Nine poems about a boy who likes to play in the rain, is not afraid of the dark, and sometimes feels lonely.

"New illustrations bring vibrant color to the joyous yet sometimes poignant verses that encapsulate the small boy’s mounting anticipation and his ultimate satisfaction on the festive day." — The Horn Book

Everett Anderson, a young African-American boy living in the city, experiences the joys that each month of the year has to offer, playing in the February snow and enjoying his freedom on a June afternoon. Reissue.

At first, Everett is disappointed to find that his new neighbor is a girl.

A perceptive story of how a young boy adjusts to the new man in his single mother's life. "One can be lonely and One can be fun, and Two can be awful or perfect for some, and Three can be crowded or can be just right or even too many, you have to decide." One can have fun alone, thinks Everett Anderson. And when it's just Everett and his mama-well, two is fine, too. But three . . . Everett tries to understand why Mama and Mr. Perry like to spend so much time together, although it's hard, at first.

A small boy and his family anticipate the birth of their newest member.

Everett Anderson's Goodbye is a touching portrait of a little boy who is trying to come to grips with his father's death. Lucille Clifton captures Everett's conflicting emotions as he confronts this painful reality. We see him struggle through many stages, from denial and anger to depression and, finally, acceptance. In this spare and moving poem, the last in this acclaimed series, Lucille Clifton brings Everett Anderson's life full circle. Everett Anderson's Goodbye is the winner of the 1984 Coretta Scott King Author Award. A Reading Rainbow Selection An NCTE Teachers' Choice

A sensitive exploration of a difficult problem by an award winning author/illustrator team. "One day in school, just out of the blue," Everett whispers, "Greg started to cry, and I went over to ask him why and he looked up and sighed, 'I can't tell you.' And he had the saddest, saddest face like he was lost in the loneliest place." Everett Anderson doesn't know what to do when his friend Greg comes to school with bruises, or when Greg cries and can't explain what's wrong. Should Everett tell the teacher, or would that only make things worse for Greg? Everett's sister thinks maybe it's none of their business, but he can't stop worrying about his friend. Then, when Everett Anderson tells his mother, he opens a window of possibility. This tender story perfectly evokes the confusion, concern—and eventual hope—one little boy feels in the face of a very difficult problem.