A Starred Review for THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM!

THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM: THE STORY OF JUNETEENTH AND HOUSTON’S EMANCIPATION PARK received a Publisher’s Weekly starred review! Starred reviews indicate that a book is of especially high quality, according to PW, a high honor for me as a debut picture book author. I’m hoping this translates into lots of buzz and sales once the book releases on May 14.

Check out the full review below:

“They built me to remember.// June 19, 1865./ The day enslaved people found out the truth” writes Duncan Ellis in this moving tribute to Houston’s Emancipation Park, narrated in the park’s voice. Rousing first-person prose lingers on the park’s creation (“They built me to show they were strong…. to celebrate…. to play”) as well as its seasonal transformation during years of use, neglect, and rejuvenation. Mohammed’s layered application of color and printmaking textures reflect the past and present—in one spread, contemporary park-goers observe the sky, where the ghostly images of formerly enslaved people appear to march toward a new day. Subsequent page turns transport readers to 1865, then forward in time as the park is built, a later celebration banner notes the “25th Year of Freedom,” and protest signs read “Power to the People.” Now, “a different generation visits,” as present-day park-goers of various abilities, body types, and skin tones make use of the spot of nature in a bustling city, recalling “their ancestors and all they overcame…./ Singing songs of jubilee… running free.” A contextualizing note concludes. Ages 4–8. (May)