Mali Under the Night Sky is Youme's third book. Her first book--Selavi, A Haitian Story of Hope--won the Jane Adams Peace Award in 2005. The American Library Association chose her next book--a graphic novel called Pitch Black--as a Top Ten Graphic Novel for Teens in 2009. Born in 1968, Anthony Horton is a homeless artist who lives underneath New York City. His work can be seen along the tunnel walls in the darkest parts of the transit system.
"In the four years that Youme Landowne, a Brooklyn artist, has
known Anthony Horton, a homeless man who used to spend most of his
nights underground, in nooks and crannies wedged around subway
tunnels, [she has] learned several basic rules for subterranean
life. The rules are spelled out in a spare, affecting book of
illustrations
The book details the filthy and often frightening
conditions in the subway tunnels and introduces the readers to a
handful of colorful characters, though its focus is on the two main
characters’ friendship and collaboration."New York Times
"I sat right down and read through [Pitch Black]... I found it
immediately engaging and also interesting in the respect that at
first you think it's about homelessness then, as you read on,
perhaps about race and, finally, you discover that it reaches for
something beyond those thorny and somewhat shopworn subjects; the
simple and pure light of hope." Lee Stringer
"The two artists [began] a collaboration that ends in this
beautiful, gritty biography. Both Youme and Anthony contributed
text and art to the booktheir black and gray watercolors are
tender and raw, their words spare and poetic. This book’s
unflinching look at homelessness and the ability to find hope and
inspiration in the dark will appeal greatly to teens."School
Library Journal
"Artist and writer Youme Landowne was standing on a New York City
subway platform in 2005 when a black man standing nearby came over
to talk to her
They two not only came to know each other as fellow
artists and friends but have collaborated on Pitch Black: Don’t Be
Skerd, a children’s book released this past fall by Cincos Puntos
Press that tells the story of their friendship and Horton’s life as
homeless man living and drawing in the subway." Publisher's Weekly
Comics Week
"Muralist and book artist Landowne met Horton shortly after the
release of her 2004 picture book Selavi; the two collaborate here
to bring Horton's story of perseverance and hope to print, and the
fluid black-and-white sequential panels tell it well. The horrors
attendant on homelessness are not sugarcoated, and the language is
as raw and gritty as one might expect. Powerful."Kirkus
Reviews
"Pitch Black could serve as a tool for educators when approaching
the difficult subjects of homelessness and cultural differences
(the publisher would like to place it in school libraries to make
it accessible to young readers), but it is likely to be most
appreciated by adults for its thoughtful and forthright handling of
the material." Brooklyn Daily Eagle
"Many lives of rejection, despair, survival, and hope live
underground beneath the drawings just as Horton lived underground
in New York subway tunnels
We want to know more about Horton, but
like peering down a dark tunnel, we only catch glimpses. For
academic and high school libraries, and teen as well as adult
collections in public libraries."Library Journal
"This short, collaborative graphic novel introduces teens to a life
unheard of by most
The artwork done in black, white, and gray
watercolor tones is realistic and sparse with subway details
illustrating a wide range of multicultural characters riding the
subway." Voya
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