Synopses & Reviews
In the imagination of a young inner-city boy, police sirens sound like howling wolves, streetlights look like stars, and shots fired by neighborhood gangs sound like those stars cracking the darkness. But when his older brother joins a gang, he can no longer pretend. With the help of his mother, he comes up with a plan to save his brother and unite his neighbors in a stand for peace. The realistic yet uplifting words of best-selling author Barbara M. Joosse combine with powerful illustrations by award-winning artist R. Gregory Christie in this hope-filled story. One young boys courage can make a difference.
Review
"Featuring bold hues and some arresting perspectives, Christie's stylized acrylic paintings poignantly convey the anguish and sadness of this sympathetic narrator and his mother." Publishers Weekly
Review
"The story is both sad and sweet, and the acrylic illustrations, done in a raw, expressionistic style with jarring perspectives and flat, unsettling colors, suit the text. Nonjudgmental and sobering, this book deals sensitively with a serious issue that is plaguing today's youth." School Library Journal
Synopsis
A young boy imagines his inner-city neighborhood as a safe place among the stars. But when his older brother joins a gang, he can no longer pretend he's safe. Full color.
About the Author
Barbara Joosse is the award-winning and best-selling author of twenty-five books for children, including
Mama, Do You Love Me?,
I Love You the Purplest, and
Ghost Wings. She lives in Wisconsin.
R. Gregory Christie is the award-winning illustrator of The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, Richard Wright and the Library Card, and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, which was on the New York Public Librarys list of 100 recommended childrens books for 2000. He lives in New Jersey.