Jackie Ormes Draws the Future: The Remarkable Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist

With propulsive narration and comic strip–style art, this picture book biography chronicles the career of Jackie Ormes (1911–1985), the first Black woman to have a syndicated comic in the U.S. A keen observer of life from an early age, Ormes realizes that “adventure didn’t have to be caught—it could be created.” Soon, persistence leads her first to journalism and then, in Pittsburgh and Chicago, to creating beloved characters in glamorous Torchy Brown and outspoken little Patty-Jo: “she could make people laugh, and she could draw. Somehow, mixing the two things allowed people to smile even when talking about painful subjects.” Though the book ends suddenly, offering little context about the cartoonist’s notable oeuvre, it’s clearly a labor of love by Montague, who winningly styles images after the subject’s work. Ages 4–8. (May)