Part of Series
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.
Author
Lucille Clifton was an American poet, writer, and educator from New York. Common topics in her poetry include the celebration of her African American heritage, and feminist themes, with particular emphasis on the female body. She was the first person in her family to finish high school and attend college. She started Howard University on scholarship as a drama major but lost the scholarship two years later. Thus began her writing career. Good Times, her first book of poems, was published in 1969. She has since been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and has been honored as Maryland's Poet Laureate. Ms. Clifton's foray into writing for children began with Some of the Days of Everett Anderson, published in 1970. In 1976, Generations: A Memoir was published. In 2000, she won the National Book Award for Poetry, for her work "Poems Seven". From 1985 to 1989, Clifton was a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She was Distinguished Professor of Humanities at St. Mary's College of Maryland. From 1995 to 1999, she was a visiting professor at Columbia University. In 2006, she was a fellow at Dartmouth College. Clifton received the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement posthumously, from the Poetry Society of America.
