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Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey Open the full-size image

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Contributors

By Andrea Pinkney

Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Sep 5, 1995
Page Count
32 pages
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13
9780786810772

Price

$9.99

Price

$12.99 CAD

Format

Picture Book

Format:

Picture Book $9.99 $12.99 CAD

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An informative and inspiring biography of Alvin Ailey, the great African-American dancer and choreographer, created by TheNew York Times bestselling and award-winning duo Andrea David Pinkney and Brian Pinkey. 
 
Since he was a young boy in Navasota, Texas, Alvin Ailey loved to stomp his feed and clap his hands to the music of the True Vine Baptist choir. Later, he learned how to dance. He spent some time with the best teachers of the era and eventually started his own modern dance company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 
 
This is the story of Alvin Ailey’s life—a life that left its imprint as much on the history of the American people as on the history of modern dance.
 
Don’t miss the other Great Black Performers biographies:
Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
 

Genre:

  • Children's Books
  • |
  • Juvenile Nonfiction Biography & Autobiography Performing Arts

Series:

  • Great Black Performers

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of nearly 50 books for young readers, among them The Red Pencil and A Poem for Peter, as well as several collaborations with her husband Brian Pinkney, including Sit -In and Hand in Hand, which received the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor medals.

The Pinkneys have been named among the "25 Most Influential People in Our Children's Lives" by Children's Health magazine. They live in Brooklyn, New York.

  • "[A] simply told but inspiring story of a pioneer in American modern dance...Brian Pinkney's illustrations convey Alvin Ailey's grace as a dancer as well as his strength ad pride in his art."
    Horn Book, starred review
  • "This attractive introduction, based on interviews with many who knew Ailey, will leave readers hungry for more."
    Kirkus
  • "In their first children's book collaboration, this markedly talented husband-and-wife team offers a warm profile of dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey..."
    Publishers Weekly
  • "This handsome picture-book biography pays tribute to modern dancer Alvin Ailey, who's best known for interpreting African American culture through his dancing and choreography."
    Booklist
  • "An accessible picture-book biography that recounts Ailey's boyhood...the book is both informative and inspiring and will make an excellent addition to most collections."
    School Library Journal

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Andrea Pinkney

About the Author

Andrea Davis Pinkney has written several acclaimed books for middle grade readers, including the novels Bird in a Box, a Today Show Al Roker Book Club pick, and With the Might of Angels, a book in the Dear America series. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner. Andrea’s many picture books include Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, a New York Times best-seller and a Jane Addams Honor Book, which was illustrated by her husband, Brian Pinkney. She and her family live in Brooklyn, New York.

Brian Pinkney (www.brianpinkney.net) has frequently collaborated with his wife, Andrea Davis Pinkney. Some of their other books include, Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride, Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation, and Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, for which Brian was awarded a Caldecott Honor. Brian was also a Caldecott Honoree for The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci , and he won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for In the Time of the Drums by Kim L.Siegelson.

Learn more about this author

Brian Pinkney

About the Illustrator

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor medals.

Learn more about this illustrator

Great Black Performers

Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
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