Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Black girls lead the way in this story about defining oneself and making the world a better place.” School Library Journal
Review
"Poet Johnson (Heaven) bridges fanciful aspirations and attainable goals in this inclusive portrait of girlhood....A blithe celebration of individuality, guts, and sisterhood." Publishers Weekly
Review
"...not even the sky's the limit for the imaginative, adventurous, inventive girls depicted in this inspirational picture book....This is not trite girl-power pablum; it's a rallying cry for girls to reject limitations others might place on them and their dreams." The Horn Book Magazine (Starred Review)
About the Author
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.