Meet the illustrator Kadir Nelson from USA

 

"With each story, I've made it a point to the strength, love and light that dwells within every character and indeed every human being with the hopes of appealing to what 

Abraham Lincoln described as our better angels."

Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature Johns Hopkins University Press 

Volume 59, Number 4, 2021 p. 64

Nelson’s primarily figurative paintings and sculptures focus on historical narratives and heroic subjects in American culture and are often informed by the Old Masters like Ingres, Michelangelo, Hopper, and Tanner. His sumptuous settings and characters, rich palette, and realistic, yet painterly technique speaks to both modern urban realism and masterly works of turn-of-the century American painters. 

Kadir Nelson   Take a look at this page to see more art by Kadir. Here is a video interview. 

Kadir Nelson was born in 1974 in Washington D.C., he grew up in Atlantic City, NJ and San Diego, CA. He has illustrated nearly 35 books for children, including several he has authored. He uses a variety of media from watercolour and collage, but is best known for his dramatic oil paintings. While the subjects of his illustrations have ranged from young animals to imaginary giants to majestic scenery, his primary focus has been on Africans and African Americans, as a way for children of colour to see themselves represented in books, as well as for all children to acknowledge the diversity of their world.

Kadir Nelson’s art also appears on U.S. postage stamps, magazine covers and album covers. Here are some New Yorker covers. 

His five selected books are “Mama Miti” (written by Donna Jo Napoli and published by Simon & Schuster), “Heart and Soul: The Story of American and African Americans” (published by Balzer + Bray), “The Undefeated” (written by Kwame Alexander and published by HMH), “When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom” (published by Little, Brown and Cie) and “Nelson Mandela” (published by Katherine Tegen Books. 

Kirkus Star Review

Here is an review by Elizabeth Bird for the School Library Journal

Kirkus Star Review

Kirkus Star Review

Here is an interview with NPR when Kadir talks about this book

Kirkus Star Review

Kirkus Star Review

Kadir Nelson has illustrated several books for younger children such as - Please, Puppy, Please; Baby Bear; and If you plant a seed.