Dream Street

by Tricia Elam Walker (Author) Ekua Holmes (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Caldecott Honor, three time Coretta Scott King Award winner, and New York Times bestselling illustrator and her author cousin pay gorgeous homage to the street they grew up on and the loving community that made their childhood special.

Welcome to Dream Street--the best street in the world! It's where love between generations rules, everyone is special, and the warmth of a neighborhood shines. Here is the perfect book for parents to use to introduce children to the importance of community.

Meet kids like Azaria, who loves to jump double-Dutch one leg at a time; Zion, whose dream is to become a librarian; and cousins Ede and Tari, who dream of creating a picture book together one day. Meet grown-ups like Mr. Sidney, a retired mail carrier who greets everyone with the words, "Don't wait to have a great day. Create one!" and Ms. Sarah, whose voice is only a whisper but who has stories between the lines of her face that she'll share when you come close.

Illuminating this vivid cast of characters are vibrant illustrations that make this neighborhood--based on Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston where Holmes and Walker grew up--truly sing.

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
Dreams for Black children manifest in striking art as the very idea of street is reimagined.

Review quotes

Praise for Tricia Elam Walker's Nana Akua Goes to School:

"A picture book . . . that captures a complex vulnerability that every child feels at one point or another." —The Wall Street Journal

"This lovely story explores the perennial fear of being different, while showcasing the great love between a grandparent and grandchild" —School Library Journal, starred review

"An open-hearted tribute to children with immigrant parents or grandparents." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

This beautiful picture book offers a helpful perspective on cultural differences within a heartening family story. —Booklist, starred review

Walker writes convincingly about how difference can cause unease among children, and her story offers a compelling portrait of a grandmother whose pride and poise put that concern to rest." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Offers viewers both the comfort of the familiar and, for those unfamiliar with West African arts, a tantalizing introduction to interpreting symbols. Most importantly, this calls for readers and listeners to have faith in youngsters to embrace a new concept with an open mind and enthusiastic spirit." —The Bulletin

"Lucky for readers and for Zura, her grandmother has a fascinating cultural tradition that, in her first book for kids, Tricia Elam Walker presents with extraordinary grace and nimbleness.... [An] eye-opening picture book." —Shelf Awareness
Tricia Elam Walker
Tricia Elam Walker is the author of the novel Breathing Room, among other publications. She is an award-winning fiction and nonfiction writer, cultural and fashion commentator, and blogger who has written for National Public Radio, the Washington Post, Essence magazine, HuffPost, and more. She practiced law for sixteen years prior to teaching writing in Washington, DC, and Boston. Tricia is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Howard University and is working on several projects, including children's books, plays, and a second novel.

April Harrison, a renowned folk artist, is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning illustrator of Patricia C. McKissack's final picture book, What Is Given from the Heart, which received four starred reviews and which the New York Times Book Review called an "exquisite story of generosity." 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. Learn more at aprilsonggallery.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780525581109
Lexile Measure
940
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Anne Schwartz Books
Publication date
November 16, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV023000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life
Library of Congress categories
African Americans
Neighborhoods
ALSC Notable Children's Book
Selection 2022

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