Skip to main content

Jump AT The Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston

 



Written by Alicia Williams
Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021. Biography.

Zora loved to listen to tales. She could sit for hours and just drink in the folktales of home,  like bee's to honey she was drawn to stories. When she was younger she would look for any excuse to go down to Joe Clarke's store and sit on the front porch and listen to the tales being swapped . When she started telling her own tales, her father and grandmother would get upset with her for telling lies, but her mother saw the value in her stories and she encouraged her to "jump at the sun." Her mother said she may not land on the sun but at least she would get off the ground. So Zora did just as her mother said and she jumped. Even when life was hard she continued to jump and try and through determination and grit she eventually achieved her dream of becoming a writer of stories.

This delightful biography will inspire you to want to learn more, read more, and dream more. The text and illustrations of this book showcase Zora's world in beautiful rich colors that captures the lively enthusiasm and passion Zora had for life and for storytelling. This is a well told inspirational book about Zora Hurston's life and her drive to become a story-catcher. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co

Review: The Enigma Girls

  The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma

Review: The Hidden Dragon

The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."