• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2018 November #1
  In the months following the death of his father, life is hard for young James Otis and Mama. Still, when Reverend Dennis requests donations for a family that has lost everything to fire, Mama is the first to respond, sewing an apron from her best tablecloth. James Otis has a harder time deciding what to give, but finally settles on an illustrated book of his own creation. This posthumous offering from award winner McKissack (Who Will Bell the Cat?, 2018) recounts a heartfelt story demonstrating that joyful giving can have many rewards. Harrison's mixed-media and collage artwork portrays a close-knit, African American community, where fancy possessions are in short supply, but love and caring abound. Using folk-style illustrations and favoring earth tones, Harrison utilizes mottled backgrounds and colorfully collaged pieces to depict the characters' clothing. The faces are particularly expressive, conveying a full range of emotions. Appropriate for one-on-one sharing and story hours alike, this is a moving story that attests to life's most important values. Grades K-3. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

PATRICIA C. MCKISSACK is the author of many lauded books for children, including, most recently, Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout, a 2017 Parents Choice Gold Award winner, a New York Public Library, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and recipient of 3 starred reviews; The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, a Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award winner, and its companion, Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and other Wily Characters, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book; Never Forgotten, a Corretta Scott King Honor book; and The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and winner of the 2008 Parents Choice Award. Ms. McKissack passed away in the summer of 2017. This is her final work.

APRIL HARRISON is a renowned folk artist born and currently residing in Greenville, South Carolina. Her work appears in the public collections of Vanderbilt University, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, the Atlanta Housing Authority, and the Erskine University Museum and in many private collections. This is her first picture book. Learn more at aprilsonggallery.com.