There Was A Party For Langston written by Jason Reynolds, a Newberry Award Honoree, and illustrated by award-winning brothers Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey is a terrific salute to the beloved author Langston Hughes. This picture book is full of color, sound-words, movement, music, people, and love! The energy of the story pulls the reader into a unique understanding of Langston Hughes and his great talent.
He was a king of letters, as the story proclaims, who influenced many writers including James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, and Tony Morrison. “And that’s why there was a party for Langston at the library. A fancy-foot, get-down, all-out bash.”
The clever illustrations were created with handmade stamps by the Pumphrey brothers. The figures are full of energy on every page and tell the story in most unusual and eye-catching ways.
The introduction of Maya Angelou halfway through this picture book is brilliant. The deep navy blue sky gives the reader the opportunity to
experience Maya outlined in white with constellations dancing about. “She rose up from the floor, flapping like a free bird.”
There Was A Party for Langston written by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey is a beautiful telling of how artists can and do influence each other----especially Langston Hughes. The story, designed for readers 4-8 years of age and up places its action in the New York Public Library----at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. ( A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book/ Atheneum Books/imprint of Simon and Schuster) 2023.
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Activity Questions for There Was A Party For Langston
Jason Reynolds, the author of this book, states in his notes at the back of the book that among his favorite poems by Langston are “Caged Bird” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Locate these poems online with the help of Mom or Dad. Read them both aloud. Then, select one of them for which to draw an accompanying illustration—use pencils, crayons, watercolors, or any other creative materials you have such as found materials.
Look through this book and delight in the dancing. Be sure to specifically study the dancing of Amiri and Maya. Then select either the moments of Amiri or the movements of Maya and dance! Have fun!
Older readers can go to online resources and find out more about the Schomburg Center for Research in Black History at the New York Public Library in Harlem.
