfranchised youths of the city. Through his art, Patrick seeks to inspire and celebrate the noble beauty and divine nature of people of African descent.

Editorial Reviews

Hold Them Close is a true work of art. This is a book to be savored and reread in classrooms and homes. — Booklist (starred review)

[This] book is an uplifting family story as much as it is a beautifully fearless introduction to much of Black history and why learning about it is essential for understanding the modern world. — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Thompkins-Bigelow (Abdul’s Story) pens a stirring free verse love letter to Black children and community, carrying readers through a range of experiences to be held tight or dismissed." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The resulting images simultaneously emphasize a painful past, a tumultuous present, and a hopeful future, making for a tribute both sobering and jubilant." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A love poem to Black children that both educates and bolsters." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2022

Gr 1–4—In this love letter to black children, the author encourages them to hold on to the good things, to not look away from the bad things, and to never forget their story. Dougher's mixed media collage includes black-and-white photographs by Jamel Shabazz, patterned paper, and paint. Together the images create the homey chaotic feel of a Brooklyn neighborhood, where both illustrator and photographer grew up. Through the illustrations, readers follow a boy and girl into their world and family, where they see the love that carries them through real life: dinner tables and school friends, family members who were incarcerated, and those who were enslaved or experienced violence. No subject is out of reach. While the verse may be too abstract for younger readers, this book is an uplifting family story as much as it is a beautifully fearless introduction to much of Black history and why learning about it is essential for understanding the modern world. Back matter gives context and depth to images and names of historical figures and victims of violence that are worked into the collage. VERDICT This is an important book for any collection that serves older picture book readers, but especially good for classroom use.—Hillary Perelyubskiy

School Library Journal

2022-08-17
“When happy things come to you / hold them close and never let go.”

Verse and mixed-media artwork blend for a work that aims to guide young Black readers to build resilience in a world that is too often violent and grossly unforgiving toward Black people. Thompkins-Bigelow goes on to encourage readers to hold on—“to the smile of that loved one / who just got free,” “to good tastes and good laughs on your tongue,” and “to the stories the grown / folks tell of your greatness.” Making inspired use of textures in the backgrounds, this comforting book has the look and feel of a quilt. Photographs of Black children taken by Shabazz as well as images of historical figures incorporated into the collage illustrations give the book the feeling of a family album. This celebration of Black culture covers the impact of racism honestly yet in an age-appropriate way; one especially noteworthy spread includes the photo of a child with head bowed opposite the names of the victims of racist violence, such as Trayvon Martin and Michelle Cusseaux, set against the wall of a building. Backmatter includes author’s and illustrator’s notes and additional information on people and topics alluded to in the book, among them Black Lives Matter, Jim Crow, lynching, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A love poem to Black children that both educates and bolsters. (selected sources) (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews