Happy 80th, Arnold Adoff! (Poet/biographer: "Black is Brown is Tan," 1973)

[leno...@yahoo.com]

Born in the Bronx, he now lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

His awards include "Jane Addams Children's Book Award special recognition, 1983, for All the Colors of the Race."

http://www.nowaterriver.com/spotlight-on-ncte-poets-arnold-adoff-with-lee-bennett-hopkins/
(probably the best site for him - includes book covers)

http://www.arnoldadoff.com/
(his site)

http://www.orrt.org/adoff/
(brief bio)

First paragraphs:

Arnold Adoff started writing when he was eleven years old-when he discovered that "girls and poetry were different from boys and prose." This was not the limit of his inspiration, however. Born in a Russian immigrant family and raised in New York City's East Bronx, he read "everything in house" to satiate his curiosity. Later, he would carry stacks of books home from Bronx libraries. In his world, "books and food, recipes and political opinions, Jewish poetry and whether the dumplings would float on top of the soup" were all worthy topics for literature.

After graduating from New York's City College with degrees in history and government, Adoff went on to Columbia University and then the New School for Social Research. He stayed in New York for twelve years afterward, teaching and counseling public school students in Harlem and the Upper West Side. His experience with young adults gave him a simplified outlook for writing to the audience. "I just try to create real kids and say real things for real readers."...

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/search/?q=arnold+adoff&t=all
(seven Kirkus reviews and one interview)

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/36171.Arnold_Adoff
(reader reviews)

http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2009/04/poetry-makers-arnold-adoff.html
(Q&A interview from 2009)

http://thebrownbookshelf.com/2014/10/03/interview-with-arnold-adoff/
(2014 interview)

https://poetryadvocates.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/arnold_adoff_pacya3.pdf
(another interview)

http://blogs.slj.com/bowllansblog/2010/02/20/writers-against-racism-in-his-own-words-arnold-adoff/
(Adoff on Virginia Hamilton)

https://www.google.com/search?q=arnold+adoff&biw=970&bih=549&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIqb-Hx73gxgIVQiseCh0r4Anf&dpr=1.25#tbm=isch&q=%22arnold+adoff%22+books
(photos and book covers)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22arnold+adoff%22
(videos)

WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
POETRY; FOR CHILDREN

MA nDA LA, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Harper (New York, NY), 1971.
Black Is Brown Is Tan, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Harper (New York, NY), 1973, reprinted, 2002.
Make a Circle Keep Us In: Poems for a Good Day, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1975.
Big Sister Tells Me That I'm Black, illustrated by Lorenzo Lynch, Holt (New York, NY), 1976.
Tornado!, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1977.
Under the Early Morning Trees, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Dutton (New York, NY), 1978.
Where Wild Willie, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Harper (New York, NY), 1978.
Eats, illustrated by Susan Russo, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1979.
I Am the Running Girl, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Harper (New York, NY), 1979.

Friend Dog, illustrated by Troy Howell, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1980.
OUTside/INside Poems, illustrated by John Steptoe, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1981.
Today We Are Brother and Sister, illustrated by Glo Coalson, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1981.
Birds, illustrated by Troy Howell, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1982.
All the Colors of the Race, illustrated by John Steptoe, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1982.
The Cabbages Are Chasing the Rabbits, illustrated by Janet Stevens, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1985.
Sports Pages, illustrated by Steven Kuzma, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1986.
Greens, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, Morrow (New York, NY), 1988.
Flamboyan, illustrated by Karen Barbour, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1988.
Chocolate Dreams, illustrated by Turi MacCombie, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1988.

Hard to Be Six, illustrated by Cheryl Hanna, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1990.
In for Winter, out for Spring, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1991.
The Return of Rex and Ethel, illustrated by Catherine Deeter, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1993.
Street Music: City Poems, illustrated by Karen Barbour, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.
Slow Dance Heart Break Blues, illustrated by William Cotton, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1995.
Touch the Poem, illustrated by Bill Creevy, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.
Love Letters, illustrated by Lisa Desimini, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

The Return of Rex and Ethel, illustrated by Catherine Deeter, Harcourt (New York, NY), 2000.
Touch the Poem, illustrated by Lisa Desimini, Blue Sky Press (New York, NY), 2000.
The Basket Counts, illustrated by Michael Weaver, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.

Daring Dog and Captain Cat, illustrated by Joe Cepada, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.
Roots and Blues: A Celebration - illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 2011


EDITOR

I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Negro Americans, illustrated by Benny Andrews, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1968, revised edition, introduction by Rudine Sims Bishop, foreword by Nikki Giovanni, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.
Black on Black: Commentaries by Negro Americans, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1968.
City in All Directions: An Anthology of Modern Poems, illustrated by Donald Carrick, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1969.
Black Out Loud: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Black Americans, illustrated by Alvin Hollingsworth, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.
Brothers and Sisters: Modern Stories by Black Americans, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.
It Is the Poem Singing into Your Eyes: An Anthology of New Young Poets, Harper (New York, NY), 1971.
The Poetry of Black America: An Anthology of the Twentieth Century, introduction by Gwendolyn Brooks, Harper (New York, NY), 1973.
My Black Me: A Beginning Book of Black Poetry, Dutton (New York, NY), 1974.
Celebrations: A New Anthology of Black American Poetry, Follett (New York, NY), 1977.


OTHER

Malcolm X (children's nonfiction), illustrated by John Wilson, Crowell (New York, NY), 1970, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, HarperTrophy (New York, NY), 2000.


Lenona.