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  • Published: 27 December 2012
  • ISBN: 9780399160011
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $35.00

Hope's Gift



A poignant story celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation ProclamationIt’s 1862 and the Civil War has turned out to be a long, deadly conflict. Hope’s father can’t stand the waiting a minute longer and decides to join the Union army to fight for freedom. He slips away one tearful night, leaving Hope, who knows she may never see her father again, with only a conch shell for comfort. Its sound, Papa says, echoes the promised song of freedom. It’s a long wait for freedom and on the nights when the cannons roar, Papa seems farther away than ever. But then Lincoln finally does it: on January 1, 1863, he issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves, and a joyful Hope finally spies the outline of a familiar man standing on the horizon.Affectingly written and gorgeously illustrated, Hope’s Gift captures a significant moment in American history with deep emotion and a lot of charm.

  • Published: 27 December 2012
  • ISBN: 9780399160011
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $35.00

About the author

Kelly Starling Lyons

Kelly Starling Lyons is a children’s book author and a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness of Black authors and illustrators. She began her journey to become a children's book author in her hometown of Pittsburgh, learning the art of storytelling from her mom who took her to productions at a children's playhouse, wrote plays and made up bedtime tales.

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