Threshing Floor Academy

Stitchin' and Pullin' a Gee's Bend Quilt

Mother and daughter, grandmother and granddaughter, aunt and niece, friend and friend. For a hundred years, generations of women from Gee’s Bend have quilted together, sharing stories, trading recipes, singing hymns—all the while stitchin’ and pullin’ thread through cloth. Every day Baby Girl listens, watches, and waits, until she’s called to sit at the quilting frame. Piece by piece, she puzzles her quilt together—telling not just her story, but the story of her family, the story of Gee’s Bend, and the story of her ancestors’ struggle for freedom.  -Written by Patricia McKissack and Illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera.

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The Adventures of Koosey the Ladybug
(Paper Back)

Joey has just moved to a new city, so his dad, an astronaut, can be near his job at NASA. He learns to adapt to his new home when he makes friends with a talking bug - a ladybug named Koosey. It turns out that the garden in Joey's new home is a new world full of surprises and adventures. Find out how life changes for Joey and Koosey in amazing ways in this incredible book authored by Sherry Wildon-King.

"In The Adventures of Koosey The Ladybug - Koosey's Garden, children find characters with whom they can easily identify. Children, especially those experiencing one of life's painful transitions, i.e. divorce, loss, etc., and feeling 'terminally unique,' will not only find entertainment, but companionship and understanding with Joey, Koosey and the loveable garden creatures." -Nadine Pierre-Louis, parent and psychotherapist Author of Co-Parenting Guidelines

 "The Adventures of Koosey the Ladybug - Koosey's Garden is a story about human perception that crosses the barriers of age, gender, religion, culture and time. This fun-filled book will take you on an adventure that reveals life is as true as the truth we choose to give it. The story of Koosey and her friends will provoke self-analysis that can be used to stimulate conversation in a family as well as educational setting be it academic, spiritual or clinical." -Lynn Hernandez, parent and social worker

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A Woman's Birth: The Submission of a Militant Woman (Paper Back)

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Porch Lies Tales of Slicksters,Tricksters,  and Other Willy Characters

Side-splittingly funny, spine-chillingly spooky, this companion to a Newbery Honor-winning anthology is filled with bad characters who know exactly how to charm. From the author's note, that takes us back to Patricia McKissack's own childhood when she would listen to stories told on her front porch...to the captivating introductions to each tale, in which the storyteller introduces himself and sets the stage for what follows...to the ten entertaining tales themselves here is a worthy successor to McKissack's THE DARK THIRTY. In The Best Lie Ever Told, meet Dooley Hunter, a trickster who spins an enormous whopper at the State Liar's contest. In Aunt Gran and the Outlaws, watch a little old lady slickster outsmart Frank and Jesse James. And in Cake Norris Lives On, come face to face with a man some folks believe may have died up to twenty-seven different times!  -Illustrated by Andre Carriho 

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The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural

Illustrated in black-and-white. With an extraordinary gift for suspense, Patricia McKissack brings us ten original spine-tingling tales inspired by African-American history and the mystery of that eerie half-hour before nightfall--the dark thirty. - Illustrated by Brain Pinkney

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Miami Jackson Gets it Straight (Paper Back)

  MIAMI JACKSON CAN’T wait for school to end. But who ever thought five days could be so long? His teacher is leaving for  Ghana, his arch-enemy, Destinee Tate, is on his case, and now Miami’s keeping secrets from his best friend, String. Summer can’t come soon enough!  -Written by Patricia McKissack and Frederick McKissack and Illustrated by Michael Chesworth

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Miami Jackson Makes the Play (Paper Back)

AT LAST IT’S summer. Miami is more than ready for two weeks of baseball camp. No homework. No annoying sister. Best of  all,  no Destinee Tate. But Miami can’t escape Destinee. Turns out his best friend, String, invited her to Camp Atwater, too. And she’s making trouble, as usual, trying to get girls on the boys’ all-star team!  -Written by Patricia McKissack and Frederick McKissack and Illustrated by Michael Chesworth

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Thanks a Million

In sixteen extraordinary poems that range in form from a haiku to a rebus to a riddle, Nikki Grimes reminds us how wonderful it is to feel thankful, and how powerful a simple "thank you" can be. Illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera.

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Beauty, Her Basket

Sandra Belton and Cozbi A. Cabrera invite you to the Sea Islands, where a young girl, her cousin Victor, and their Nana are spending the summer together. There will be stories to share and pictures to see and secrets worth knowing, Secrets about these times and the old times and tomorrow, too.

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Most Loved in All the World

The poet Tonya Hegamin has created a poignant and powerful story about a daughter of a secret agent on the Underground Railroad. With unique textile collages and warm acrylic paintings, Cozbi A. Cabrera has illustrated it with great heart and skill.

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The ABC's of Character for People Around the World (Paper Back)

Opening the average children's book, phrases such as A is for Apple, B is for Ball are typical. The ABC's of Character for People Around the World aims to change those typical phrases and teach kids not only good grammar, but also good manners. Authored by Delores Mitchell-Tullos, The ABCs of Character for People Around the World teaches children morals and character traits in addition to word associations and colors.

The ABC's of Character... also teaches the appreciation of diversity by including characters from different ethnicities and cultures. The kid-friendly rhythms and rhymes turn every page into a lifetime lesson for children around the world.

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Mirandy and Brother Wind

Illus. in full color."Mirandy is sure she'll win the cake walk if she can catch Brother Wind for her partner, but he eludes all the tricks her friends advise. This gets a high score for plot, pace, and characterization. Mirandy sparkles with energy and determination. Multi-hued watercolors fill the pages with patterned ferment. -Written by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

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A Million Fish More or Less (Paper Back)

Illus. in full color. In an original yarn of the Louisiana bayou, Patricia McKissack honors the tradition of bragging about the one that got away. Hugh Thomas hears that strange things happen on the Bayou Clapateaux, but he's skeptical--until he invents a fish story of his own.

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Miami Jackson Sees it Through

MIAMI’S CLASS HAS a brand-new teacher, no-nonsense Miss Amerita Spraggins. She’s a real tough lady. She insists on assigned seats. She hands out detentions like coupons. She even refuses to call kids by their nicknames. Miami can’t take a whole year with crazy Miss Spraggins. He has to get out of her class! -Written by Patricia Mckissack and Frederick McKissack and Illustrated by Michael Chesworth

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Pinksta and the Polka Dotted Pinstripe Pants Wearing Princess (Paper Back)

By reading the secret in Pinksta's diary, you will learn how she met three pretty princesses at Pink Petunia Petal's Palace. On their journey to Land of Pink power Pinksta and Princess Polka encounter the Popeyed Pepper Punkers. Will they return to Land of Pink Power's Leopardess of Pink Pride with the Pepper Punker's Pokers? This tongue twisting adventure, by Sy Alexander is sure to  be a classic. The book is filled with practical easy to use learning activities, games, and quizzes. These games and the extensive glossary of associated words make this a book that will encourage and develop the vocabulary of young readers. The book is pure enjoyment for parents, grandparents, and kids alike. Reading the tongue twisters together will combine laughter, and learning for a fun filled family reading time.

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