Mirandy & Brother Wind

Illus. in full color."Mirandy is sure she'll win the cake walk if she can catch Brother Wind for her partner, but he eludes all the tricks her friends advise. This gets a high score for plot, pace, and characterization. Mirandy sparkles with energy and determination. Multi-hued watercolors fill the pages with patterned ferment. A treat to pass on to new generations."--(starred) Bulletin, Center for Children's Books. Cassette running time: 20 min.  

"Each page sparkles with life."--The New York Times Book Review
In this Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning tale, Mirandy is determined to capture the best partner for the junior cakewalk jubilee. And who is the best partner? The wind, of course
Grandmama Beasley says, "Can't nobody put shackles on Brother Wind, chile. He be special. He be free." With neighbors up and down Ridgetop suggesting all manner of strategies, and friend Ezel laughing at each foiled one, Mirandy grows ever more determined: she'll get hold of that Brother Wind yet
Patricia C. McKissack's thoroughly engaging tale dances with spirit and rollicking good humor. Complemented by Jerry Pinkney's rich, eye-catching watercolors of the rural South, here's one of those rare, rewarding picture books that is sure to be read and enjoyed again and again.

Award winning author Patricia McKissack comes from a family of skilled storytellers, who taught her to listen and observe and who encouraged her life-long love affair with words.  The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural was a 1993 Newbery Honor Book.  Pat also received the Coretta Scott King Award in 1993 for The Dark Thirty.  Pat wishes she could have talked to her hero, Frederick Douglass, about his rise from slavery, his daring escape, and freedom -- at last!  If she was not an author, Pat would like to be an interior designer or an architect so she could tell stories through design.

Pat frequently collaborates on books with her husband, Fredrick.  They have three sons and live in St. Louis, Missouri.