"As the Civil War came to a close, many African American children had brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers who had been sold to other plantations, sometimes far away. A lot of families took to the road to find these relatives...I wanted to tell the story of one such family."

--A.LaFaye

This is currently my favorite children's book. It tells the story you never hear. The one that you should hear. 

Also, the illustrations are pretty awesome.

I had the honor of personally getting to know Alexandria a bit this summer when she taught one of my classes. She's incredibly smart and has the most adorable little daughter, Adia. Alexandria quickly became one of my favorite professors.

She's a wonderful teacher, a wonderful person and a wonderful writer and every time I read this book I cry in that good, passion-eyed, full soul way. Go buy yourself a copy. You can also find it online with Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Read it to a child. Read it to everyone. Share it a lot. I'd love to see this book get the full recognition it deserves.

I don't recall a single care,

Just greenery and humid air.

Then Labor Day came and went,

And we shed what was left of our summer skin.

--Death Cab for Cutie

Happy Labor Day

Come on, Fall.

My best friend stopped by on her way from Roanoke to William & Mary on Tuesday evening, and we spent all day together yesterday. We went out to breakfast and then sat down to drink huge mugs of coffee before heading home. She helped me re-arrange the new living room and figure out where to hang our clock and framed things. We headed downtown for a late lunch of crepes stuffed with ham, chicken, brie and apples. We walked around and popped into pricey boutiques with beautiful clothes. Emma's the closest thing I have to a sister and I love every minute I get to spend with her.