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Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival

Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival

Supporting professional and emerging artists of African descent

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    • About The Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival
    • Ashley Bryan’s Legacy
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  • Discover Our Books
    • A Feast for Joseph By OD Bonny & Terry Farish & Illustrated by Ken Daley
    • Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life Written & Illustrated by Ashley Bryan
    • Indigo Dreaming By Dinah JohnsonIndigo Dreaming & Illustrated by Anna Cunha
    • Moonflower By Kacen Callender & Illustrated by Daniel Minter
    • Stuntboy: In The Meantime By Jason Reynolds & Illustrated by Raúl the Third
    • When I Get Older: The Story behind “Wavin’ Flag” By K’NAAN & Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
    • The Year I Flew Away By Marie Arnold
    • Discover Our Books (2023)
    • Discover Our Books (2021)
    • Discover Our Books (2022)
    • Discover Our Books (2020)
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Welcome to the 4th Annual

Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival

Discover Our Books

This year’s festival featured book:

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life Written & Illustrated by Ashley Bryan

This gentle yet deeply powerful way goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that can’t be bought or sold: dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his “workers,” the author has created collages around that document, and others like it.

Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry, he imagines and interprets each person’s life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about—their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an overseer or madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you’ve seen.


A Feast for Joseph By OD Bonny & Terry Farish & Illustrated by Ken Daley

Indigo Dreaming By Dinah JohnsonIndigo Dreaming & Illustrated by Anna Cunha

Moonflower
By Kacen Callender & Illustrated by Daniel Minter

Stuntboy: In The Meantime By Jason Reynolds & Illustrated by Raúl the Third

When I Get Older: The Story behind “Wavin’ Flag” By K’NAAN & Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez

The Year I Flew Away By Marie Arnold

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