Dear Yesteryear

Addressed to “yesteryears”—African American individuals featured in archival photographs from the turn of the century—this history-steeped picture book debut from historical researcher and curator Annece Henderson offers a visual retrospective of ancestors who paved the way for Black Americans today. Coupled with reprinted images housed in arrayed archive and museum collections, lines by turns contemplative and questioning consider the subjects’ everyday experiences (“Did you find a special/ someone,/ and love them to your/ heart’s content?”). The photos feature solo images, couples, and families; people gracing a piano and visiting a barbershop; and a sports team and WWI soldiers, among others. With the page turns approaching book’s end, the graceful text asks for guidance: “As I reminisce,/ dear yesteryear, would/ you hold my hand?/ And guide me by the light of your eye,/ that I may better understand?// What exactly does/ it mean to keep your/ head held high?” It’s an expansive photographic album that acknowledges the impact of ancestors and histories on the present. Back matter includes an author’s note about ancestral history and a source list of included photographs. Ages 3–7. Agent: Monica Odom, Odom Media Management. (Mar.)