Book-A-Day Almanac

Born on January 7, 1891, Zora Neal Hurston become one of the most renowned Black writers of the twentieth century, part of the Harlem Renaissance, and pioneer of collecting regional black folklore. During her lifetime she was often compared to, and sometimes competed against, Richard Wright, but for a period of time her work vanished, while his became a staple of high school and college curriculum. In the 1970s Alice Walker became Hurston’s champion, and because of the generosity of one living writer to one dead, Hurston and her 1937 classic Their Eyes Were Watching God once again became part of the adult literary canon.

How does any author for children take a well-known adult writer, whose books stand outside of the comprehension of a young audience, and make the person come alive? In one of the best debut novels of 2010, two young writers, Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon, set out to make Hurston a real person for young readers ages eleven to fourteen. The two, who had worked together in publishing, discovered they shared a passion for Hurston’s work. Simon had studied anthropology, Bond, writing, so they combined their talents to create Zora and Me, a novel that explores the childhood of Zora Neal Hurston.

In the book, readers see Zora from the point of view of her best friend, Carrie, as the two grow up at the beginning of the twentieth century in Eatonville, an all-black town in Florida. Zora excels in storytelling; she takes real incidents and either “lies” about them as some of her classmates believe or embroiders them to make a good tale. Zora’s father rejects her for being educated or “acting white.” When a murder occurs in the town, the girls watch and eavesdrop as town members find a way to solve this crime. What the authors do best is bring two ten-year-old girls to life, in all of their excitement and wonder, without softening the types of racism and prejudice both face. In the end, Carrie realizes that Zora has places to go: “One day her mother’s arms and best friend would not be enough to contain her.”

Excellent endnotes, an annotated bibliography, and a time line provide added background to Hurston’s life. Adults sharing it will see some of the characters and themes of Hurston’s work developed in the book. For children, this character-driven work presents two very appealing young girls. The only book not written by Hurston herself to be endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust, Zora and Me, created with love and passion, may well encourage young readers to pick up Hurston’s books when they are old enough to do so.

Here’s a passage from Zora and Me: