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Jacqueline Woodson gives us a tender and moving story about two siblings who don’t know what to expect when they’re sent to live with an unfamiliar aunt, but soon discover that there’s plenty of love to go around when they need it most, with stunning original art by Monica Mikai. That’s what happens with Johnson and Beebee’s mama--and that’s why they are being taken to their aunt Gracie’s house. Who is this Gracie aunt? That’s what Johnson wants to know. He can’t remember her, and Beebee doesn’t seem to trust her, at least not at first. But slowly, as the three of them spend time together--cooking, watching movies, snuggling on the couch, and even crying when they need to--they form a bond. And when Johnson sees Mama again, he knows that no matter where he lives, he’ll always be surrounded by love.
About the author
Jacqueline Woodson (JacquelineWoodson.com) received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. She was the 2022 Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence, and was the 2018–2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her
New York Times bestselling memoir,
Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, and an NAACP Image Award. Her dozens of books for young readers include Coretta Scott King Award and NAACP Image Award winner
Before the Ever After,
New York Times bestsellers
The Day You Begin and
Harbor Me, Newbery Honor winners
Feathers,
Show Way, and
After Tupac and D Foster, and the picture book
Each Kindness, which won the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.
Monica Mikai (MonicaMikai.com) wrote and illustrated
What the Garden Tells Me,
Wash Day with Mama, and
My Quiet Place. She has illustrated numerous picture books, including
Build a House (by Rhiannon Giddens),
My Name Is a Story (by Ashanti),
You Are Getting Sleepy (by Lori Alexander),
The Proudest Color (by Sheila Modir and Jeffrey Kashou), and
Thank a Farmer (by Maria Gianferrari). She has a BA in art and elementary education from Rider University and an MFA in painting from the New York Studio School. Monica lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with her husband and two sons.
Summary
Jacqueline Woodson gives us a tender and moving story about two siblings who don’t know what to expect when they’re sent to live with an unfamiliar aunt, but soon discover that there’s plenty of love to go around when they need it most, with stunning original art by Monica Mikai.
Sometimes, even when a mama loves you, she can’t always take care of you . . .
That’s what happens with Johnson and Beebee’s mama—and that’s why they are being taken to their aunt Gracie’s house.
Who is this Gracie aunt? That’s what Johnson wants to know. He can’t remember her, and Beebee doesn’t seem to trust her, at least not at first. But slowly, as the three of them spend time together—cooking, watching movies, snuggling on the couch, and even crying when they need to—they form a bond. And when Johnson sees Mama again, he knows that no matter where he lives, he’ll always be surrounded by love.
