This picture-book look at the life and work of African American folklorist and writer Zora Neale Hurston does a masterful job of capturing both Hurston’s irrepressible personality and her writing. There’s a folkloric quality to elements of the descriptive writing (“Then her papa got a new wife who was stingier than a peacock!”) while excerpts from some of the folklore Hurston collected are interspersed occasionally in the illustrations of a book that follows Hurston from childhood, when she was already in love with stories and storytelling, to the education she worked so hard to obtain, to her work as a folklorist collecting stories from Black people in the south to, finally, the start of her career as a writer. Zora’s spirit soars across a narrative set against lively illustrations done with marker, gouache, and Photoshop. An author’s note, additional readings, and sources are included (unfortunately story excerpts are not specifically sourced). (Ages 7-10)

From the Newbery Honor–winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature.

Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.