| America: My Land, Your Land, Our Land is a quiet, meditative book that encourages young readers to consider the diversity of our country, from its physical features to its social differences. Illustrated by 14 illustrators of color, America celebrates diversity in so many ways. Available in hardcover and as a bilingual boardbook. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| 1, 2, 3, Thanksgiving explores this most American holiday, bringing an extended family to a well-decorated and provisioned table to celebrate the country's origins as well as the ties that hold this family together. A sweet, if not unconventional, Thanksgiving book for the young reader. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Another book of a child's mind run amuck, Can You Top That? plays on the old trope of kids trying to outdo each other, in this case bragging about the wild, funny, and unusual animals supposedly they have. It's all resolved by the last child who brings the fantasy down to earth with a resounding thud with his revelation. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Speaking of unconventional, Setting the Turkeys Free uses the backdrop of Thanksgiving to explore the imagination of a young child whose world becomes suddenly animated, populated by squaking turkeys, a hungry fox, and a boy determined to keep the two worlds apart. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Storm captures the comings and goings of a thunderstorm in rural America. Thanks to illustrator Michael Hays, the focus is on both the farm family's response to the ensuing storm and on the sights and sounds of the changing landscape. Hays masterfully employs washes of blue, green, and yellow for a very satisfying effect. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Farm stories—a dime a dozen. But not this one. Sunner Sun Risin' follows a family of color through their daily chores on a bright summer day. In the highly stylized renderings of award-winning illustrator Don Tate, Summer Sun Risin' becomes an homage to the often overlooked farm family of color. A great read anytime, but especially as a bedtime story. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| My first book, Night Is Coming, remains one of my favorites, as it marks both my starting point as a published author and taps my early childhood experiences growing up in the rural South. And all with splendid illustrations by Jamichael Henterley. A real winner, at least that's what Smithsonian Magazine said about it. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Winner of multiple book awards, including a Reading Rainbow selection, Bein' With You This Way celebrares diversity plain and simple. Illustrator Michael Bryant captures children of all backgrounds and ethnicities playing in their neighborhood park. An uplifting message delivered with a highly rhythmic text. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| What, a Halloween book without monsters and other scary creatures? That's right. Shake Dem Halloween Bones presents a host of lively fairytale characters in this very musical and highly entertaining story. I'll bet you can't sit still reading this one. So stand up and get ready to Shake Dem Halloween Bones. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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| Hallelujah: A Christmas Celebration tells the story of Christmas leaning heavily on the use of collective nouns, a rich color palate, and a rhythmic refrain that leads this almost prayer-like text to the inevitable closing, Amen. Ask your local bookstore to order it for you, or click HERE to order online.
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