There Was a Party for Langston

There Was a Party for Langston: King of Letters (2023) is a picture book written by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Jerome and Jarret Pumphrey. Reynolds is an influential fiction author who mainly writes for children and young adults. His work often discusses themes related to being a Black American in the 21st century. Some of his books, like When I Was the Greatest (2014) and Ghost (2016), use standard fiction formats to portray realistic experiences of Black youth in America. He also often experiments with genre and format. For instance, Ain’t Burned All the Bright (2022) combines prose poetry and visual art, Long Way Down (2017) is in poetic free verse, and Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2017) contributes to the official canon of Marvel’s Spider-Man.

There Was a Party for Langston is Reynolds’s first foray into children’s picture books. To accomplish this, he teamed up with celebrated artists and brothers Jerome and Jarret Pumphrey, who write and illustrate their children’s books and co-illustrate picture books for other authors. Like Reynolds, the Pumphrey brothers primarily depict stories about Black American characters. Set in Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, this book was inspired by a real-life picture of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing at the opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium in 1991. The book uses this central image as a jumping-off point to creatively explore and imagine the legacy and influence of Langston Hughes. Its themes include Artistic Inspiration and Its Influence Across Generations, Learning About Cultural History and Heritage, and The Importance of Black Joy. The book received the 2024 Caldecott Honor and the 2024 Coretta Scott King Honor.

This guide refers to the 2023 e-book edition published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discusses enslavement and anti-Black racism and violence. While the source text does not use the word “enslavement,” it contains illustrations meant to invoke the subject, such as a cage and the manacled hands of a Black person.

Language Note: While it is standard to refer to authors and public figures by their surnames, the book maintains a tone appropriate for children by referring to them by their first names. Outside the Background section, this guide preserves that language.

Plot Summary

In February 1991, people gather at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for the grand opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium. They are there to celebrate the legacy of Langston Hughes, a prolific and influential author and an intellectual leader in the Harlem Renaissance. The narrator describes how Langston can take words like “mother,” “America,” or “Harlem” and imbue them with meaning. Accompanying illustrations use visuals to emphasize how rich Langston makes these words.

These transformed words have influenced subsequent generations, which is why people want to celebrate Langston. Langston’s words sometimes made certain people angry. Though they tried to destroy his words, he was brave and persevered. Now, his words impact people of all ages from all walks of life.

On the shelves of the library, the authors of books who have been influenced by Langston listen to the celebration. Attending in person are Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka, who were both inspired by Langston to transform their own words, which the book’s illustrations also integrate. At the party, Maya is dressed like purple stars, and Amiri is in a brown suit. They dance together, laughing and celebrating in Langston’s honor. Illustrations show Langston at his typewriter, making words at three stages in his life: when he was a boy, a man, and then a “king” whose word making was so influential that he had “word-children” like Maya and Amiri. Like the other authors, Langston has influenced them to listen in on this joyful celebration, “just like you” (53), the reader.