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Books
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Origins of Hip Hop
Illustrated by Theodor3, a hot, young new artist, this new picture book by Laban Carrick Hill tells the story of the Godfather of Hip Hop. When DJ Kool Herc spun records for his sister's sweet sixteen birthday in the South Bronx in the 1970s, he didn't know that he would invent rap and hip hop. But that's what he did. This is the amazing story of how a kid scratched and rapped his way into starting an entire new music. Publishers Weekly: "Here’s a twofer: an expert biography of a hip hop and rap pioneer, and a not-to-be-missed picture-book debut by Taylor, a Washington, D.C.–based artist. Herc, an aspiring DJ and reluctant immigrant from Jamaica to the Bronx, was working a house party at his Sedgwick Avenue housing project when inspiration struck: he put the same record on two turntables to extend the break in a song (“when the lyrics ended and the music bumped and thumped”) and added verbal riffs drawn from Jamaican chanting and toasting. “Kool Herc’s music made everybody happy,” writes Hill (Dave the Potter). “Even street gangs wanted to dance, not fight.” Hill walks the fine line between knowledgeable reporter and passionate fan (as is clear in his vivid author’s note), and Taylor does the same, using a meticulous inkline and washes of textured earth tones to convey both a sense of observational precision and a mural-like expressionism. Whether Taylor is zooming in on Herc’s dexterous hands manipulating the turntables or pulling back for a birds-eye view of the first break dance performances, he makes readers feel like they’re present at hip-hop’s inception." Coming August 2013 with Roaring Brook Press
Dave the Potter
New York Times Bestseller 2011 Caldecott Honor 2011 Coretta Scott King Gold Award for Illustrations Chicago Public Library's 2010 Best of the Best List New York Public Library's 2010 Best 100 Books of the Year Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2011 “An inspiring story, perfectly presented....Outstanding in every way.” School Library Journal, Starred Review Illustrated by award-winning artist Brian Collier, this new picture books is a poem about the slave potter Dave who wrote his own poems on the sides of his pots. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Dave, a slave potter who was not meant to be remembered because he was a slave and considered property. Dave however wrote poems on the sides of his pots and ensured that his work would live well beyond his death. This poem explores the story of Dave's work and his struggle to be remembered.
America Dreaming: How Youth Changed America in the 60s
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age Selection! Starred Selection, Best Children's Book 2008, Bank Street College 2007 Parenting Publications Gold Award! "An excellent textbook for the children and, probably, grandchildren of baby boomers who want to know what the youth culture of the time was all about."–New York Times Book Review "America Dreaming is a phenomenal piece of work, extensively researched and visually stimulating; an essential resource for children and adults of all ages. Laban Hill has built a time machine with this book, bringing to life not only the music and culture of the 1960s but also the turbulence of change, politics and people standing up for what they believed in."–Howard Zinn "This is a great book. It tells an important story and tells it well--and pictures it well too."–Pete Seeger, singer/songwriter
A Brush with Napoleon
What is the point of art? Is it to transform the viewer or to create propaganda? In this novel Jean discovers the struggle that artist David lives with in trying to create great paintings and please Napoleon. Coming Winter 2007
Casa Azul
"In Casa Azul, Laban Carrick Hill has woven a strange and wonderful tale, as compelling, surprising, and surreal as Frida Kahlo¹s paintings. A powerful look at one of the 20th century's great artists, and at the magical world in which she lived." --Pete Hautman, author of Godless, 2004 National Book Award Winner
Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance
2004 National Book Award Finalist, Harlem Stomp! is a breathtaking whirlwind tour through this fascinating era. Lavishly designed and illustrated, it’s a virtual time capsule, packed with poetry, prose, photographs, paintings, and historical documents that introduce the amazing lives and work of such notable figures as: Louis Armstrong, Aaron Douglas, W. E. B. Du Bois, Duke Ellington, Jessie Fauset, Marcus Garvey, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, and Augusta Savage.
Contemporary Poetry of New England
This collection of 178 recent poems about New England is a testament to the region’s enduring power as a source of inspiration for poets. Laban Carrick Hill has two poems included in the anthology.
Xtreme Mysteries
Book 1: Deep Powder Deep Trouble Book 2: Crossed Tracks Book 3: Rocked Out: A Summer X-Games Special Book 4: Half Pipe Rip-Off Book 5: Lost Wake Book 6: Out of Line Book 7: Spiked Snow Book 8: Total Whiteout |
Selected Works1. Nonfiction
"Here’s a twofer: an expert biography of a hip hop and rap pioneer, and a not-to-be-missed picture-book debut by Taylor."--Publishers Weekly
"Phenomenal."–Howard Zinn "Excellent."–New York Times Book Review
“Harlem Stomp! is a wonderous new book: it celebrates a time, a place, an energy, and a people who refused to be held back and so they created a culture the entire world is still reeling from.”
--George C. Wolfe, writer, director, and producer of the Public Theater, NYC 3. Poetry
A picturebook poem describing the life of the slave potter Dave. Illustrated by Bryan Collier.
“Contemporary Poetry of New England offers a vivid portrait of a region, its colors and smells, its physical and emotional textures, and the people…. It presents a range of poets, few of whom would call themselves a “region poet,” although each has taken to heart in a private way Frost’s haunting dictum: ‘Locality gives art.’”
--from the Introduction 2. Fiction
A seventeen-year-old is plucked out of the Grande Armee to sit in place of Napoleon for a portrait of the Emperor by the artist David.
"I felt like a kid reading every word on the page! I liked the strains of "magic realism" coming through in Frida's house! Children will relate to this very much! The story is charming and reads like a thriller." –Margarita Aguilar, Assisant Curator, El Museo del Barrio
4. Middle Grade Series
These kids love extreme sports--snowboarding, skateboarding, rock climbing, wake boarding--and are ready to fight when the right to do their sport is threatened. |
