Mississippi Morning

A powerful story about racial tensions

It's the middle of the Great Depression, but James William still enjoys his life in rural Mississippi. But his happiness starts to unravel when he discovers the fire that burned down the local preacher's house wasn't an accident, but a hate crime. When his friend LeRoy tells him about the Klan and their hanging tree, James William has a hard time grasping this harsh reality, until an unexpected encounter brings the issue close to home.

A thought-provoking story of one boy's loss of naiveté, Mississippi Morning will challenge young readers to question their own assumptions and confront personal decisions.

Ruth Vander Zee, teacher and author, has also writtenErika's Story, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti(Creative Editions), and Mississippi Morning,illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Eerdmans). Ruth lives inMiami, Florida.

Floyd Cooper (1956–2021) won many prestigious awards for his illustrations, including the 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for The Blacker the Berry, written by Joyce Carol Thomas (Amistad), and three previous Coretta Scott King Honors, a Da Vinci Award, and an NAACP Image Honor. Throughout his over thirty-year career, Floyd illustrated more than ninety books, including Unspeakable by Carol Boston Weatherford (Lerner), Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes (HarperCollins), Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation by Pat Sherman (Eerdmans), and Mississippi Morning by Ruth Vander Zee (Eerdmans). Floyd lived in Pennsylvania until his death in 2021. Visit his website at floydcooper.com.