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  • Published: 1 November 2016
  • ISBN: 9780399168567
  • Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $36.99

Preaching to the Chickens

The Story of Young John Lewis



Even as a very young boy, John Lewis knew he wanted to be a preacher when he grew up. He wanted to be the kind of leader who could use his passionate speeches to stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action.
     But why wait to grow up? At five years old, when he became the official caretaker of the sixty chickens on his family's farm, he realized he had a wonderful audience to practice on--and they became this brave Civil Rights activist's first flock, content under his watchful care and riveted by the power of his words.

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book

Critically acclaimed author Jabari Asim and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis give readers a fascinating glimpse into the boyhood of Civil Rights leader John Lewis.
 
John wants to be a preacher when he grows up—a leader whose words stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait? When John is put in charge of the family farm’s flock of chickens, he discovers that they make a wonderful congregation! So he preaches to his flock, and they listen, content under his watchful care, riveted by the rhythm of his voice.
 
Celebrating ingenuity and dreaming big, this inspirational story, featuring Jabari Asim’s stirring prose and E. B. Lewis’s stunning, light-filled impressionistic watercolor paintings, includes an author’s note about John Lewis, who grew up to be a member of the Freedom Riders, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and demonstrator on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. John Lewis is now a Georgia congressman, who is still an activist today, recently holding a sit-in on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol to try to force a vote on gun violence. His March: Book Three recently won the National Book Award, as well as the American Library Association's Coretta Scott King Author Award, Printz Award, and Sibert Award.

  • Published: 1 November 2016
  • ISBN: 9780399168567
  • Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $36.99

Also by Jabari Asim

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Praise for Preaching to the Chickens

Praise for Jabari Asim's Fifty Cents and a Dream
     * "Asim's lyrical text transforms the journey into a spiritual awakening for a young man who had 'a dream in his soul.' . . . An outstanding achievement and a life worthy of note."--Kirkus STAR
     * "An inspirational life, memorably presented."--SLJ STAR
     * "Asim's lyrical narrative is succinct yet illustrative . . . makes an impressive addition to any biography collection."--PW STAR
     "Remarkable . . . told with poetic and soulful candor."--New York Times Book Review

Praise for E. B. Lewis's illustrations in Each Kindness (by Jacqueline Woodson)
     * "Combining realism with shimmering impressionistic washes of color, Lewis turns readers into witnesses as kindness hangs in the balance in the cafeteria, the classroom, and on the sun-bleached playground asphalt; readers see how the most mundane settings can become tense testing grounds for character."--PW STAR
     * "Gentle but detailed watercolor paintings of a diverse rural classroom. . . . Illustrations of children's facial expressions from surprising angles, expansive countryside views, and pools of water and windows, which invite readers to pause, reflect, and empathize."--SLJ STAR
     "Lewis embraces the effects of light like an Impressionist, while his creative, often cinematic uses of point of view add resonance to the story."--BCCB
     "Lewis dazzles with frame-worthy illustrations, masterful use of light guiding readers' emotional responses."--Kirkus