Heidi Tyline King

An unsung American hero who used her voice to preserve the natural spaces she loved.

MaVynee Betsch grew up in the Jim Crow South, where she and other Black kids couldn’t swim with the White kids. An orange rope even segregated the ocean. Wanting beaches for all, MaVynee’s wealthy great-grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, bought a beach in Florida and welcomed African Americans, calling it American Beach. This “ocean paradise” entertained both regular folk and greats like Ray Charles, show more Zora Neale Hurston, and Ella Fitzgerald. MaVynee herself became a successful opera singer, but when her mother got sick and died, MaVynee abandoned her musical career and returned to Florida only to find her beloved beach in disrepair. Developers wanted to buy it to build condos. Holmes’ stunning, intricately composed paint-and-collage images bring MaVynee to life in full color and capture her eccentricities: She grew her locked hair to 7 feet long, decorating it with seashells, sometimes styling it into a high topknot and other times draping the end over her arm. Holmes uses a brilliant cerulean for ocean and sky and peppers the vibrantly patterned illustrations with found items such as torn raffle tickets, newspaper clippings, promotional posters, and sheet music, making each spread visually rich, realistic, and fascinating. King’s storytelling, Holmes’ artwork, and informative backmatter portray MaVynee Betsch as the larger-than-life Black environmentalist she was.

A spectacular story about a little-known eco-warrior whose story should be told and retold. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Picture book/biography. 6-12) show less

Fail! I knew that my “year of no picture books” would fail since Patricia Polacco has a new picture book coming out this October, but I was hoping that would be my only lapse. I found out about this book just today from an email and it was so appealing to me that I checked to see if I could borrow a library e-copy and I was able to get a Kindle edition.

4-1/2 stars – a half star off because I was a bit discomfited by the end and parts toward the end, though the note at the end helped me show more feel better. In the book proper it seemed sort of sad and not quite pointless but I sort of wondered what we were celebrating.

I found the story inspirational and interesting. The language is lyrical and beautiful.

I adored the art. I loved it so much that I’d be happy to have it up on my walls. I couldn’t rate the art more highly. Wonderful colors and details and fun to peruse.

I never knew about this woman or this beach and I’m glad to have learned of it. show less

I love it when I learn something new from a children's picture book! I had never heard of MaVynee Betsch or American Beach. Heidi Tyline King and Ekua Holmes created a beautiful tribute in words and art to this magnificent woman who used her wealth and fame to lobby for civil rights and preserve beach habitat for all people. Includes notes from the author and illustrator.

When Betsch left her career as an internationally acclaimed opera singer to dedicate her life to saving the Florida beach her great-grandfather bought in the 1930s for African Americans, she painted her lips and fingernails orange as a reminder of the rope that separated Blacks from whites at Jim Crow-era beaches. When she died, hundreds of orange butterflies were released. The Caldecott Medalist Holmes celebrates this champion of color with wondrous multi-patterned collage.