A stunning visual autobiography of two crazy-talented besties, bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds and painter Jason Griffin, who could never be who they are singularly if they weren't who they were together.
Once upon a time in America, there were two Jasons. Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. One a poet. One an artist. One Black. One white. Two voices. One journey in mind: to move to New York, the city of dreams, to make their own dreams come true. Willing to have a life not un-hard, so long as it wasn't unhappy. Willing to let the city swallow them whole, so long as it gives them their chance. They had each other. "What if painting was a sin, and the poetry became taboo. And no one ever clapped for me again. My question is, would you?"
They clapped. Oh, they clapped. And aren't we glad? Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu, and Coach); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Stuntboy, In-Between Time; Miles Morales Suspended; Ain't Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...; and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.
Jason Griffin won a Caldecott Honor for his artwork in Ain't Burned All the Bright, written by Jason Reynolds, and also illustrated Reynolds's My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. He's an artist and master collaborator, who has shown his art in major cities all over the world. His most recent projects include a commissioned mural for the children's cancer wing at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, as well as a residency at the new contemporary art museum in Amsterdam, Het HEM. He currently creates in Queens, New York. "Author Reynolds and artist Griffin shine as they co-narrate this poetic memoir, which riffs on friendship, courage, self-expression, and coming of age. In the early 2000s, the roommates set off for Brooklyn to pursue their creative dreams. There, they struggled to balance family concerns and self-doubt with the desire to be recognized and make a difference. As the pair look back on their past, their voices weave in and out, coming together to emphasize pivotal words - "brothers," "survivors," "friends." Most importantly, they note that "men pretend," acknowledging how difficult it is for men to admit feeling vulnerable. Those familiar with the print book's visuals may miss the multilayered artwork, but the intimacy and authenticity of the audiobook are remarkable on their own."
