A Coretta Scott King Author Honor BookWinner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves. It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything-- Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved. In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. At home he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy. But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston--a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him. Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book Before She Was Harriet, has crafted a lyrical debut novel about one boy's experiences during the Great Migration. Includes an author's note about the historical context and her research. Don't miss the companion novel, Leaving Lymon, which centers on one of Langston's classmates and explores grief, resilience, and the circumstances that can drive a boy to become a bully-- and offer a chance at redemption. A Junior Library Guild selection!A CLA Notable Children's Book in Language ArtsA Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, with 5 Starred ReviewsA School Library Journal Best Book of 2018Author: Lesa Cline-RansomePublisher: Holiday HousePublished: 08/14/2018Pages: 112Binding Type: HardcoverWeight: 0.40lbsSize: 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.60dISBN: 9780823439607Audience: Ages 9-12Accelerated Reader:Reading Level: 4.5Point Value: 3Interest Level: Middle GradeQuiz #/Name: 195865 / Finding LangstonAward: Coretta Scott King Award - Honor BookReview Citation(s): Booklist 04/15/2018 pg. 59Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2018 pg. 91Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2018School Library Journal 08/01/2018 pg. 66Shelf Awareness 08/17/2018Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2018 pg. 78Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2019 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In StyleAbout the AuthorLesa Cline-Ransome is the author of more than twenty books for young readers including the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a plethora of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, a Coretta Scott King honor, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a Christopher Award. Her work has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book lists and she lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
