About this item

"I was six years old the day we left the farm in Mississippi," remembers Cassie in this richly textured picture book. "Between the boll weevils, the floods, and the landlord, there was no way a family could scratch out a living there anymore."Packing themselves into an old jalopy -- with Daddy, Uncle Vern, and Mama in the front seat and Cassie and her two brothers in the back -- they joined the Great Migration from the impoverished Deep South to Chicago, where there was work to be had in the stockyards. Across the kids' laps lay Daddy's prized possession, a six-string guitar. Daddy worked hard to put food on the table, but what he really loved was playing the blues. This evocative tale of the African-American odyssey in search of a better life is also a homage to the uniquely American music that developed from African music and American spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads.In the book's backmatter, Garland relates how he first heard and fell in love with blues music, beginning a lifelong fandom. Portraits and thumbnail biographies of great blues musicians and landmark songs complete this tribute to the great American music and the yearnings that produced it.Fountas & Pinnell Level S Full Color



About the Author

Michael Garland

Award winning author and illustrator Michael Garland has been out on the New York Times Best Seller list four times. Some recent Michael Garland books from are; Oh, What A Christmas! Scholastic, Miss Smith Under the Ocean, Dutton Publishers, and Grandpa's Tractor, Boyds Mills Michael Garland's greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children's picture books. Garland's Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is currently working on his thirtieth book as author and illustrator.Michael Garland has illustrated for celebrity authors like James Patterson and Gloria Estefan. His illustrations for Patterson's SantaKid were the inspiration for Sak's Fifth's Avenue's Christmas holiday window display in New York City. Garland's Christmas Magic has become a season classic and is currently being developed for a for a TV special.His work has won many honors and is frequently included in the Society of Illustrators and the Original Art of Children's book show as well annuals from Print, Graphis and Communications Arts magazines. Recently, Michael Garland was included on the list of the top one hundred Irish Americans by Irish American Magazine. Michael Garland is frequently asked to speak at schools, literary conferences and festivals across the country.http://www.garlandpicturebooks.comhttp://childrensbooksheal.com/2011/11/30/oh-what-a-christmas-by-michael-garland/http://www.valcomnews.com/wp-content/PDFs/CalKids/CK1112.pdfhttp://www.facebook.com/album.php? aid=383&id=100000791525187&l=fb121ddf7ahttp://www.facebook.com/album.php? aid=24741&id=100000791525187&l=59df58a9f5Michael Garland



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