The Making of Butterflies

"Kendi and Yangni collaborate to introduce young children to the African American folklore tradition and to Hurston's importance within that tradition." --The Horn Book

A First Folktale from the creators of Magnolia Flower, Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, about the origin of butterflies.

The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin' de world.

But soon, the Creator finds themselves flying through the sky, making gorgeous butterflies of every color, shape, and size.

Find out why butterflies were made in Zora Neale Hurston's stunning and layered African American folktale retold by #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Kah Yangni. This accessible and sizable board book is perfect for introducing the youngest of readers to the beauty of Hurston's storytelling and will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.

Kah Yangni is an illustrator living in Philadelphia who makes heartfelt art about justice, queerness, and joy. They've worked with the New York Times, The Washington Post, Vice Media, and Chronicle Books, as well as with causes like the Transgender Law Center and the Movement for Black Lives, and their poster work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Kah's artistic mission is to heal themself and others by making art that focuses on radical optimism and the power we have to make the world a better place.

Zora Neale Hurston wrote four novels (Jonah's Gourd Vine; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Moses, Man of the Mountains; and Seraph on the Suwanee) and was still working on her fifth novel, The Life of Herod the Great, when she died; three books of folklore (Mules and Men and the posthumously published Go Gator and Muddy the Water and Every Tongue Got to Confess); a work of anthropological research (Tell My Horse); an autobiography (Dust Tracks on a Road); an international bestselling ethnographic work (Barracoon); and over fifty short stories, essays, and plays. She was born in Notasulga, Alabama, grew up in Eatonville, Florida, and lived her last years in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Ibram X. Kendi is a National Book Award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. His books include Antiracist Baby; Goodnight Racism; How to Be an Antiracist; and How to Raise an Antiracist. Kendi was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the Director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research for five years, before leaving to become Director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study in 2025. In 2020, Time magazine named Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was also awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship.