Javaka Steptoe

Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoes Basquiat's own and carries the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean to be beautiful. Winner of the Caldecott Medal.

Robust, textured collages combine with upbeat poems about poetry, emotions, and everyday activities.