curated by Dapo Adeola
foreword by Patrice Lawrence
 
43 authors and artists bring you 22 brand new literary events. The range is extraordinary. A story quilt of joy, criss-crossed with recipes, biographies, short stories and full colour illustrations which gather up all the styles. What unites them is their optimism, their hope, their strides forward. A non-exhaustive list of well established authors/artists contributing new works are Malorie Blackman, Dorothy Koomson, Alex Wheatle, Jeffrey Boakye, Ken Wilson-Max, Sharna Jackson, Trish Cooke, Nathan Bryon. Many new creatives also cut their teeth here. UK voices dominate but are also joined by writers and illustrator from North America, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda… Curator, Dapo Adeola, describes his inspiration for the collection as the book he wished he himself had had growing up: “A book that allowed me to see myself and others reflected in stories that speak about more than just our struggle, stories that tell of our joy, imagination and creativity”. Lawrence’s Foreword embraces it as “your own portable flash mob of happiness, as page by page, your heart lifts and you are joyful, joyful too”. Ends with a powerful invocation for readers to write their own stories. The finished anthology just hums with heart and delivers a straight-into-your-bloodstream jab of, yes, JOY. We challenge you not to smile and then stretch that smile once over. And one more time. Age 8-12, Hardback 188pp