GREATNESS

A Black family looks back on the past—and ahead to a bright future.

Nasir and Imani love visiting their grandmother, a famous photographer. Today she has a surprise: “When I was your age, my momma showed me this book of photographs and told me, This is what greatness looks like.” With each turn of the page, the kids—and readers—are transported to a world of Black greatness. An image of Bessie Coleman inspires Imani to dig through Grandma’s old clothes until she becomes the spitting image of the famed pilot, while Nasir takes inspiration from the Tuskegee Airmen for his matching costume. The illustrations effectively blend stock photos of the storied subjects with contemporary photos (taken by the authors) of the two youngsters reenacting pivotal moments of Black history, including Ruby Bridges becoming the first Black student to enroll in an all-white school in Louisiana and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ protest at the 1968 Olympics. Flourishes of sparkling light swirling through the scenes make clear that Grandma’s book is infused with a bit of magic. Pages and pages of costumed portraiture are equal parts empowering and delightful as the narrative shifts focus to more contemporary figures such as Colin Kaepernick and Beyoncé, culminating with the acknowledgment that Nasir and Imani could very well be great themselves someday.

A stirring portrait of Black excellence.