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Breanna J. McDaniel honors the life of legendary librarian Augusta Baker.

On this week’s Fully Booked podcast,Breanna J. McDaniel discusses Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller (Dial Books, Feb. 6), illustrated by April Harrison. In this heartfelt picture book, author, speaker, and educator McDaniel celebrates the life and legacy of Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services for all branches at the New York Public Library.

Here’s a bit from our starred review of Go Forth and Tell:

“Raised in Baltimore on her grandmother’s tales, Augusta Braxton Baker grew up with the deep certainty that stories are powerful. Powerful enough to make Augusta realize her true calling, ‘guiding children of all ages through the wide and wonderful spaces of her stories.’ Powerful enough to bring her to the 135th Street Branch of the NYPL, where she introduced young readers such as James Baldwin and Audre Lorde to the words that would inspire them to write their own….There’s thoughtfulness here in the craft and pacing of [McDaniel’s] prose, certainly; reverence, too, in the textured layers of Harrison’s mixed-media and visual storytelling. But more than anything, simple care is evident. Care for a Black librarian who sought out every gap a tale could bridge, who shattered barriers to ensure Black children would see themselves on library shelves, and whose legacy continues to this day exactly as it began—in the thrall of good stories.”

McDaniel is the author of Impossible Moon, Hands Up!,and four forthcoming picture books including Cute Toot (Henry Holt, April 23). An alumna of Emory and Simmons universities, she holds a doctorate in education and is a cofounder of REIYL (Researchers Exploring Inclusive Youth Literature).

We begin our conversation with a few highlights from the remarkable life of August Braxton Baker. McDaniel shares how she first learned of Baker’s legacy and how the legendary librarian helped foster a love of storytelling—and listening—in countless young readers, including James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. We then discuss the immeasurable impact of McDaniel’s childhood librarian, Michelle Carnes, to whom the book is dedicated; reading as a point of connection between people; one of the most significant storytellers in Baker’s young life: her grandmother; the strength of the language McDaniel uses to acknowledge the dearth of kind and accurate depictions of Black characters in children’s books; April Harrison’s gorgeous illustrations for Go Forth and Tell; what McDaniel loves about picture books as an art form; and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, and Eric Liebetrau share their top picks in books for the week.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky by Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein (Putnam)

There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables by Kyle Lukoff, illus. by Andrea Tsurumi (Henry Holt)

Latinoland: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority by Marie Arana (Simon & Schuster)

ALSO MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:

The Man Called Brown Condore: The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot by Thomas E. Simmons

Escargot by Dashka Slater, illus. by Sydney Hanson

Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Love, Loss, and Honor: The Palouse by Herbert Wiens

Restless by Alicia Cahalane Lewis