Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

Book at a Glance

My rating	★★★★★
Awards	2017 Caldecott Medal; 2017 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
Genre	Picture book biography
Grades	2–5
In one sentence	A young Jean-Michel Basquiat finds art everywhere in New York City and holds onto his dream through hard times.
Best for	Art units, biography studies, and lessons on how illustrations tell a story

Part Two

Before I opened Radiant Child, I spent a few minutes studying the cover. A young boy wearing a golden crown sits among layers of bright, scribbled color, and I predicted the story would be about a child who feels like a king when he creates art. I also guessed that the illustrations would look more like collage than traditional painting. Both of my predictions turned out to be correct. The crown appears again and again throughout the book, and by the end it has grown into a symbol of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s dreams and his belief in himself.

What surprised me most was the writing. Steptoe tells the story in the present tense, using short, rhythmic phrases that read almost like a poem. He begins by placing young Jean-Michel in the sounds and games of his Brooklyn neighborhood before art is ever mentioned, which helped me feel like I was right there with him. I loved how the author keeps returning to Jean-Michel’s dream of becoming a famous artist, because it gave me something to hold onto during the sadder parts of the story. Steptoe also manages to explain difficult events, such as a car accident, his parents’ separation, and his mother’s mental illness, in gentle language that young children can understand without becoming frightened.

I have always been drawn to coloring and crafting things as far back as I can remember! It was not always perfect, but I learned it did not have to be. This book reminded me of how many children stop drawing once they decide their pictures don’t look “real” enough. The message that art doesn’t have to be neat or stay inside the lines to be beautiful is one I wish I had heard as a young student.

One issue I found especially important was the way the book handles mental illness. Jean-Michel’s mother is the person who first takes him to museums and encourages his art, and then she has to go away to get better. The author shows Jean-Michel’s love for her without placing blame, which could open a conversation for children whose families face similar struggles. I also noticed that Basquiat’s drug use and death at age 27 are only mentioned in the author’s note at the end. As a future teacher, I think this was the right choice for young readers, but I would want to read the note ahead of time and decide how much to share with my students.

Here are a few prompts I could use when reading this book with children: Why do you think Jean-Michel keeps drawing a crown, and what would you put on your own crown? How did Jean-Michel’s mother help him become an artist? Why do you think the illustrator painted on scraps of wood instead of a clean canvas? Do you agree that art doesn’t have to be neat to be beautiful?

Part Three

After reading Radiant Child, I can clearly see why it was awarded the Caldecott Medal. The words and illustrations work together so closely that neither would tell the complete story on its own. The plot follows the chronological structure common to picture book biographies. It begins with Jean-Michel’s early childhood, moves to a turning point when he is hit by a car and his mother becomes ill, continues through his struggles as a teenager who leaves home, and ends with his success as a celebrated artist. Some readers may feel that ending the story at the height of his fame softens the truth, since his early death is saved for the author’s note. Personally, I believe this choice keeps the focus on what the book is truly about: a child growing into an artist.

The setting of New York City is an essential element of this book and almost acts as a character itself. The sidewalks of Brooklyn, the museums his mother took him to, and the city walls where he later wrote his SAMO© graffiti all shape Basquiat’s art. What I found most fascinating is that Steptoe collected scraps of wood and other materials from New York’s streets to create his collages, so the setting is literally built into the pages. The central theme is that art doesn’t have to be neat to be beautiful, and that creativity can help a person through painful times. Other themes include a mother’s influence, resilience, and pride in one’s identity and heritage, since Basquiat was of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent. I appreciated that these themes are shown through events rather than stated as a lesson.

The style of this book is what sets it apart from other picture books I have read. The text is lyrical and rhythmic, which makes it perfect for reading aloud. The illustrations are mixed-media collages painted on found wood, filled with images inspired by Basquiat’s own work, such as crowns, scribbled words, and drawings of the human body. Steptoe echoes Basquiat’s style without copying his paintings, so the art honors Basquiat while still showing Steptoe’s own voice. I did notice that the busy, layered pages might be overwhelming for very young readers, but they reward readers who look closely. Lastly, the story is told from a third-person point of view that stays close to Jean-Michel’s thoughts and feelings. This allows children to experience the world the way he did, from his excitement at the museum to his loneliness when his mother is gone. Overall, I felt that Steptoe did an outstanding job with every element of literature, and I would highly recommend this book for any classroom library.

Pair It With: These books would build a strong text set alongside Radiant Child:

• The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds: a girl discovers that any mark can be the start of art.
• Ish by Peter H. Reynolds: a boy learns his drawings don’t have to look “right” to be good.
• In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall by Javaka Steptoe: an earlier book showing the illustrator’s collage style.
• The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPré: a picture book biography of artist Vasily Kandinsky and a Caldecott Honor book.
• Through Georgia’s Eyes by Rachel Rodríguez: a picture book biography of painter Georgia O’Keeffe, useful for comparing two artists’ childhoods.

Part Four

Because Radiant Child tells its story through both words and pictures, I think it would be a perfect book for teaching students how illustrations add meaning to a text. I could also see myself using it during an art lesson or a unit on biographies with third-grade students.

Lesson Objective: Students will explain how the illustrations and words in Radiant Child work together to tell the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s life. Students will then create a collage self-portrait that uses both pictures and words to show what makes them special.

Discussion Questions:

1. How did the people and places around Jean-Michel, such as his mother, the museums, and New York City, help shape the kind of artist he became?
2. The illustrator painted on scraps of wood and other found materials. What do the pictures tell us about Basquiat that the words do not?
3. What does the crown mean at the beginning of the book, and does its meaning change by the end of the story?

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Standards-Based Activity: After reading the book aloud, the teacher will display one two-page spread and model how to fill in a two-column chart titled “What the Words Tell Us” and “What the Pictures Add.” Students will then work with a partner to choose a different spread and complete the same chart, finding at least two details that appear only in the illustrations. Next, students will create their own collage self-portraits on cardboard or paper scraps, adding a crown and three to five words that describe their interests, family, or dreams, just as Basquiat added words to his art. To conclude, students will write three to four sentences explaining how the pictures and words in their collage work together, and the class will share their work during a gallery walk. The partner chart and written explanation will show whether students can connect illustration details to the text.

Differentiation: English learners and students who need extra support can use sentence frames such as “The words say ___, but the picture shows ___.” Students with fine motor needs can use pre-cut collage pieces, and advanced students can compare two spreads instead of one.

Extension: Students research another artist of their choice and design a “crown” for that artist, filled with words and images that represent the artist’s life and work.

Additional Resources:

• https://www.littlebrownlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Radiant-Child-Educator-Guide.pdf (publisher’s educator’s guide with collage and art activities)
• https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/radiant-child-the-story-of-young-artist-jean-michal-basquiat-2017-caldecott-medal-winner (Classroom Bookshelf teaching ideas)
• https://www.hbook.com/story/javaka-steptoe-on-radiant-child (the illustrator explains his process)
• https://skokielibrary.info/blog/114/interview-javaka-steptoe-radiant-child/ (author interview to share with students)
• https://k12.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=51436 (author recordings and multi-level lessons)

Final Thoughts

Would I teach this book? Absolutely. Radiant Child shows children that their own messy, imaginative art has value, and it introduces them to a Black and Latino artist whose story is rarely told in elementary classrooms. I can’t wait to share it with my future students and watch them create crowns of their own.