Woke Baby

by Mahogany L. Browne, Theodore Taylor III (Illustrator)

Overview

For all the littlest progressives, waking up to seize a new day of justice and activism.

Woke babies are up early. Woke babies raise their fists in the air. Woke babies cry out for justice. Woke babies grow up to change the world.

This lyrical and empowering book is both a celebration of what it means to be a baby and what it means to be woke. With bright playful art, Woke Baby is an anthem of hope in a world where the only limit to a skyscrapper is more blue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722958
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	12/31/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Mahogany L. Browne is a poet, writer, organizer, and educator. She is the founder of Woke Baby Book Fair, an initiative for diverse children’s literature, and was the inaugural poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center. She has published several books of poetry and books for young readers including A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe, Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice, Woke Baby, and Black Girl Magic. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Theodore Taylor III is a children's book author and illustrator living in Richmond, Virginia with his wife Sarah and son Theo. He is the illustrator of Woke, Woke Baby, and the New York Times bestselling C is for Country by Lil Was X. He also received the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award for his work on When The Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop. He is also the illustrator behind Shaquille O'Neal's Little Shaq Series. During the day he also works as a front-end web developer. His work is inspired by his love of music, comics, animation, video games, street art, and more. He is also a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur.

Editorial Reviews

2018-11-12

A bright, amusing glimpse at all the things woke babies do in this collaboration from Browne and Taylor.

Folks well-versed in their internet memes will remember the little webcomic "Feminist Baby," by Loryn Brantz, companion to the 2017 board book of the same name. A couple checking to see if baby is asleep finds her both awake and "woke" as she proclaims from her crib that gender is a social construct. This picture book picks up the pun and runs with it. From raising little fists for justice through kicking glass ceilings to babbling songs of freedom, spread after spread shows a woke baby's activities, intertwining a baby of color's squirms, wiggles, and vocalizations with the symbols and gestures of resistance. Browne's laconic prose communicates much while saying relatively little, leaving room for the sweeping vibrancy of Taylor's open and up-close illustrations to direct Browne's poetic beat toward the thrum of the page turn. The playful irony casts a shadow of gravitas as the little sequence of baby's doings captures truths that even the youngest in families of color (and other marginalized households) must know, as well as provides conversation starters for those readers interested in nurturing a commitment to allyship. A board-book edition publishes simultaneously; Taylor's images shrink to the format well enough, but some pages feel crowded with text.

Bubbling with an easy joy and nascent sense of justice—and the notion that the two can certainly go hand in hand. (Picture book. 1-4)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Woke Baby

“Every baby needs this book.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times-bestselling author

“Bubbling with an easy joy and nascent sense of justice.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An inspiring look at who a baby might grow up to be.” —Romper

Praise for Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year

A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of the Year

"This collection of poems by women of color covers topics relating to social justice, activism, discrimination and empathy, focusing on the need to speak out and inspiring middle-graders." —Vogue

★ "An irresistible invitation to take up space. Read it; gift it; use it to challenge, protect, and grow." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "An important book that demands to be seen. It adds to the conversation of #OwnVoices and speaks to a young person’s need for expression and social justice." —School Library Journal, starred review

Praise for Black Girl Magic

“Browne celebrates a Black girlhood that is free, unforgettable, and luminous.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher