Stevie

by John Steptoe

One day my momma told me, "You know you're gonna have a little friend come stay with you." And I said, "Who is it?" and "For how long?" That's when Stevie moved in with his crybaby self. He played with my toys and broke them, and he left dirty footprints all over my bed. But then Stevie left again, and I missed him. I missed playing Cowboys and Indians on the stoop and watching cartoons in the morning. Maybe... just maybe, Stevie wasn't so bad after all.

Genres: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, Family, Childrens, Fiction, African American, Friendship

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

John Steptoe was an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books from New York City. He began working on his first children's book, Stevie, while still a teenager and achieved great success during his tragically short career, encouraging the advancement of African American culture by producing work about the African American experience that children could appreciate. Recipient of two Coretta Scott King Awards and two Caldecott Honors, Steptoe was posthumously honored by the creation of the John Steptoe New Talent Award, an award designated annually by the Coretta Scott King Award Task Force. Steptoe's best known work is Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, for which he won his second Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

Reviews

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A landmark book in African American children's literature, Steptoe's _Stevie_ both takes on a child's perspective with wit and grace and includes beautiful illustrations that evoke so much emotion in a few bold brushstrokes. Robert is forced to take Stevie under his wing, even though this little boy annoys him with his footprints on his bedspread and his insistence to join him when he would rather play with his friends at the park. However, when Stevie's family moves away, Robert realizes how much he misses him.

[Steve Denyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left a lasting impression on me as a child, and still moves me today. Steptoe does an incredible job of telling a story about making a connection, one child to another, through a reluctant narrator too proud to admit he has been touched. PLEASE find this book, read it, and share it with someone special!

[Michelle M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was featured on Sesame Street (season 1, episode 4) because it was so good.
Ages: preschool and up

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about friendship. At the beginning of the story, Robert finds out that Stevie is going to be staying with his family for a while. He's a little kid and his mother has to work during the week, so Robert's parents are watching him. Robert is very annoyed with Stevie all the time. Watch how things begin to change. I'm looking forward to sharing this book with my students, because those with younger children around (siblings, relatives, friends) will be able to relate to this story.

[Kate Buechler]

Loved Jacqueline Woodson's poem about this book/representation/the importance of kids having the opportunity to chose what they read in Brown Girl Dreaming.

[Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobby is an only child but one day his mom has a friend come stay with them for a week named Stevie. Stevie breaks his toys, gets his bed dirty, and doesn't even go to school yet. Bobby feels like he always gets yelled at for things that Stevie gets away with and things that Bobby didn't even do. But one day Stevie moved away and only then did Bobby realize he loved Stevie like a brother and how lonely he was going to be. This book teaches a lesson of appreciating what you have while you still have it. It made me think of the times when I may have taken one of my friends for granted without even realizing it and then next thing I know they're out of my life. I would read this to children because sometimes children aren't the best at sharing because they're so possessive of their things. It also is a good way to get children to be more friendly to the new students, even though Stevie is a friend from home not school.

[Jesse McMorris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobby is an only child but one day his mom has a friend come stay with them for a week named Stevie. Stevie breaks his toys, gets his bed dirty, and doesn't even go to school yet. Bobby feels like he always gets yelled at for things that Stevie gets away with and things that Bobby didn't even do. But one day Stevie moved away and only then did Bobby realize he loved Stevie like a brother and how lonely he was going to be. The book is about friendship and how you should cherish the people in your life before they leave. Stevie also proves the point that sometimes the older brother job is hard but it feels rewarding. This was John Steptoe’s first book that he wrote so it was kind of a big deal and a stepping stone for his quite successful career.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awful for a variety of reasons but I can see how it cold have value for culture both in the age and community of the book telling the story. However I feel strongly that the word "stupid" has no purpose in a children's book much less multiple times. We read this one in the The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury: Celebrated Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud on recommendation from Sonlight P 3/4, and a poor recommendation it is.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book capture the emotions of the characters very well, even though they don't have much detail. The simple shapes used convey the love of the mother and the shyness and curiosity of children. I thought it was funny how he kept referring to Steve as "Stupid," and even though that's just what kids do, I'm not sure it has a place in today's culture where namecalling is taken a little more seriously because of "bullying." The moral was sweet, that even though a younger kid can be annoying, they still worm their way into our hearts and routines, and we miss them when they're gone.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I ended up reading this story out loud to some children. For its time period, I could see how this book would be a nice story for a hopeful author's first book. It touches on compassion towards those less fortunate then us, understanding those younger than ourselves, children needing to understand sharing, and even informal foster care. All of these are good points but I just did not greatly like this book. Stevie is by no means a bad book but it is not something I would read unless asked by those wanting to hear it read to them.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of unexplained background to the story. The story is shown through the perspective of a boy whose mother tells him they will be babysitting Stevie. It is obvious that Stevie had some very unfortunate difficulties going on with his family for him to be away from his mother for such long stretches. I wanted the babysitting mother to be more helpful to her own son in teaching him to be compassionate towards Stevie. He was not at all.

[Rakisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert is forced to share his life with Stevie, a young boy his mother is taking care off for a friend. Robert resents having to share with Stevie, and often calls him "stupid." In the end, when Stevie's family moves away, Robert realizes he liked Stevie and misses him. Robert says thoughtfully at the end "He was a nice little guy. He was kinda like a little brother." A beautiful, sweet, and realitistic picture book told in the voice of a child.

