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The Deepest Blue

A person with goggles and a snorkel swims underwater; the text reads “The Deepest Blue,” with writing credits for Shauntay Grant and illustration by Daniel Miulter.

Written by Shauntay Grant, illustrated by Daniel Minter

From acclaimed author Shauntay Grant and Caldecott Honor-winning artist Daniel Minter comes a stunning picture book in which a young girl dives to uncover a sunken slave ship. Expressive verse and beautiful artwork serve as a tribute to both heritage and history, while shining a light on the real divers who explore these shipwrecks.

* To convey the feeling of descending to the depths of the ocean, this book is meant to be read vertically *

A past
that’s passed from me
to you:
the dearest,
darkest,
deepest blue.

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The Creator

Woman with medium-length twisted hair, wearing a black top and red earrings, smiling at the camera against a plain light background.

Shauntay Grant

Shauntay Grant is an author, poet, playwright, and multidisciplinary artist. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University. A former poet laureate for the city of Halifax, her honors include a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, and a Poet of Honour prize from the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
A man wearing glasses and a black cap sits with his hands clasped in front of his face, looking at the camera. The background is blurred.

Daniel Minter

Daniel Minter is an American artist known for his work in the mediums of painting and assemblage. He is a visual storyteller and accomplished illustrator. Minter’s artwork reflects abiding themes of displacement and diaspora; ordinary/extraordinary blackness; spirituality in the Afro-Atlantic world; and the (re)creation of meanings of home. Minter’s paintings, carvings, block prints, and sculptures have been exhibited both nationally and internationally at galleries and museums. He is the co-founder and creative visionary of the Portland Freedom Trail, a system of granite and bronze markers that constitutes a permanent walking trail highlighting the people, places, and events associated with the anti-slavery movement in Portland. Minter’s work also marks the Malaga Island Trail which remembers the Black, European and Native American residents of the island who were forcibly removed by the state of Maine in 1912. He has illustrated over a dozen children’s books and is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor and Caldecott Honor. Minter is the co-founder and Artist Director of Indigo Arts Alliance, the founding organization of this festival.

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