Click on book to order
 Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor's Life |  Mrs. Nelson's Class |  American Ace |
 My Seneca Village |  How I Discovered Poetry |  Sweethearts of Rhythm |
 The Freedom Business |  Miss Crandle's School |  A Wreath for Emmet Till |
 Fortune's Bones |  Carver, a Life in Poems |
Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life (forthcoming January 25, 2022)
Augusta Savage was arguably the most influential American artist of the 1930s. A gifted sculptor, Savage was commissioned to create a portrait bust of W.E.B. Du Bois for the New York Public Library. She flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, and became a teacher to an entire generation of African American artists, including Jacob Lawrence, and would go on to be nationally recognized as one of the featured artists at the 1939 World’s Fair. She was the first-ever recorded Black gallerist. After being denied an artists’ fellowship abroad on the basis of race, Augusta Savage worked to advance equal rights in the arts. And yet popular history has forgotten her name. Deftly written and brimming with photographs of Savage’s stunning sculpture, this is an important portrait of an exceptional artist. For fans of One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.
American Ace
“Inspired by her father’s remarkable experiences as a Tuskegee Airman, esteemed historian-poet Nelson has aced it again. . . . This slice of history has been told before, but not like this.”—Booklist
“Nelson’s powerful command of language is inarguable.”—Publishers Weekly
“A quietly powerful story about race, ignorance, and identity from a poetry master.”—Bustle.com
“A skillful exploration into identity, culture, and race.”—Examiner.com
“A gorgeous story that stays with you long after you finish.”—Buzzfeed
“A bright spot in historical fiction.”—BookPage
My Seneca Village
“This beautifully crafted and powerful collection of poems deals with a brief period (1825-57) in New York City’s storied past. …In the spirit of Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology, this work touches on historical truths (footnoted throughout) but introduces a fleeting time and place through the everyday hopes and dreams of its residents….This rich and diverse (a variety of poetic forms, including ones invented for certain speakers, are featured) piece of American literature belongs in every collection.”—School Library Journal
“Nelson’s natural and musical poetic lines (mostly in iambic pentameter) suggest reading aloud yet are accessible on the page and lend themselves to multiple reading experiences: as history; as story; as poetry, to be read sequentially or browsed and revisited. …[O]ne of Nelson’s finest works.” —The Horn Book
How I Discovered Poetry
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Horn Book Fanfare Book
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book
NPR’s Book Concierge 2014 Great Reads List
Sweethearts of Rhythm
“Nelson brings her signature poetic treatment of history to this outstanding collaboration…The book…is a stellar integration of art and text.” —Kirkus
“Nelson’s syncopated poetry jives perfectly with Pinkney’s layered watercolors…a vibrant volume.” —School Library Journal
“[A] book with rich rewards.” —Horn Book
The Freedom Business
“An astonishing, heartbreaking cycle of poems is set in counterpoint against the slave narrative that inspired them.” —Kirkus
Miss Crandle’s School
A Wreath for Emmet Till
“Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement. This martyr’s wreath, woven from a little-known but sophisticated form of poetry, challenges us to speak out against modern-day injustices…” —Goodreads
“What Nelson has written is far more than an elegy, and for me there is no stronger evidence of this than the final image, which ensures that the reader will never–NEVER–forget. A MUST-read.” —Linda Sue Park
“This is a book that packs a wallop.” —Guys Lit Wire
Carver, a Life in Poems
“eloquent verses told in different voices that come together as a tight-knit documentary.” —Alison Follos, School Library Journal
“… a compelling and revealing portrait of Carver’s complex, richly interior, profoundly devout life.” —Goodreads
“…beautiful and engaging.” —Emily Phillips