"Forceful and iconic," raved Publishers Weekly in a starred review. This gorgeous picture book by Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning husband-and-wife team Leo and Diane Dillon is sure to become a treasured keepsake for African American families. Set in West Africa, this a lyrical story-in-verse is about a young black boy who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, and his father who is left behind to mourn the loss of his son. Here's a beautiful, powerful, truly unforgettable story about family, memory, and freedom.
Side-splittingly funny, spine-chillingly spooky, this companion to a Newbery Honor-winning anthology The Dark Thirty is filled with bad characters who know exactly how to charm. From the author's note that takes us back to McKissack's own childhood when she would listen to stories told on her front porch... to the captivating introductions to each tale, in which the storyteller introduces himself and sets the stage for what follows... to the ten entertaining tales themselves, here is a worthy successor to McKissack's The Dark Thirty. In 'The Best Lie Ever Told,' meet Dooley Hunter, a trickster who spins an enormous whopper at the State Liar's contest. In 'Aunt Gran and the Outlaws,' watch a little old lady slickster outsmart Frank and Jesse James. And in 'Cake Norris Lives On,' come face to face with a man some folks believe may have died up to twenty-seven different times! From the Hardcover edition.
Patricia C. McKissack's books have received numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King, Newbery Honor and the Caldecott Medal. She teams up with storyteller Onawumi Jean Moss for this suspenseful, but not too scary, story taken from Gullah folklore. Left home alone because of a stomachache, Precious cleverly outwits the Boo Hag by singing her own wonderful little song.
