In a Cloud of Dust

A celebration of bicycles, cooperation, and the resourcefulness of children everywhere

In a Tanzanian village school, Anna struggles to keep up. Her walk home takes so long that when she arrives, it is too dark to do her homework. Working through the lunch hour instead, she doesn't see the truck from the bicycle library pull into the schoolyard. By the time she gets out there, the bikes are all gone. Anna hides her disappointment, happy to help her friends learn to balance and steer. She doesn't know a compassionate friend will offer her a clever solution--and the chance to raise her own cloud of dust.

Brought to life by Brian Deines' vivid oil paintings, Alma Fullerton's simple, expressive prose captures the joy of feeling the wind on your face for the first time. Inspired by organizations like The Village Bicycle Project that have opened bicycle libraries all across Africa, In a Cloud of Dust is an uplifting example of how a simple opportunity can make a dramatic change in a child's life.

"Soaked in warm golds and oranges, Deines's oil paintings glow with a sense of promise as the children race around the schoolyard on their bikes. Fullerton says quite a bit with few words in her verselike prose, and a detailed author's note discusses the vital role bicycles play in communities across Africa and supplies information about bicycle donation organizations."--Publishers Weekly

ISBN-13: 9781927485620

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Pajama Press

Publication Date: 09-15-2015

Pages: 32

Product Dimensions: 10.20h x 9.20w x 0.50d

Age Range: 4 - 8 Years

Fullerton, Alma: - Alma Fullerton's free-verse novels for juvenile and young adult readers have earned her multiple nominations and awards, including the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and the CLA Book of the Year Honour. Her first picture book, A Good Trade, has been a White Ravens Choice, a Bank Street Best Book, and a nominee for the OLA Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award and the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards. Alma lives in Midland, Ontario.Deines, Brian: - Brian Deines is a fine artist and the award-winning illustrator of over 20 children's books, including A Bear in War, Bear on the Homefront, The Road to Afghanistan, and On a Snowy Night. Dragonfly Kites, part of a trilogy written by Tomson Highway, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for illustration and the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award. A graduate of the Alberta College of Art, Brian lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and daughter.