Sidewalk Chalk

Poems of the City

Illustrated by Dimitrea Tokunbo
At every corner, down every block, a city percolates with people at work and play: girls jumping double Dutch, the shoeshine man polishing a pair of wing tips, boys heading toward the basketball court. Each neighborhood is filled with unique characters (the beautician, the barber, the short-order cook) and places (the storefront churches, the outdoor market, the park pool) - all as familiar as family. Carole Boston Weatherford pays tribute to these sights and sounds of urban life in twenty fresh and rhythmic poems. In quiet moments and lively street scenes, her work captures the excitement and diversity found in these places that have "no trees / to climb" but where people young and old still "reach for the stars." Dimitrea Tokunbo's vivid illustrations are sure to delight.
New York Times bestselling author Carole Boston Weatherford’s 60-plus books include the Caldecott Honor book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, for which she was also awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor winner Box; and the Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Moses. She won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor for Becoming Billie Holiday. Weatherford teaches composition and children's literature at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Visit cbweatherford.com. View titles by Carole Boston Weatherford
"Every selection is set into one of Tokunbo's remarkable textured watercolor paintings that reflect the diversity and richness of a big-city neighborhood. The animated faces of children fully engaged in the wide variety of activities bring the poetry to life. This partnership of word and illustration works well and belongs in most collections." --School Library Journal

About

At every corner, down every block, a city percolates with people at work and play: girls jumping double Dutch, the shoeshine man polishing a pair of wing tips, boys heading toward the basketball court. Each neighborhood is filled with unique characters (the beautician, the barber, the short-order cook) and places (the storefront churches, the outdoor market, the park pool) - all as familiar as family. Carole Boston Weatherford pays tribute to these sights and sounds of urban life in twenty fresh and rhythmic poems. In quiet moments and lively street scenes, her work captures the excitement and diversity found in these places that have "no trees / to climb" but where people young and old still "reach for the stars." Dimitrea Tokunbo's vivid illustrations are sure to delight.

Author

New York Times bestselling author Carole Boston Weatherford’s 60-plus books include the Caldecott Honor book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, for which she was also awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor winner Box; and the Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Moses. She won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor for Becoming Billie Holiday. Weatherford teaches composition and children's literature at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Visit cbweatherford.com. View titles by Carole Boston Weatherford

Praise

"Every selection is set into one of Tokunbo's remarkable textured watercolor paintings that reflect the diversity and richness of a big-city neighborhood. The animated faces of children fully engaged in the wide variety of activities bring the poetry to life. This partnership of word and illustration works well and belongs in most collections." --School Library Journal

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