The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water is a children's picture book, written in verse, by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, with illustrations by Nikkolas Smith. The book was announced in April 2021 as a companion book to The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, both inspired by Hannah-Jones' The 1619 Project.[1]

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water
Author
IllustratorNikkolas Smith
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherKokila
Publication date
November 16, 2021
Pages48
ISBN9780593307359

Reception edit

The book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which noted how "the authors clearly but non-graphically confront the horror of chattel slavery." According to the reviewer, Smith also used different styles to convey different emotions, such as a "saturated palette to create emotionally evocative scenes", while "multicolor palettes illustrate scenes of peace and joy."[2]

Writing for The Horn Book, Autumn Allen praised the poetry and the art, calling the latter "dynamic, expressive, and expansive" and able to show the "emotional journey of a resilient people."[3] In a review for the School Library Journal, Claire Moore, who gave The 1619 Project a star, praised the writing and the art.[4]

Born on the Water ranked #1 on The New York Times Best Seller List Children's Picture Book category, on December 5, 2021.[5] Time for Kids a division of Time included Born on the Water on the list, "The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2021."[6]

References edit

  1. ^ Schaub, Michael (April 13, 2021). "The 1619 Project Adapted for Two Books This Fall". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Children's Book Review: The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, illus. by Nikkolas Smith". Publishers Weekly. 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  3. ^ Allen, Autumn. "Review of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson, and Nikkolas Smith". The Horn Book. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Moore, Claire. "The 1619 Project: Born on the Water". School Library Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Children's Picture Books". The New York Times. December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Mauez, Shay (December 9, 2021). "The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2021". Time. Retrieved December 10, 2021.