Jun
14
1:00am
SKYLIT: The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation presents a conversation with Kenesha Sneed, Joanna Ho, Gracey Zhang and Juana Martinez-Neal
By Skylight Books
Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing (Prestel Junior)
In this modern-day fable about grief, diversity, and family connections, a young girl discovers the joys--and pain--of the creative process.
Winner of the Bookstagang Best of 2021: Best Conversation Starter Picture Books of 2021. Longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize. Ezra Jack Keats Award Honoree.
Eisha lives with her mother, a ceramic artist, who helps her make a special shape out of a piece of clay. The shape reminds Eisha of her father, of the ocean, of a lemon. As Eisha goes through her neighborhood doing errands with her mother, the piece of clay hardens and then shatters into pieces when Eisha taps it. In poignant and powerful words and pictures, Kenesha Sneed shows how Eisha learns to live with the sense of loss and of the joyful power of making something new out of what is left behind. Illustrated with Sneed's bold colors, graphic lines, and gestural textures, the book celebrates diversity and shares a gentle message that we all have the ability to heal and create.
Kenesha Sneed is a multi-disciplinary artist and founder of Tactile Matter, an LA-based line of playful stoneware ceramics. She has been profiled in the New York Times Magazine, Design*Sponge, Refinery29, and Glamour and has collaborated with Under Armour, Saint Heron, and Poketo. Sneed is a recipient of LA Design Festival's 2019 EDGE award and was named to Create & Cultivate 100, a list that honors the forward-thinking women who work to inspire the next generation to demand more.
Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma (HarperCollins)
The New York Times bestselling author of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, Joanna Ho, delivers a poignant picture book biography about the musician Yo-Yo Ma, immigration, and using music to build bridges.
Winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor * Featured in Book Riot’s Must Read September 2021 List
Joanna Ho’s lyrical writing and Teresa Martinez’s vibrant art weave together to tell an inspiring story of Yo-Yo Ma, who challenges conventions, expectations, and beliefs in order to build bridges to unite communities, people, and cultures. A beautiful picture book biography to enjoy and share in the home and the classroom.
Before Yo-Yo Ma became one of the most renowned and celebrated cellists, he wanted to play the double bass. But it was too big for his four-year-old hands. Over time, Ma honed his amazing talent, and his music became a reflection of his own life between borders, cultures, disciplines, and generations.
Since then, he has recorded over a hundred albums, won nineteen Grammy Awards, performed for eight American presidents, and received the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, just to name a few accomplishments.
Staying true to himself, Yo-Yo Ma performed at the US-Mexico border at the Rio Grande on April 13, 2019, as part of his multi-continent “Bach Project” tour to prove a point—through music, we can build bridges rather than walls between different cultures.
Joanna Ho is passionate about equity in books and education. She has been an English teacher, a dean, and a teacher professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids make Joanna’s eyes crinkle into crescent moons. Her books for young readers include Eyes That Kiss in the Corners. Visit her at www.joannahowrites.com and @JoannaHoWrites.
Lala's Words: A Story of Planting Kindness (Scholastic Inc.)
From debut author-illustrator Gracey Zhang comes a timeless and timely picture book that celebrates the unassuming power of kind words.
Oh, there goes Lala! She carries a pot of water around the corner, down the block, and over the fence, to a patch of dirt and concrete where tiny weeds sprout. "Hello, hello, friends!" she whispers. Lala waters the plants every day, but it is her kind words that make them sway and nod.
Lala's wild nature and quiet compassion enchant in this evergreen story about the power of kind words and the magic of being loved for who you are.
Gracey Zhang is an illustrator and animator with a love of storytelling and verse. She is the author and illustrator of Lala's Words and the illustrator of The Big Bath House, Nigel and the Moon, and The Upside Down Hat. She was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, and received her degree in Illustration from RISD. Gracey is now based in Brooklyn, New York, where she can be found window watching from the train when she's not scribbling away at her desk. You can visit her at graceyzhang.com.
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