John Steptoe by Courtney Bottjen

John Steptoe

 

Born September 15th, 1950 in Brooklyn.

Started working on his first picture book when he was 16 years old.

First book was published when he was 18 years old.  

Has illustrated 16 books, 10 that he wrote himself.

Has the John Steptoe New Talent Award given in his honor for authors and illustrators.  

Steptoe wrote and illustrated books that dealt with issues and important events in the African American community.  He had 2 Caldecott honor books, won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, A Coretta Scott King Award, and more.   

Quotes from John Steptoe:
"I am not an exception to the rule among my race of people.  I am the rule.  By that I mean there are a great many others like me where I come from."

"When I give teacher workshops I am not afraid to say I am racist.  We are all racist.  When I talk to librarians I tell them to write letters to editors saying, we are tired of what they are publishing because all the kids we're teaching are not Dick and Jane.  They don't live in that world, they don't look like that, they don't talk like that, and they are being hurt and need something better." 

"What I try to create are all the things I didn't have as a kid that I would have liked to read.  I'm in a position to do them now and if they're worth while I share them."

Books

All the Colors of the Race (1992).	Birthday (1997)	Creativity (1997)	Daddy is a Monster…Sometimes (1983)
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (1987)  Stevie (1971)	She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl (1993)	Stevie (	Thank You, Jackie Robinson (1997)

Link to information about John Steptoe
There are many interesting things to learn and read about John Steptoe.  His website http://johnsteptoe.com/ gives a look into his biography, books he has written and illustrated, awards and recognition, and more! 

Book Reflections
Fortunately the UNI library did have a small collection of books that John Steptoe wrote, and I got to read a few of them.  After reading some of his books, I understand why he is a famous and award-winning author.

The Story of Jumping Mouse

This story is about a small mouse, who is named Jumping Mouse, who wants to travel to a far-off land that he has heard about from other mice.  On his journey he meets many characters that help him along the way.  His journey becomes harder when he accidentally gives his eye sight to a bison, but he finds hope within himself and keeps going.  He gives another animal his sense of smell, and when he finally does reach the far-off land he is very sad.  The Magic Frog grants him his sense of smell and his sight back since he was so unselfish, and turns him into an eagle so that he can be in the far-off land forever.  This book was definitely different from others I have read, especially picture books.  All of the symbolism and deeper meaning was enlightening for me, as a college student, but I think small children would enjoy it because of the adventurous story line. 

Creativity

This book is about a boy named Charles who has to help out the new kid Hector, who is half Spanish and half black.  Charles gets confused because he and Hector look the same, but Hector speaks Spanish.  Charles wants to teach Hector to speak better English, and he realizes that everyone speaks their language in their own unique way.  He also stands up for Hector when the other boys are making fun of him because he doesn’t dress like the rest of them.  He learns that everyone is creative in their own way and should be able to express themselves.  I think this book would be a great one to share in the classroom.  It gives students a perfect outline of what they can do if a new student comes to school and needs their help.  He wrote sounding like an actual young student, and that added a lot to the book.    

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

This story is about a man named Mufaro who lived in Africa with his two daughters.  The one daughter Manyara was always mean to her sister Nyasha because she is jealous of her.  Nyasha is always nice to her sister despite her remarks.  Mufaro wanted one of his daughter to marry the king, so he sent them both to see if one of them would be chosen.  Manyara left on her journey to the king a night early, by herself, and everyone was frightened when they found out she was missing.  Manyara got turned away by a horrific creature when she reached the king’s home, but Nyasha was greeted by a snake she has seen in her garden many times.  The snake transformed into a king.  He had also been in the forest watching her the whole time, and saw that she was a sweet girl.  Nyasha agreed to marry the king, and Manyara was a servant in her household.  This book had a similar feel to the Story of Jumping Mouse in that there was deep symbolism behind the characters, dialogue, and plot structure.  I noticed that he uses strong and noble African American characters in Creativity, and Mufaro’s.  I love the way he writes in seeming to choose each word and event carefully, and the stories build but don’t have to seem big and dramatic. 

 Sources
Amazon-http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Ajohn+steptoe+books&page=2&keywords=john+steptoe+books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366934535
Scholastic- http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bookwizard/books-by/john-steptoe?items_per_page=40
Project Muse- http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v011/11.1.natov02.html
Harper Collins- http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=12770