Songbird in the Light
A Picture Book
Published on 19. March 2026
Book
Hardback
40 pages
978-1-4197-4583-6 (ISBN)
Description
From beloved Broadway icon Billy Porter, rising-star author Chris Clarkson, and award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer comes a beautiful picture book about the power of finding your voice.
Mama says her little boy is a songbird with a voice bigger than his whole body. But at school, his classmates make fun of the way he walks and the way he talks-which makes him feel like a songbird too shy to sing.
With the encouragement of his choir teacher, he embraces his talent, realizing that his voice is unique and distinct. When it's time for the school showcase, he's finally ready to embrace his joyful talent and share it with the world.
From Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Billy Porter, rising star Chris Clarkson, and award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer comes a beautiful and empowering story about learning to love yourself.
As Billy Porter notes is a powerful author's note: I created this book to remind children of their own joy. Their own love.... A kind of love that the world can't take away.
Mama says her little boy is a songbird with a voice bigger than his whole body. But at school, his classmates make fun of the way he walks and the way he talks-which makes him feel like a songbird too shy to sing.
With the encouragement of his choir teacher, he embraces his talent, realizing that his voice is unique and distinct. When it's time for the school showcase, he's finally ready to embrace his joyful talent and share it with the world.
From Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Billy Porter, rising star Chris Clarkson, and award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer comes a beautiful and empowering story about learning to love yourself.
As Billy Porter notes is a powerful author's note: I created this book to remind children of their own joy. Their own love.... A kind of love that the world can't take away.
Reviews / Votes
"Radiant, exuberantly brushed paintings...Young readers who feel that they, too, are not being seen (or heard!) will respond strongly to this confident and visually bold declaration of selfhood." * School Library Journal * "The artistic presentation and lyrical text will make this appeal to kids who find confidence in creative pursuits" * Booklist * "[A] love letter to his young self...It is a relief and a joy when the boy finally lets forth his song, surrounded by a display of peacock feathers and faced with a cheering crowd."* The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books * "Performer Porter collaborates with Clarkson to tell the uplifting first-person story of a child-described by their mother as "her songbird"-who finds strength in vocalizing...fortifying story about finding one's voice." * Publishers Weekly * "Porter's earnest, first-person narration pairs well with Palmer's explosively energetic acrylic paintings, which abound with birds of many kinds and colors...A feel-good biography with illustrations as bright and ostentatious as the fabulous Billy Porter himself." * Kirkus Reviews *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Abrams
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Preschool to Third Grade, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Illustrations
Full-color illustrations throughout
Dimensions
Height: 276 mm
Width: 224 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
444 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4197-4583-6 (9781419745836)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2026
Abrams Books for Young Readers
€17.49
Available for download
Persons
Billy Porter is an actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the winner of the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Pray Tell in Pose-the first openly gay Black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category. Porter is also the winner of the 2013 Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his groundbreaking performance as Lola in Kinky Boots. He lives in New York. Chris Clarkson is the author of Chloe and the Fireflies, Where Did Benjamin Go?, and That Summer Night on Frenchmen Street. Clarkson lives in New Orleans, where he's building a collection of notebooks filled with stories waiting to be brought to life. Charly Palmer is a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award and Children's Africana Book Award-winning illustrator and a renowned and fine artist. His work includes his Black Heritage Stamp design honoring Judge Constance Baker Motley, John Legend's Bigger Love album cover, Time magazine's "America Must Change" cover, the 75th anniversary edition of NBA 2K22 , and the award-winning The New Brownies' Book: A Love Letter To Black Families, which he coauthored.