Augusta Baker grew up listening to stories. “Her grandmother’s lilting, tilting voice shaped incredible worlds and passed them down to Augusta.” When Augusta left home, she took along the “where there’s a will there’s a way” attitude her grandmother’s folktales taught her. A unit on folklore while Augusta was studying to become a teacher convinced her that telling and sharing stories was her calling. She began her career as a children’s librarian for the New York Public Library (NYPL) in Harlem. Upset by the depictions of Black people in books on the shelf, she set about sharing authentic stories by and about Black people, including the ones her grandmother told her. Her illustrious career included being the first Black coordinator of children’s services at NYPL, teaching at Columbia University, and becoming Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina, where an annual festival is still held in her name. Whether curating collections, supporting and promoting the work of other Black writers and artists, or telling stories herself, Augusta was devoted to sharing stories that lifted up Black lives and culture and enriched the world of children. An author’s note rounds out this informative, celebratory picture book biography.

Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
Kirkus Best Books of the Year
Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year
New York Public Library Best Books of the Year
ALSC Notable Children's Books
Horn Book Fanfare
BolognaRazzi Award: Braw Amazing Bookshelf Sustainability Selection
ILA 2025 Notable Books for a Global Society
CLA/NCTE 2025 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
NCSS 2025 Septima P. Clark Book Award Winner (Middle Level)
Five Starred Reviews

From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library.

Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there’s a will, there’s always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.

As Mrs. Baker herself put it: “Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell.”