There Was a Party for Langston

Content Warning: This section discusses enslavement and anti-Black racism and violence.

Jason Reynolds wrote There Was a Party for Langston, and Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey illustrated it.

As a Black American man with dark skin and long locs, Reynolds has said that many children and young adults who read his books comment on his appearance and celebrate the diversity that he brings to authorship in children’s and young adult literature. Langston Hughes had a similar effect on Reynolds growing up. As a child, he was inspired by reading Hughes’s poetry. In particular, “the language felt so eye-level that it felt like it could be [Reynolds’s]. And he was using the slang of his time, which meant that [Reynolds] could use the slang of [his]” (“Author Jason Reynolds Says Latest Children’s Picture Book Is an Ode to Literary Legends.” YouTube, uploaded by CBS Mornings, 3 Oct. 2023). The representation that Hughes provided, as well as Black writer Amiri Baraka, who was “loose” and “percussive” with language, unlocked new possibilities for Reynolds—something he hopes to inspire younger generations to feel.

Reynolds credits brothers Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey with making illustrations that truly bring the picture book to life.