“Rodney King was beaten by LAPD police officers / and I can’t stop thinking about the cute boy at school / who asked me, Why are you so beautiful? … Mariah Carey understands me. And Boys II Men sing everything / I want to hear from the cute, smart, jazz-loving Black Boy / who now has a girlfriend who is not me.” (from “Turning Thirteen”) Poems rooted in the soil and substance of author Renée Watson’s life comprise a collection that is uplifting through validation and example as much as intention. Watson’s observations and experiences are grounded in the specific, in what is real and messy and holy in relationships with her family and members of her community. “On Saturdays, Ms. Tiny’s kitchen / becomes the House of Miracles. / She baptizes my hair, / washing its sin down the drain of her basin.” (from “Church of Press & Curl”) Watson reflects on her family’s love—small moments and their lasting impact—and wonders, laments, and celebrates what it means to her to be a Black woman, as well as the importance of Black women to Black communities. Gorgeous, painterly portraits and spot illustrations accompany the poems in this stirring work.

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award

A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson.

In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes
about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender.

Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power.

Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a strong sense of sisterhood and celebration. With full-color art by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes throughout, this collection offers guidance and is a gift for anyone who reads it.