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stevie came to stay with a family while his mother worked. Robert an older boy was upset about this because when he went to school Stevie would play with his toys and sometimes break them. When Stevie's family moved away Robert began to miss the boy he called stupid. Children should learn to make the best of every situation from this book. Good to read if students are having trouble with changes in family routines.

[Tiffany]

This is a story about two boys who don't get along at first, but then realize just how much fun they have together. Think this is a really great book for kids because many of them have younger siblings or are a younger sibling themselves. It can relate to their real life experiences and helps them see and feel the emotions of others, not just themselves.

[Ashley Wampler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stevie is a little boy who comes to stay with the author to be babysat during the week. Stevie messes up his bed, plays with his toys, and just downright annoys the author. However, when Stevie moves away and no longer comes over, the author realizes that Stevie had been like a brother to him, and how much he misses him. It was a cute book with a sweet and sort of unexpected ending.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just picked up the first edition. Steptoe writes, on the back cover, "I am a painter and not yet an artist. I don't just happen to be black. I also happen to have the ambition of being a fine painter."
i wonder if he could even have dreamed that he'd make something as beatuiful as "Mufaro's Daughters."

[Debbie Hoskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad we still have a copy of this in our library. Steptoe's style has a thick black line and brighter colors than the style he used for _Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters_. The story is easy to ready, told in the first person. A boy doesn't like Stevie staying with them, but then when Stevie can go to live with his own parents, the boy misses him.

[Amanda Hlava · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a boy that has to live with a little boy that his mother is watching for a friend. At first he does not like the little boy, but after he leaves he learns that he really did like having him around. This story is great for learning to like new people and family dinamics. Also the characters are African American so you can create a class library that is more diverse.

[Mary Wike · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book showed a boy finally come around and eventually start to care for a younger boy who only wanted to be this older boys friend. The book had poor grammar which I believe is a huge negative because teaching students correct grammar at a young age is very important! overall it is a sweet book with a great story line

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely. As in moving, heartfelt, authentic (not as in pretty). Maybe your kids have been told not to say stupid, but not every child has... and that's what this boy feels... would you deny him his feelings?

[Emerald Celestine Svienty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this was a really great story! Really cool story that has a lot of lessons. I really liked the style of text and of the pictures it was all around very good. Awesome multicultural literature for elementary age kids.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I had never read this. One of the books from Dreamers that I'm so glad I got to read. This is truly a classic!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a shame that I never knew of this book. It is beautiful and vibrant. I learned of this book from Jacqueline Woodson's poetry in Brown Girl Dreaming. I try to read books mentioned in books I am reading, as a way of broadening my perspective. Jacqueline writes, “I’d never have believed that someone who looked like me could be in the pages of the book that someone who looked like me had a story.”

Published in 1969, when Steptoe was only 19, Stevie is groundbreaking and as Woodson remarks show important to show that everyone has a story, not just the white people of “classic literature.”

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to know how to rate this, because as a book to read to young children I would give it one or two stars, but as a work of art and poetry for tweens, teens, and adults I’d give it five. It’s simple, beautiful, eloquent, subtle, profound… and younger kids aren’t going to get much out of it other than that the main character hated the little kid and called him stupid. The illustrations are beautiful from an art perspective, but in contrast to other children’s books’ styles, make the characters look kind of creepy, which isn’t what I want to go for in creating a diverse library for little kids.
So… it’s wonderful, but save it for the 11+ crowd.

[Children's Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and my pet peeve is when people use"gonna" and this book is full of it!

This book is full of vernacular language and it makes the voice authentic. I just love the writing. So real. It made me laugh and it also made me choke a little.

It would be nice to have more pictures as there is quite a bit of text, but I loved it anyway. That's a book that makes you feel and that is rare.

A fabulous book for teaching voice. And the author was almost a "baby" himself! He was still a High School student when he turned up at Harper's offices without an appointment to show them his art. Two years later this book came out.

[Ellice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written and illustrated by the author when he was just a teenager, Stevie tells the story of Robert, whose life is upended when another child comes to stay at his house every week. Robert isn't happy about this and grumbles about all the annoying things that Stevie does. But when Stevie's family moves away, Robert realizes he misses Stevie just a little bit. The illustrations are colorful, bold, and unique.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to read this--according to a lot of other reviews, this book is a cornerstone in ethnic and black children's picturebooks.  I can definitely see why!  The artwork, the story...it's all so wonderful.  The tone certainly makes me think of a jealous child, so in that sense, as an adult, this definitely rings true to the story he writes and the audience he's writing to.  

Review cross-listed here!

[Keziah Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steptoe, John. Stevie (1969). Robert is an only child who has never had to share his toys, his home, his friends or his family. That is until his mother must watch over a little boy named Stevie, “...with his crybaby self.” The new change presents Robert with many challenges and a distaste for his new company. Steptoe conveys the child’s inner monologue in a humorous and realistic manner, while using illustrations to capture the emotions of a child. No matter the age, we can all remember a moment where we felt obligated to spend time with someone. We all know what it feels like to have someone announce they are leaving, and never come back. Memorable for any reader both young and old. CSA Children's Books of the Year 1969; ALA Notable Children's Books of 1940–1970. Target audience: ages 4-8.

[Dr. Flippin's · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. This is one I had read aloud to enjoy. An author well known.

"While Steptoe's work emerged after the peak of the Harlem Renaissance, his contributions to children's literature built upon the foundation laid by the Renaissance, continuing its legacy of celebrating African American culture and identity." -AI...R2D2 & C-3po

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think we read this book in my 3rd grade class. It is referenced in Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and I immediately remembered it. I think we listened to the audio...definitely remember it being read to me.