In conversation with Valerie Kinloch
Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Education
“Every Hurston story is a treasure. I am honored to help deliver this treasure to the world. I am honored to help honor Hurston’s work.”
IBRAM X. KENDI
A First Folktale from the creators of Magnolia Flower, Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, about the origin of butterflies.
The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin’ de world.
But soon, the Creator finds themselves flying through the sky, making gorgeous butterflies of every color, shape, and size.
Find out why butterflies were made in Zora Neale Hurston’s stunning and layered African American folktale. This accessible and sizable board book is perfect for introducing the youngest of readers to the beauty of Hurston’s storytelling and will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.
Ibram X. Kendi is a National Book Award–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. His books include Antiracist Baby; Goodnight Racism; How to Be an Antiracist; and How to Raise an Antiracist. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research.
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on West African spiritual practices of enslaved Black Americans. The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937.
Kah Yangni is an illustrator who makes heartfelt art about justice, queerness, and joy. They’ve worked with The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vice Media, and Chronicle Books, and with causes like the Transgender Law Center and the Movement for Black Lives. Their poster work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
“[T]he artwork creates an eye-catching collage of images in every spread… Kendi expertly distills this word-of-mouth tale for young readers… An old tale is given fresh new life”
KIRKUS REVIEWS
Books
The Making of Butterflies, along with other select titles by Kendi available for sale from Mystery Lovers Bookshop.