BooksRock.com - Kids Books At Amazing Low Prices!

A] rallying cry for girls to reject limitations others might place on them and their dreams.--starred, The Horn Book Magazine

Once I dreamed I swam / the ocean / and saw everything deep, cool / and was part of the waves. / I swam on by the people / onshore / hollering, / 'A girl like you needs to / stay out of the water / and be dry / like everyone else.'

Empower young readers to embrace their individuality, reject societal limitations, and follow their dreams. This inspiring picture book brings together a poem by acclaimed author Angela Johnson and Nina Crews's distinctive photocollage illustrations to celebrate girls of color.

Angela Johnson is an award-winning poet and children's author with more than forty books to her credit. She began her writing career in 1989 with the publication of a picture book called Tell Me a Story, Mama, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio.

Nina Crews is a critically acclaimed children's book author and illustrator. She uses photographs and photocollages to create energetic stories about young children. Two of her recent books, The Neighborhood Mother Goose and Below were ALA Notable selections. She is the daughter of children's book authors Donald Crews--Freight Train; Truck; Ten Black Dots; Shortcut and Ann Jonas--Round Trip; The Quilt; Color Dance. Nina is a graduate of Yale University, where she received a BA in art. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son.