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Ashley Bryan - illustrator
Ashley Bryan is the illustrator or author of more than 30 books. Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum, won the Coretta Scott King Award, while Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Folk Tales, Ashley Bryan’s ABC’s of African American Poetry, and What a Morning! The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals, were all selected as Coretta Scott King Honor books.
Authors and Illustrators home
RIF: How were books, reading, and storytelling a part of your childhood?
Ashley Bryan: I grew up in the Great Depression years. The public library was like a second home to me. I loved books and listening to stories. In kindergarten, I began making my own books.
RIF: When did you first learn about African folktales and spirituals?
AB: I heard spirituals at home, on the radio. We learned some spirituals also in elementary school. I read the folktales from many cultures.
RIF: You're known for your dynamic storytelling performances. How do you get kids interested and involved in your read alouds?
AB: I have children take part in my programs by the “call and response” method. I will say a line from a poem and have the audience repeat after me.
RIF: You're a poet, painter, illustrator, storyteller, teacher, and author. With what do you identify most?
AB: I was always drawing and painting and writing stories. Sharing my work with others unified all of the above as aspects of a profession.
RIF: Your emphasize being rooted in who you are. What are your roots?
AB: My roots are African-American, West Indian, and African.
RIF: Where do you like to write and create art?
AB: I work on my books in my studio. I do oil paintings on canvas outdoors, in season.
RIF: What does Black History Month mean to you?
AB: Black History Month reminds everyone of the enormous contributions of black Americans to the life and culture of the Americas and its influence on other cultures of the world.
RIF: You and your siblings created a home library for yourselves as kids. What's your home library like now?
AB: My home library is in every room of the house. It represents my interest in all aspects of the human adventure that is housed in books.
RIF: Did you want to be a writer and illustrator as a child?
AB: As a child, there were many careers I thought I would follow, but I was always interested in drawing and painting.
RIF: To start exploring African folktales, what's a good book of yours to begin with?
AB: Ashley Bryan’s African Tales, Uh-Huh has a number of my retellings of African tales. They are varied and offer a range of themes. It’s a good book with which to start.
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