Keep Climbing, Girls - Hardcover

Richards, Beah E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416902643 ISBN 13: 9781416902645

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006

Synopsis

The only way to make a bid
for a girl's equality is to climb right up to the
toppermost bough
of the very tallest tree.

The dynamic ode to girl power was written by noted Afro-American actor, poet, and playwright Beach E. Richards. First published in 1951, her poem is given new life in this edition that includes an introduction by LisaGay Hamilton and stunning illustrations by R. Gregory Christie. With its inspirational messsage, this book will empower children with the realization that "the path of life goes up and up/not down!"

About this title

From the Author:

Beah E. Richards (1920-2000) was born Beulah Elizabeth Richardson in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the number-one rule in her parents' home was, "The bottom is overcrowded so strive for the top!" She came to New York in 1950. Her first significant stage role was in 1955, playing an elderly woman in the off-Broadway play Take a Giant Step. She developed a career as a prolific actress, playwright, and published poet, receiving a Tony nomination for her role in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner, and garnering an Oscar nomination for her part as Mrs. Prentice in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. In 1988 she won an Emmy for her role on Frank's Place, and in 2000 she won an Emmy award for her role on The Practice. LisaGay Hamilton accepted the award on behalf of Ms. Richards, and delivered the Emmy to Beah in Mississippi. Ms. Richards died two weeks later.

LisaGay Hamilton wrote and directed the award-winning documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, which chronicles the life of Beah Richards. Ms. Hamilton was a series regular for seven years on the television drama The Practice as Rebecca Washington. Along with Beah Richards, Ms. Hamilton appeared in the movie adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. She is a graduate of the Juilliard Drama Division.

R. Gregory Christie received a Caldecott Honor for his illustrations in Freedom in Congo Square, written by Carole Boston Weatherford. He is a three-time recipient of The New York Times’s 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year Award, a six-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Honor Award in Illustration, and a winner of the Boston Globe­–Horn Book Award, the NAACP’s Image Award, and the Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award from the Museum of Tolerance. Visit Mr. Christie’s website at Gas-Art.com.

From Booklist:

K-Gr. 3. An African American girl climbs a tall tree, while at ground level, a worried Miss Nettie frets, postures, admonishes, disdains, and issues orders for her to come back down. But as the poem has it, "The only way to make a bid / for a girl's equality / is to climb right up to the toppermost bough / of the very tallest tree." The poem, which appeared in A Black Woman Speaks (1974) by African American actress and writer Beah Richards, effectively uses vernacular speech to create a distinctive voice, while making a feminist point. Similarly, Christie creates a series of strong gouache paintings that define the characters through posture and gesture. Bold brush strokes create a landscape simplified to its essence, providing a backdrop in which the characters' body language speaks volumes. Though the book is classified as poetry, the brevity of the text and the clarity of the art make this a vivid picture book as well, and one that might be read aloud to older groups for discussion. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1416902643
• ISBN 13: 9781416902645
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Christie R. Gregory