A Is for Affrilachia

"What a gift to children of color and all children worldwide to learn about the history of the Affrilachian region and those that made significant contributions to humanity as well as the American experiment. . . . Though it is a children's book, I found myself deeply engrossed and engaged in A Is for Affrilachia and could not put this down until I reached the last letter of the Alphabet."—Randall Horton, author of {#289-128}: Poems

"This little primer acts as a ticket to a journey around the circumference of American history and an aspect of its cultural currency. The road is bumpy—there are peaks, valleys, gleeful songs, and mournful dirges. So, strap in, lay aside all your assumptions and take a ride with Frank X Walker's Affrilachia!"—Cozbi A. Cabrera, author of Mama and Me

"Walker, who coined the term Affrilachia, celebrates the concept's past and present in this abecedarian accounting of 'the spiritual and emotional home for everyone left out of the definition of Appalachia that requires whiteness as a prerequisite for membership.' Spanning from the titular phrase to 'the Zzzzs you can catch dreaming about all of Affrilachia you've just seen,' loosely grouped pages feature celebrated advocates, entertainers, and poets as well as storied events and locations. Throughout, Davis's vibrantly hued illustrations, which have an airbrushed feel, generally foreground one figure or object per spread against stipple-textured backgrounds: a quilt ('which sometimes had secret maps for Harriet Tubman's passengers') represents Q, while an image of 5 scrips from the 'Twirled Moustache Mining Company' stands in for S. Though additional context is limited to a detailed glossary, this emphatically affectionate love letter offers a springboard for learning more."—Publishers Weekly