Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd

This picture book for children 4 to 8 is recommended to readers of all ages as it illuminates the life of Nina Simone (1933-2003), the amazing African American musician. The book also has a five-page re-hash written for adults at the end. The author, Traci N. Todd, is an award-winning African American author of many books, including the ABCs of Black History, a New York Times best-seller. The illustrator, Christian Robinson, is an African American artist who, in 2016, was named both a Caldecott Medal Honoree and a Coretta Scott King Award Honoree for Last Stop on Market Street. This book tells the inspiring story of Eunice Waymon, who was born and raised in the town of Tryon, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Her mother was a preacher, and her father played the piano. At the age of 3 (!) Eunice began playing at her mother’s church. A white woman who employed her mother as a domestic worker, convinced a white friend who taught music lessons to take Eunice on as a student. When E