My Heroes, My People: African Americans and Native Americans in the West

In a companion volume to his Jazz: My Music, My People, self-taught artist Monceaux pairs brief biographical essays with mixed-media portraits of people of color who were ""significant in the history of the Western United States."" The book opens with a section featuring legendary figures Montezuma, Pocahontas and Toussaint L'Ouverture (who seem oddly placed in a book about the American ""landscape beyond the Mississippi""), then shifts to present 19th-century African-Americans, grouped primarily by profession. While the stories of little-known African-Americans are the focus here, the next section profiles prominent Native American tribal chiefs and leaders and their often disastrous interactions with whites. The brevity of the book's text does not allow Monceaux and Katcher to present more than the barest outlines of their subjects' lives, but their presentation has a brisk, crisp style. The real draw here is Monceaux's arresting artwork (originally shown in a gallery). He renders his stylized, dignified portraits in pastels, markers and paint and adorns them with buttons and fabric, toy guns and playing cards. He encircles each portrait with text in a style similar to that of Faith Ringgold's work; the paintings will inspire both deep examination and contemplation. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)