In his house he colors on anything and everything within reach. “Somewhere in Brooklyn, a little boy dreams of being a famous artist, not knowing that one day he will make himself a KING.” That boy is an artist already, though not famous yet. That kid knew something good when he saw it. But that little boy knew him and if his latest picture book biography Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is even half as good as I think it is, a whole host of children will follow suit. Why? Well aside from the fact that he’s essentially children’s book royalty (his father was the groundbreaking African-American picture book author/illustrator John Steptoe) he’s one of the most impressive / too-little-known artists working today. Walk up to your nearest children’s librarian and insist on a full fledged heaping helping of Javaka. I wish every single kid in America followed that little boy’s lead. He walks right up to me, looks me dead in the eye, and says, “I want all your Javaka Steptoe books.” Essentially this child was a living embodiment of my greatest dream for mankind. They go off to read some books and eventually the younger son, I’d say around four years of age, approaches my desk.

True Story: I’m working the children’s reference desk of the Children’s Room at 42nd Street of New York Public Library a couple years ago and a family walks in.

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe