Starred review from July 5, 2021
Todd’s telling shines in this skillfully paced portrait of Eunice Kathleen Waymon (1933–2003)—more widely known by her stage name of Nina Simone—which traces her journey from a piano-playing child in North Carolina to later years as a performer, protest song pioneer, and civil rights activist. In an elegantly told story, Todd interweaves Simone’s encounters with racism throughout, eventually paralleling Simone’s experiences with concurrent events during the civil rights movement: “But while Nina sang of love, something else stirred in the streets of Philadelphia. A low rumble of anger and fear—the sound of Black people rising, rising, unwilling to accept being treated as less than human.” Caldecott Honoree Robinson contributes distinctive, carefully constructed vignettes of Simone rendered in acrylic paint, collage, and digitally in a predominantly earth-toned palette; in one particularly moving series of illustrations, Robinson constructs historical scenes—Black protestors getting hosed by white cops, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing by the KKK in Birmingham, people gathering at the Washington Monument after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination—beneath or atop the lid of Simone’s grand piano. An engaging, affecting, and powerful biography that aptly situates Simone’s enduring legacy in musical and social history. Back matter includes more about Simone and a bibliography. Ages 4–8.
August 1, 2021
Grades 1-3 *Starred Review* Nina Simone's beauty and talent is given prominent expression by multiaward-winning Robinson in this picture-book biography. With artwork highlighting the musician's profile, Robinson emphasizes Simone's noble stature as a musician who combined her love of classical music with church standards and jazz to create a unique style that soared to prominence alongside her dedication to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Often shown facing her piano, whether on her father's lap or at Carnegie Hall, the woman born as Eunice Kathleen Waymon is always foremost in the images, while Todd's prose eloquently tells her story from childhood to fame. Woven through the narrative is Simone's lifelong awareness of the injustices Black Americans faced, from watching her parents forced out of the front row to make room for a white couple during a childhood recital in her hometown to learning from prominent friends about the tumult and violence faced by Black people in the south as the movement for equality gained steam. Robinson's illustrations subtly portray the subject's transformation, particularly in her clothes, which gradually move from more subdued dresses to her bold, colorful, and Afrocentric signature style. In her end material, Todd provides additional biographical details for readers interested in gleaning more about the renowned woman. A worthy biography for all collections and especially for those that serve music-loving children.
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Starred review from November 1, 2021
Gr 2-6-This book begins with a little girl, Nina Simone, who has a gift and a passion for music, whether gospel, jazz, or classical. As Simone grows up, she begins to notice more inequities and injustices. Her anger grows, and the focus of the book shifts to issues of the civil rights movement and Simone's role within it. Discussions of racism and resistance are undertaken with a skillful hand, not exceeding the tone or maturity level appropriate for young readers. Robinson's jewel-tone artwork is colorful, engaging, and complements Todd's lyrical text, supporting comprehension and revealing additional details about the time. For example, in one of the opening images, the subject's mother is hanging up laundry while chickens peck around baby Nina in a basket. The character's expressive faces add another dimension that will leave kids much to ponder. This is especially notable in a scene between two families who are segregated, where everyone is hurt by this unjust separation. This title would support curricular units on civil rights, biography, theme, and identity. Back matter includes more details about the artist's life and her relationship to the civil rights movement. VERDICT An excellent and magnetic biography, this book is highly recommended in all elementary collections and should be considered for libraries serving older students.-Christina Salazar, Mesquite I.S.D., TX
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from August 1, 2021
This biography of African American icon Nina Simone follows the development of her early musical talent to her popularity as a musician during the civil rights movement. Born in North Carolina in 1933, Eunice Kathleen Waymon "sang before she could talk and found rhythm before she could walk." Her mama, a minister, sang only church songs, and her daddy played the upright piano, teaching Eunice to play jazz when Mama was out. From the age of 3, Eunice played music at church while Mama preached. Eunice's gift was undeniable, and the White woman Mama cleaned for during the week helped arrange music lessons, where Eunice learned classical piano, falling in love with Bach's music. After high school, Eunice went to New York City to attend the Juilliard School of Music. But when she auditioned for a transfer to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she was not accepted, and she felt her dream of being a musician slipping away. When she took jobs in nightclubs, she performed as Nina Simone to keep her mother from discovering her secret. The narrative includes details of the love and support of family and community that gave Nina her early start, the disappointments and humiliations she suffered because of racism, and the determination and sheer love of music and of her people that carried her to success despite the setbacks. Todd's musical prose allows readers into Nina's perspective, and Robinson's scenes and portraits absolutely sing with energy, keeping pace perfectly with the text as it expands beyond typical picture-book length. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Do not miss this complex story of an American legend. (note) (Picture book/biography. 4-10)
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July 1, 2021
Pianist, singer, and composer Nina Simone was born Eunice Waymon in rural North Carolina in 1933, a child "who had music on the inside." Treated by turns as a prodigy, curiosity, and nuisance, after high school Eunice left North Carolina for NYC and Juilliard. After a series of indignities and disappointments, she began performing at a nightclub in Atlantic City; her growing fame led Eunice to change her name to Nina Simone in an attempt to hide her "unholy" music from her mother. At the same time, the momentum of the ongoing civil rights movement was a "relentless, demanding" drumbeat that proved impossible to ignore; and as Simone felt more pressure (internal and external) to speak out against racism, she decided she was done playing nice, as politeness "had gotten her people nothing." Robinson (You Matter, rev. 9/20; Milo Imagines the World, rev. 3/21) punctuates this section with flame-like cut paper and sooty smudges symbolizing the "steady, rising roar" of injustice, culminating in a double-page spread showing Nina and her band playing against a fiery backdrop. Todd ends her unflinching narrative with a perfectly placed, direct-address line: "And when she sang of Black children -- you lovely, precious dreams -- her voice sounded like hope." This unexpected, yet needed, outpouring of love is the perfect end to a stunning book. An author's note "About Nina Simone" and a bibliography are appended.
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)