The Talk

by Alicia D Williams (Author) Briana Mukodiri Uchendu (Illustrator)

The Talk
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

As a little boy grows into a bigger boy, ready to take on the world, he first must have that very difficult conversation far too familiar to so many Black and Brown Americans in this gentle and ultimately hopeful picture book.

Jay's most favorite things are hanging out with his pals, getting kisses from Grandma, riding in his dad's cool car, and getting measured by his mom with pencil marks on the wall. But as those height marks inch upward, Grandpa warns Jay about being in too big a group with his friends, Grandma worries others won't see him as quite so cute now that he's older, and Dad has to tell Jay how to act if the police ever pull them over.

And Jay just wants to be a kid.

All Black and Brown kids get The Talk--the talk that could mean the difference between life and death in a racist world. Told in an age-appropriate fashion, with a perfect pause for parents to insert their own discussions with their children to accompany prompting illustrations, The Talk is a gently honest and sensitive starting point for this far-too-necessary conversation, for Black children, Brown children, and for ALL children. Because you can't make change without knowing what needs changing.

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School Library Journal

Starred Review

K-Gr 2--Jay and his friends love to race each other and be kids; when the marks on the wall show that Jay, who is African American, has grown a couple of inches, his mother looks on sadly because the world won't see him as a little boy anymore. When he and his friends hang out together, some people aren't happy about it. Jay's grandpa warns them not to crowd in groups of more than four because people may think they're troublemakers. As Jay grows into a young man, his parents continue to warn him about how to behave in public and what to do when stopped by the police. Before Jay leaves the house in a black hoodie with the hood up, his family sits him down for "the talk." Though it's not an easy conversation, Jay's family reminds him that whatever happens is never his fault and that he is surrounded and supported by his family. This picture book is an excellent portrayal of the difficult conversations many Black and brown families have with their children to keep them safe. Powerful illustrations capture every stage of Jay's growth from fun-loving kid to young man. There is a wordless spread depicting instances of racial profiling and injustice that allows readers and their adults to have a self-guided discussion about the images and the feelings they evoke. VERDICT This powerful picture book about race, family, and growing up is an essential purchase for every library's collection, putting words to an impossible and necessary conversation, and giving children whose families don't have "the talk" a window for understanding and an opportunity for compassion and change.--Myiesha Speight

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Williams (Jump at the Sun) writes tenderly about a playful, athletic Black boy named Jay who's growing like a weed at the speed of light. When he becomes too big to be little and too lean to have "chub in my cheeks," his family gives him variations of The Talk. As Jay spends time playing with best friends, all portrayed with brown skin, they're advised to no longer gather in groups. "Grandpa says, I believe y'all could be the next/ Thurgood Marshall, Elijah McCoy, and Bessie Coleman.// But some folks might think you're the next troublemaker." Whether he's visiting a store or walking down the street in a new hoodie, Jay's relatives offer tips for how he might survive an anti-Black world, sure to tell him that "I'm not to blame" and that "I'm the beat of their hearts; the joy in their smiles." This portrayal of a close-knit family and Jay's Black kid joy is as warmhearted as it is resolute, while digitally rendered illustrations by debut artist Uchendu depict desaturated instances of racial prejudice as well as brightly hopeful portraits of Black luminaries, providing an emotive realism to Jay's maturation and his family's greatest fears and dreams. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. Illustrator's agent: Jessica Saint Jean, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Oct.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Alicia D Williams
Alicia D. Williams's debut, the middle-grade novel Genesis Begins Again, received a Newbery Honor and was a Kirkus Prize nominee and a Morris Award finalist. It also won the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Author Award. Alicia is a graduate of the MFA program at Hamline University. An oral storyteller in the African American tradition, she also teaches kindergarten. Learn more at aliciadwilliams.com.

April Harrison, a renowned folk artist, is the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning illustrator of Patricia C. McKissack's final picture book, What Is Given from the Heart, which received four starred reviews and which the New York Times Book Review called an "exquisite story of generosity." Most recently, she illustrated Nana Akua Goes to School by Patricia Elam Walker. Her work appears in the public collections of Vanderbilt University, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, the Atlanta Housing Authority, and the Erskine University Museum and in many private collections.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781534495296
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Atheneum Books
Publication date
October 20, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV039120 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
Library of Congress categories
African Americans
Picture books
Family life
Race relations
Conduct of life
Growth

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