In Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball (Abrams, 6–10 years), written by Jen Bryant, artist Frank Morrison (the 2021 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner for R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, written by Carole Boston Weatherford) depicts the life of the NBA great and civil rights figure. From his joy in childhood play to taking a stand by sitting on the bench, Baylor’s essence radiates from Morrison’s light-splashed, motion-filled, and frequently breathtaking illustrations. See also our Black History Month 2021 coverage, including “Black History, American History” and “Middle grade sci-fi/fantasy for Black History Month.”

1. What did you know about Elgin Baylor before starting this project?

Frank Morrison: One of the wonderful surprises in the picture-book world is discovery. I receive a lot of manuscripts on all sorts of subject matters. Every once in a while I’ll receive one that intrigues me like Above the Rim. The marvelous Mr. Baylor, whom I had no prior knowledge of, had a slamming life story.

2. Did basketball provide particular challenges for rendering figures in motion?

FM: Illustrating this story felt like I was finally able to go to the rim without being blocked. Mannerism and basketball blend perfectly. I was able to twist and turn and float the figures across the page without double dribbling the text. The only challenge was walking away from the game, I mean, canvas.

3. The portraits of Baylor mid-flight, with the sun behind him, and of Rosa Parks tell their own stories, even without words. As both a fine artist and illustrator, how do your processes differ?

FM: I entered the picture-book world from the Black Arts Movement established in 1965. Although it unofficially ended in 1975, a whole new generation of artists still carry the BAM torch. This beacon is meant to shine a positive light on our community through the arts. Those who could sing, sang; writers wrote; artists painted; actors portrayed and reflected positive images of dignity, in juxtaposition to the negative images constantly being portrayed of and to the community. As an illustrator, the only difference is that I have to leave room for text. [This Beyond the Book video shows more about Morrison’s art and process.]

4. There’s such personality behind your characters, whether celebrities or not. Is everyone based on someone you know or have seen, and how do you capture their essences?

FM: I like to think I’m funny sometimes, even though my kids don’t. The page before the high-flying sun-lit dunk, I painted what I would title “The Great Debate.” We have our young sports broadcasters in quite an argument; today’s subject is the never-ending school-yard debate about who is the best. My thought process is all about what is the big picture, and then I layer in the characters. I used to be a break dancer, and sometimes I’d be hired to dance in the background of videos and movies. I’d dance, stop, wait, then dance again. I learned fast that “from the top” meant from the beginning of the scene. As the director of the page, I want my characters’ emotions to stop, smile, pose, give the reader some attitude, and dance off the page.

5. Above the Rim is set during the mid-twentieth century, with very clear resonances for today. What do you think this book at this moment can do for readers?

FM: Keep! Hope! Alive!

From the February 2021 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.