Be Boy Buzz

From legendary author and critic Bell Hooks and multi-Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka comes an acclaimed ode to Black boy joy, perfect for fans of I Am Every Good Thing and I Am Enough.

I be boy. All bliss boy. All fine beat. All beau boy. Beautiful.

Here a tight, exuberant story from two award-winning creators that captures the essence and energy of what it means to be a boy. Chris Raschka’s soulful illustrations buzz with a force that is the perfect match for bell hooks’ powerful words.

A world-renowned cultural critic, feminist theorist, and intellectual, Bell Hooks is a distinguished author and professor of English. She has written several acclaimed children's books including Be Boy Buzz, Skin Again, and Happy to Be Nappy, all illustrated by Chris Raschka.

Chris Raschka is the Caldecott-Award-winning illustrator of The Hello, Goodbye Window and A Ball for Daisy. He also received aa Caldecott Honor for Yo!Yes? and has written and illustrated numerous books for children, including several titles by bell hooks: Happy to Be Nappy, Skin Again, and Be Boy Buzz. A 2012 nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, he lives in New York City.

[The] poetry is rhythmic and rolling, each word finessed to fit the pulse of [hooks's] verse. The lilt of the language is contagious, begging to be read aloud... Raschka's mixed media illustrations are an energetic dream... Buy it for the boys and all those who love them.
--- Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

*”This spare, poetic riff on young manhood plumbs the delights and contradictions of what it means to be a boy… Hooks’s rhythmic blend of brevity and eloquence launches Raschka’s trademark visual haiku… This life-affirming book will have readers as much ‘in love with being a boy’ as are its own utterly irresistible characters.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

[A] pleasing and affirmative visual and textual interpretation of what it means to be a little boy: be boy buzz, indeed.
--- Kirkus Reviews