Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups Too!
Picture books aren’t just for children. Picture books are for grown-ups too! Listen in as we speak with picture book authors, illustrators, and enthusiasts about how these stories contribute to human thriving. Discover how picture books can affirm our experiences, introduce us to new perspectives, serve as conversation starters, foster meaningful reflection, and give us words to make sense of the world! Ultimately, you’re never too old for a great picture book AND these tiny tales can lead to big connection! Join us for the journey, and discover something that might contribute to YOUR thriving.
Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups Too!
S2E4 | Nadia Alexis and 'Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings' (written by Francie LaTour and illustrated by Ken Daley)
“There’s a lot of room . . . for us to be more connected to ourselves, more connected to our culture.” –Nadia Alexis
Today we’re talking with picture book enthusiast Nadia Alexis about finding our way back to old memories, connecting with our stories, and feeling seen.
Today’s Picture Book: Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings written by Francie LaTour and illustrated by Ken Daley
Nadia Alexis, a poet, writer, and photographer from Harlem, is the author of Beyond the Watershed (CavanKerry Press, March 2025), a poetry and photography collection that was also a finalist for the 2022 Ghost Peach Press Prize. Born to Haitian immigrants, Nadia’s work has been widely published and exhibited. She has earned numerous honors, including a Literary Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a Mississippi STAR Teacher Award, and recognition as the Poet of the Year Honoree of the Haitian Creatives Digital Awards. A fellow of the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and The Watering Hole, she holds a PhD and MFA from the University of Mississippi. She lives in Mississippi.
Book Description: Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter. The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow -- the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt's home in the mountains. The girl has always loved Auntie Luce's paintings -- the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country's independence. Through Haiti's colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt's brush.
Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/
Other Mentions:
Beyond the Watershed, Nadia’s debut poetry and photography collection!!! Purchase through your local indie bookseller. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/
Questions/Activities for further engagement based on the discussion:
1. What are the sights, sounds, smells, tastes of where I am from? And how does that make me who I am?
2. When did you first feel seen?
Find Nadia:
Website: www.NadiaAlexis.com
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Ripening Time, Patrice's 2nd picture book, releases April 22, 2025. Order your copy from your local bookstore or one of Patrice's local bookstores!
Also, please visit the podcast’s bookshop.org page for a complete list of books discussed!
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