She wanted to be seen as a dark-skinned Black woman and for people to find beauty in that. But with Nina, I felt compelled to show her features, make sure that they were prominent because that was a part of what made her so special and important.Р”В¬ORNISH: Yeah because she cared about being seen as a Black woman, right? That was very much part of her public ethos. Typically when I illustrate, I'm all about simplicity, so I'm always simplifying things. ROBINSON: It was - the hair for me, I think, is what I kind of kept thinking would be the thing to graphically, like, capture her - also her profile. But I think those are the stories that are most important to tell - the ones that show the difficulties of the world but in a way that is honest and approachable for young people.Р”В¬ORNISH: Did there come to be a look, though, that you felt like, oh, this is how I can evoke her, meaning her profile or her hair or some posture of hers? Was there something that, like, as you're looking at those album covers, sort of starts to come to you? How did you think about approaching this?Р”В¬HRISTIAN ROBINSON: Well, I love the stories that are a little bit more challenging to approach and to present to a child. I very much wanted to tell a story that, you know, showed the trajectory of her life, showed how her experiences as a child impacted who she was as an adult.Р”В¬ORNISH: Christian Robinson, for you, I think, you know, when I look at some of the other work that you've illustrated, whether it's 'The Dead Bird,' Margaret Wise Brown, which is, you know, a picture book essentially about death - you've also illustrated a book about Josephine Baker.

But eventually I got to the point where I felt like I had a story that made sense and that honored Nina Simone. I recognized that there was a difficult story to tell here.

TODD: The weight of it all did not occur to me when I started writing. SIMONE: (Singing) There's a world, little girl, waiting for you. So what inspired them to take on a version of Simone's story, a story marked by racism and mental health struggles, and make it into a story for kids? NINA SIMONE: (Singing) You are young, gifted and Black.Р”В¬ORNISH: Traci Todd tells the story of Simone's early life in vibrant, emotional hues in a new children's book called 'Nina: A Story Of Nina Simone.' It's illustrated by the critically acclaimed artist Christian Robinson. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'TO BE YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK') Nina found a way.Р”В¬ORNISH: Eunice became Nina Simone, the prolific composer and singer behind 'To Be Young, Gifted And Black,' among many other songs. TODD: That dream didn't come true, but Nina found a way. She was born in Tryon, N.C., and she really wanted to become a classical musician.Р”В¬ORNISH: This is author Traci Todd, and the way she tells it. TRACI TODD: It was Eunice Kathleen Waymon. It begins with a little girl raised in the segregated South of the '30s and '40s. Next, we're going to tell you the story of a dream almost deferred.

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