FICTION

The Making of Butterflies

by Zora Neale Hurston (text) & illus. by Kah Yangni
Amistad/HarperCollins/. Mar. 2023. 24p. adapted by adapt. by Ibram X. Kendi. Board $9.99. ISBN 9780063111585.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K–This adaptation by Kendi is poetic, vigilant, and gives the original words stature by amplifying the high notes for very young children. Caregivers will delight in the cadence, and babies in the colors that Yangni splashes across every page in a piece of folklore that threads readers from a genesis of sorts to an urban landscape full of flutter-byes. People of color, a world of verdant hues, rejoice in Hurston’s butterfly-laden universe. Back matter explains this story’s origins, a bit about Ebonics, and other historical notes to delight adults perusing this.
VERDICT This will dance off the shelves by itself, but works for Black History Month, spring roundups, highlighting poems, or just a look at the lyrical.
Reviewed by Kimberly Olson Fakih , Mar 01, 2023

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