THE YEAR WE LEARNED TO FLY
Written by Jacqueline Woodson
Nancy Paulsen Books, An imprint of Penguin Random House 2022
Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López’s highly anticipated companion to their #1 New York Times bestseller The Day You Begin illuminates the power in each of us to face challenges with confidence.
On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice: “Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored as you are now.” And before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom. Then, on a day full of quarrels, it’s time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.
REVIEWS
*“Energetic layered multimedia illustrations accompany the poetically repeating lines, vividly depicting winged escapes over images of a slave ship and contemporary real-world high-rises. ”
– Publishers Weekly
“Vibrant illustrations, purposeful rhythms, and deliberate repetition create a read-aloud experience that kids of varying ages can follow.”
– Common Sense Media
“A must for any collection, and an outstanding example of the picture book as an artistic and literary form.”
– School Library Journal
“Colorful butterflies and a vibrant little bird that often appear flying around the siblings represent their freedom, which is only ever as far away as an open book or the doorways of their imaginations.”
– Kirkus
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Amazon Editors Pick-Best Children’s Books of 2022 So Far
INTERVIEWS
CBS Mornings with Jacqueline Woodson