Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K--This adaptation by Kendi is poetic, vigilant, and gives the original words stature by amplifying the high notes for very young children. Caregivers will delight in the cadence, and babies in the colors that Yangni splashes across every page in a piece of folklore that threads readers from a genesis of sorts to an urban landscape full of flutter-byes. People of color, a world of verdant hues, rejoice in Hurston's butterfly-laden universe. Back matter explains this story's origins, a bit about Ebonics, and other historical notes to delight adults perusing this. VERDICT This will dance off the shelves by itself, but works for Black History Month, spring roundups, highlighting poems, or just a look at the lyrical.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this board-book adaptation of a pourquoi story chronicled in Hurston's 1935 anthology Mules and Men, Kendi and Yangni collaborate to introduce young children to the African American folklore tradition and to Hurston's importance within that tradition. "The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin' de world," but then notices that the world looks too bare. So they add "trees and grass and flowers and plants"; when the flowers complain about feeling lonesome, the Creator goes "'round clippin' li'l pieces offa everything," thereby creating butterflies. Yangni's vibrant mixed-media illustrations span a range of settings -- rural and urban, historical and current -- accompanied by brilliantly colored butterflies throughout. "Butterflies were made to keep de flowers company" is the satisfying resolution. Kendi (who previously adapted a Hurston short story in Magnolia Flower, rev. 11/22) preserves Hurston's use of Black English, and his closing note provides rich historical context about both Ebonics and the importance of Hurston's work as a folklorist. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Following Magnolia Flower (2022), Kendi retells another work by Hurston, this time a tale of how butterflies were created, from her folktale anthology Mules and Men. The Creator--a Black, childlike, winged person--stares upon a newly created Earth. Bored, the Creator begins to make flowers and plants, which grow every which way. However, before the Creator's work is finished, the flowers complain of being lonely. So the Creator grabs their shears and snips pieces off everything--the sky, animals, plants, and more. As the scraps fly through the skies, the Creator calls them "flutter-bys," but they are misheard, and the people refer to them as butterflies instead. And so we have butterflies, which come in various colors and sizes. Rendered in acrylic paint, pencil, pastel, and Adobe Photoshop, the artwork creates an eye-catching collage of images in every spread. Just as folktales are greatly exaggerated, so are Yangni's brightly colored butterflies and flowers that flow throughout, similar to the tale's narration. Kendi expertly distills this word-of-mouth tale for young readers with direct quotes from Hurston's book and uses the African American vernacular, as Hurston did. His author's note gives readers the backstory regarding how the tale was told to Hurston. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An old tale is given fresh new life. (Board book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
