Biography
Known for his passion for poetry and vibrant recounting of folktales and spirituals rooted in the African American oral tradition, Ashley Bryan was an award-winning children’s book author, illustrator, and educator.
Born in Harlem to parents from the British West Indies, Bryan celebrated Black children in his art, presenting an uplifting vision of their heritage and potential.
Throughout his career, Bryan received numerous accolades for his work in writing and illustrating children's books. He won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration three times: Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum (1981), Beautiful Blackbird (2004), and Let it Shine (2008). Bryan received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2009, the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction in 2010 for Words to My Life’s Song, and in 2012 was given the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Bryan's final completed book, Infinite Hope (2019), was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019, Amazon Book of the Month, Kirkus Best Book of 2019, Amazon Best Book of the Year, and was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, among many other awards.
Illustrations by Ashley Bryan
Additional Resources
Bibliography
Bryan, Ashley. All Things Bright and Beautiful. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010.
Bryan, Ashley. Ashley Bryan's ABC of African-American Poetry. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1997.
Bryan, Ashley. Ashley Bryan's African Tales, Uh-Huh. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1998.
Bryan, Ashley. Ashley Bryan's Puppets: Making Something from Everything. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014.
Bryan, Ashley. Ashley Bryan: Words to my Life's Song. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009.
Bryan, Ashley. Beautiful Blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Bryan, Ashley. Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016.
Bryan, Ashley. I'm Going to Sing: Black American Spirituals, Volume Two. New York: Atheneum, 1982.
Bryan, Ashley. Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019.
Bryan, Ashley. Let it Shine. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007.
Bryan, Ashley. Turtle Knows Your Name. New York: Atheneum, 1989.
Bryan, Ashley. Walk Together Children: Black American Spirituals. New York: Atheneum, 1974.
Bryan, Ashley. Who Built the Stable?: A Nativity Poem. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012.
