“Popo and Fifina” by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes

Found In: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library > Popo and Fifina : children of Haiti / by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes ; ill. by E. Simms Campbell.

In 1932, Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes were the first two writers of color to have original work for children issued by a major publishing house. The two Harlem Renaissance writers' collaboration on Popo and Fifina: Children of Haiti, the first mass-market children's book, provided an intimate and nuanced look into Haitian culture through sympathetic, Black main characters.

• Buy Popo and Fifina: Children of Haiti by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes (Bookshop)
• Explore excerpts from Popo and Fifina: Children of Haiti in a blog post that highlights the illustrative prints made by E. Simms Campbell who was the first African American cartoonist to be nationally published.
• Support The African American Children's Book Project (Paypal or Buy A Book)

About Popo and Fifina

"Simplicity, realism, a poetic charm - all these appeal to the small children who will meet Haiti for the first time in this book.”

Popo and Fifina: The Children of Haiti came about by way of friendship. The story goes that over the span of 40 years (1925-1967), Bontemps and Hughes exchanged thousands of letters as dear friends and collaborators. (The American Reader published one here from Arna Bontemps – Langston Hughes Letters. Edited by Charles H. Nichols., and reading one of their letters led to the posthumous publishing of their book, Boy of the Border: A Children's Tale). Prior to Popo and Fifina, the authors were successfully published novelists, poets, and archivists (Bontemps even a librarian!), but this was their first endeavor for a children's audience.

It was praised by the New York Times for its "simple home-like atmosphere," and how it “ tempts us to wish that all our travel books for children might be written by poets” (New York Times). This review was vital in getting Americans of all backgrounds to see the shared similarities they had with the Haitian family depicted in the book.

The original book sleeve introduces the characters and premise of the story in an inviting way:

“These funny names belong to a small black boy and girl who live on the Island of Haiti. What fun they had - and how like the fun of any children anywhere in the world. Yet it all happened on a tropical island far away.

Moving day is an exciting event; for Popo and Fifina it meant a few bundles slung upon burros and a long dusty walk from their home in the hills down to the little town by the sea. Sett’ling down in a new home was fun, but mama Anna became homesick, and they paid a visit to the hills; then small Popo had an adventure of the “Drums at Night.” Rather soon after that he had to start his work in the world, in a fine carpenter shop, and there he learned one of the great hero-stories of his land. A very live picture of this little world is given, ending with the thrilling visit to the light-house, and tropical storm.”

The Importance of Childhood Literacy

In 2016, Professor Michelle H. Martin, former Augusta Baker Chair in Childhood Literacy at the University of South Carolina and current Beverly Cleary Endowed Professor for Children and Youth Services in the Information School at the University of Washington, gave remarks titled “Brown Gold: African American Children’s Literature as a Genre of Resistance” at the Schubert Center for Child Studies of Case Western Reserve University. In reference to Popo and Fifina, she said:

[The book] “combats the prevailing notion that black Americans and those in the African Diaspora spoke broken English reminiscent of slavery, that they were shiftless and lazy and that their broken families left their children to their own devices”—all tropes that still bedevil the white imagination.” (AWBA)

Throughout history, those with political power have worked hard to prevent Black people from reading. This makes the celebration of early publications such as Popo and Fifina all the more sweeter, but also drives us to further champion what remains unpublished. According to the AWBA article mentioned earlier, “among the 3,500 titles sent to the Cooperative Center for Children’s Books in 2013, less than three percent were about black people and less than two percent were written by black authors”.

Literacy remains a powerful tool for liberation. Time continues to reveal the incalculable value of not only being able to read and write, but also the critical skills to interpret, discern, and to not only embody the lessons of Black children’s books such as Popo and Fifina, but also defend against health misinformation and the movement to ban books with social consciousness and concern. Literacy allows us to travel the distance of time, place, and social location – To honor the past, preserve the present moment, and dream and envision new possibilities for our future.

Reflection Questions

• Consider: When is the last time you read a children’s book? When was the last time you read a children’s book about Black characters by Black authors? What was it about?
• In addition to Bontemps and Hughes, Alice Walker, bell hooks, W.E.B. DuBois, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks all wrote children’s books in parallel to the writings intended for adults. Why do you think this is?
• How does historical illiteracy impact our ability to address COVID-19 misinformation and the banning of books?

Learn More

• A near century prior to Popo and Fifina being published, the Alabama Slave Code of 1833 included the following law “[S31] Any person who shall attempt to teach any free person of color, or slave, to spell, read or write, shall upon conviction thereof by indictment, be fined in a sum of not less than two hundred fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars.” (Smithsonian)
• A History article titled, “How Literacy Became a Powerful Weapon in the Fight to End Slavery” documents anti-literacy laws as an extension of slavery codes, and the clear relationship between abolition writings with uprisings. Colette Coleman of History.com writes, “If written “abolitionist agitation was shaping the nature of slave resistance” in the islands, American enslavers believed that it could influence enslaved populations stateside.” (History)
• Blogger, Naima Carter Russell who is @DramaMamaReads on Instagram lifted up 12 Children's Books and an important message about Black History Month and reading here.
• Hughes's "The Dream Keeper and Other Poems" (Knopf) and Hughes and Bontemps's "Popo and Fifina: Children of Haiti" (Macmillan) were both works published during the Great Depression, a time of ambivalence and indifference towards others, yet were able to gain universal love and support across all races. Hughes's collection of poems championed love and hope for the future for young African-Americans and finding the beauty in progress and struggle. Each poem provided an inspirational outlook on life still relevant today as we work to dismantle systemic inequities in pursuit of a better future. (Bookshop)
• The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards is the only juried American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. It recognizes books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity. For 86 years, the distinguished books earning Anisfield-Wolf prizes have opened and challenged our minds. https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/
• The African American Children’s Book Project was created in 1992 to promote and preserve children’s literature written by or about African Americans. Learn more or donate here.