History of We

Nikkolas Smith is an Artivist, picture book author, and Hollywood film illustrator. He is the author-illustrator of the USA TODAY bestselling picture book The Artivist, The Golden Girls of Rio, and My Hair Is Poofy & That’s Okay. He also illustrated the picture books A Change Is Gonna Come, Captain America: Brave New World: A Hero Looks Like You, I Am Ruby Bridges, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: The Courage to Dream, That Flag, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The 1619 Project: Born on the Water. Many of Nikkolas’s viral and globally published sketches that have sparked important conversations and inspired meaningful change are included in his book Sunday Sketch: The Art of Nikkolas. He speaks on his Artivism and leads digital painting workshops at conferences, workplaces, and schools around the world. Nikkolas was born in Houston, Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles, California.

Praise for The History of We by Nikkolas Smith:57th NAACP Image Awards nominee (outstanding literary work - children)A 2026 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book HonorA 2026 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner (Picture Book category)A 2026 International Literacy Association (ILA) Notable Books for a Global Society Award WinnerA 2026 Golden Kite Award finalist (Picture Book Text and Illustration categories)A NCSS-CBC 2026 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young PeopleAn ALSC 2026 Notable Children’s Book (All Ages category)NEA Read Across American 2025-2026 selection2026 ALSC Summer Reading List (Grades K-2)National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) 2026 Notable Children’s Poetry BookThe Society of Illustrators Original Art Show selectionAn Evanston Public Library’s 101 Best Books of 2025A 2025 Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth (Young Fiction)A School Library Journal Best Book of 2025An NPR ‘Books We Love 2025’ selectionA Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2025A Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2025A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature (CSMCL) Best Books of 2025A Common Sense Media Best Books of 2025A 2025 The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB) Blue Ribbon Award★ “Combining vibrant, painterly illustrations and short, lyrical, explanatory paragraphs, Smith outlines major contributions of these various groups from prehistoric Africa.” —The Horn Book, starred review★ “Light but layered verse resists oversimplifying…It’s impossible to overstate the emotional effect of Smith’s artwork—simultaneously majestic and intimate…A triumph.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review★ “Each chapter of our history is set upon gorgeous painted landscapes or scenes of human ingenuity in action… Joy, struggle, and innovation are displayed throughout the ages, not only laying out a wide-spanning history but also upending the problematic idea that civilization began much later and that it was rooted in whiteness.” —Booklist, starred review★“[A] celebration of early human ingenuity….The text and art are elegantly matched in both beauty and impact…[E]xpansive and intimate, reminding readers of the connections running through all humanity.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review★ “Gorgeously illustrated…This is a first choice for any library seeking picture books about the fascinating origins of ‘We.’” —School Library Journal, starred review.“Using phrases that incorporate a communal we, and thickly stroked acrylic paintings that feel full of movement, Smith (The Artivist) establishes a progression of humankind’s creativity. . .It’s a visually rich collective history of humankind.” —Publishers Weekly