Magnificent Homespun Brown

2021 CORETTA SCOTT KING ILLUSTRATION HONOR WINNER!

 

CBC Recommended Book • School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • New York Public Library Best Picture Book of 2020 • Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best of the Best Book for 2020 • Boston Globe Best Book of the Year • Selected for Oprah Daily’s Twenty Diverse Kids’ Reads • A Teaching for Change selection • 2020 Lupine Award

 

Hear Samara Cole Doyon Read Magnificent Homespun Brown

 

Magnificent Homespun Brown is an exploration of the natural world and family bonds through the eyes of young, mixed-race heroines—a living, breathing, dazzlingly multifaceted, exuberant masterpiece, firmly grounded in a sense of self-worth and belonging. This is a story—a poem, a song, a celebration— about feeling at home in one’s own beloved skin.

Written by Samara Cole Doyon

Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

$16.95 hardcover

ISBN 9780884487975

9 x 10

32 pages

Illustrated in color throughout

Ages 8 to 12

F&P level V

PICTURE BOOK/POETRY

Samara Cole Doyon is both a second-generation Haitian American and a deeply rooted Mainer, with half of the roots of her family tree reaching generations deep into the soil of the Pine Tree State. She is a freelance writer, teacher, wife, and mother. She has been a regular contributor at Black Girl In Maine Media and has been featured in the “Deep Water” poetry column of the Portland Press Herald.

 

Kaylani Juanita’s mission as an artist is to support the stories of the underrepresented and create new ways for people to imagine themselves. Her work has appeared at the Society of Illustrators and the BBC website, and she is the illustrator of the picture books Ta-Da! and the critically acclaimed When Aidan Became a Brother. She lives in the Bay Area in California. Look for her online at kaylanijuanita.com and @kaylanijuanita on Twitter and Instagram.

“Absolutely lovely.” —Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming and Another Brooklyn

 

“This celebration makes magic out of the everyday joys of being in the world.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

 

“A magnificent paean to a varied hue.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

“Whether this delightful book is a mirror or a window for a child, it is a must-read for its celebration of love for oneself and one’s family.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

 

“Brown is never dreary or drab in this poetic exploration of its many expressions.” —San Francisco Chronicle

 

“There is pure joy in the illustrations that matches the positivity of the text.” —Waking Brain Cells

 

“A stunning and resonant story. A gift to read. It is a celebration of all shades of brown and the faces and families whose deep, secret brown, whose feathery brown, whose amber brown, whose radiant brown, whose magnificent, homespun brown is part of what makes them so magnificent.” —Matthew Winner, The Children’s Book Podcase

 

“Inspiring and heartwarming.” —Youth Services Book Review