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.

"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"

"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"

"[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"

"The artistic presentation and lyrical text will make this appeal to kids who find confidence in creative pursuits"

-- "Booklist"

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers

Pub date: 2026-03-17

Length: 40 pages