Published: 2023
Author: Jason Reynolds | Illustrators: Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey
Genre: Picture Book / Biography / Poetry
Audience: Grades K–5
Number of Stars: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Goodreads Link: There Was a Party for Langston
Publisher’s Summary
A Caldecott Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and the luminaries he inspired. Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory. Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom da boom, stepping and stomping, all in praise and love for Langston, world-mending word man. Oh, yeah, there was hoopla in Harlem, for its Renaissance man. A party for Langston.
Review
There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds is a happy, creative celebration of Langston Hughes, poetry, and the power of words. I would definitely recommend this book to librarians, teachers, and anyone looking for titles that highlight poetry, Black history, and inspiring creators. It is a great fit for elementary and middle school readers, especially students who do not usually think of themselves as “poetry readers.”
One of my favorite things about this book was the format. Reynolds mixes poetry, storytelling, and visuals in a way that feels lively and engaging. The illustrations by the Pumphrey brothers add so much to the experience, using letters as physical objects—building blocks of the party itself. Kids who enjoy graphic novels or fast-paced texts would likely be pulled in right away.
The book serves as a wonderful bridge to the Harlem Renaissance, making a historical figure feel contemporary, cool, and relevant. It shows that words aren’t just things on a page; they are rhythm, dance, and a legacy that inspires others to “write their own glory.”
🏛️ The King of Letters: Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
To understand the “party,” it is helpful to look at the cultural movement that Langston Hughes helped lead.
- The Harlem Renaissance: A social and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920s. It was a “rebirth” of African American arts.
- The Schomburg Center: The setting of the party is a real and vital institution in Harlem. It is one of the world’s leading research libraries devoted to the history and culture of people of African descent.
- Jazz Poetry: Hughes was an innovator of “jazz poetry,” a literary art form that imitates the rhythms and “improvised” feel of jazz music—a style Jason Reynolds mirrors in the snappy prose of this book.
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- Poetry & Rhythm (ELA):
- Activity Idea: Read the book aloud and have students clap or snap to the rhythm of the text. Discuss how Reynolds uses “onomatopoeia” (words like boom, thump, stomp) to create a musical feel.
- Author Study / Mentorship: The book mentions “word-children” like Maya Angelou.
- Activity Idea: Trace the literary family tree. Show students a poem by Langston Hughes and then a poem by Maya Angelou. How did Langston’s “ABCs” help Maya write her own “glory”?
- Creative Arts (Visual Typography): * Activity Idea: Inspired by the Pumphrey brothers’ art, have students write a poem where the letters themselves form the shape of the poem’s subject (e.g., words about a drum forming the shape of a drum).
- History (The Schomburg Party):
- Activity Idea: Research the 1991 opening of the Langston Hughes auditorium at the Schomburg Center. Why do we throw parties for authors? Have students plan a “party” for a historical figure they admire. What music would be played? What poems would be read?
