The art in this book was created using a variety of materials: ink, colored pencil, acrylic paint, and cut paper.
The final layouts were assembled and colored in Adobe Photoshop.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4197-3653-7
Text copyright © 2019 Jen Bryant
Illustrations copyright © 2019 Cannaday Chapman
Book design by Chad W. Beckerman
Published in 2019 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved.
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Thanks to Jennifer Pickle Styran, Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh; Marylu Denny, director of membership
services, and Karen Cahall, docent, Pittsburgh History
and Landmarks Foundation; Liz Simpson, assistant
registrar, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History
Center, Pittsburgh; Leigh and Kurt Skvarla, generous
hosts, Wexford, Pennsylvania; Melanye Finister, actor,
People’s Light theater company, Malvern, Pennsylvania;
Deborah Taylor, coordinator of school and student
services, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore; the
research staff at the Smithsonian Library, Washington,
DC; Jenn O’Leary, Dana McDonnell, and Kacey
Doran at the FHG Library, West Chester University,
West Chester, Pennsylvania; and Carol Welch and
Laura Salvucci, reference department, Chester County
Library, Exton, Pennsylvania.
And for their incredible patience and wisdom, my
thanks to Tamar Brazis and Howard Reeves, editors,
and Amy Vreeland, managing editor, at Abrams
Books for Young Readers, and to my wonderful
agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin, VP at Trident Media,
LLC. And finally, to Cannaday Chapman, whose
extraordinary art I first spied in the
New York Times
—what
an honor and a pleasure to work with you!
—J.B.
The author pledges a portion of the royalties earned from the
publication of this book to the Daisy Wilson Artist Community, for the
purpose of restoring August Wilson’s childhood home in the Hill District
and providing a creative community space. Visit Daisywilson.org.
“I don’t write for black people or white people; I write about the
black experience in America. And contained within that experience,
because it is a human experience, are all the universalities.”
—August Wilson
To all the young people, searching the rows: May you find your mentors there!
—J. B.
To my mom, for all her love and support
—C. C.
eISBN 978-1-68335-624-0