This picture-book look at the life and work of African American folklorist and writer Zora Neale Hurston does a masterful job of capturing both Hurston’s irrepressible personality and her writing. There’s a folkloric quality to elements of the descriptive writing (“Then her papa got a new wife who was stingier than a peacock!”) while excerpts from some of the folklore Hurston collected are interspersed occasionally in the illustrations of a book that follows Hurston from childhood, when she was already in love with stories and storytelling, to the education she worked so hard to obtain, to her work as a folklorist collecting stories from Black people in the south to, finally, the start of her career as a writer. Zora’s spirit soars across a narrative set against lively illustrations done with marker, gouache, and Photoshop. An author’s note, additional readings, and sources are included (unfortunately story excerpts are not specifically sourced). (Ages 7-10)