An African American girl shares the private world of playtime on her front steps over each of the four seasons.
As the young narrator of this delightful story points out, the front steps can be one of the best places for city kids to play. Each season brings new experiences, from the long, hot-through-your-shoes days of summer to the discovery of leaf prints in autumn. Best of all, whenever you come back from away, setting foot on the front steps means you’re finally home.
An intimate portrait of children at play, My Steps is a lovely tribute to all the seasons of a child’s world.
Sally Derby is the author of numerous books for children, including the popular No Mush Today and My Steps, published by Lee & Low. Her books are notable for their heartfelt family stories told from a spot-on childlike point of view. The mother of six grown children, she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband.
Adjoa J. Burrowes has illustrated many books for children, including two published by Lee & Low: My Steps, a Child magazine Best Book of the Year, and Grandma's Purple Flowers, which she also wrote, an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists" selection. In addition, Burrowes has written and illustrated several books for Lee & Low's Bebop Books educational imprint. Burrowes received a Fine Arts degree from Howard University and currently lives with her children in Herndon, Virginia. To find out more about Adjoa Burrowes, visit her website: www.adjoaburrowes.com.
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
"[Derby's] strong narration focuses on the tiny events that make up a day of make-believe. Where each scene has the pleasing simplicity of Peter's world in Ezra Jack Keat's The Snowy Day."
"The concreteness of the language and the occasional snatches of conversation bring the first-person text to life. Collages of dyed-and-painted papers add a feeling of spontaneity as well as a distinctive style. . . children who don't have a flight of cracked concrete steps may end up wishing for a stoop of their own."
"A gentle story about a child's imaginative play. . . Bright cut-paper collages with watercolors. . . have a fresh, childlike quality. An additional slice-of-urban-life picture book."
"[Derby] has created her most delightful children's book yet. My Steps proves once again that happiness is where you find it."
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