Growing up on a farm in the drought-stricken Midwest of the 1970s, Lindy can barely remember a time when mud and cloudbursts were ordinary features of her landscape. She is sustained by the memories of her gentle, loving parents who patiently answer Lindy's questions about life in easier times past. But even her parents' stories haven't prepared her for the day of the windstorm when a strange young man named Drylongso literally blows into their lives. Full-page, full-color pastel and watercolor paintings appear on nearly every double-page spread of this powerful story about hope, hard work and a gifted people who can make something out of nothing. Honor Book, 1992 CCBC Coretta Scott King Award Discussion: Writing. (Ages 7-11)

Lindy and her family are suffering through a long drought. Then the mystical Drylongso teaches them the secrets of finding water hidden in the earth. "Drylongso is a hypnotic, joyful story from a distinguished writer--one that, with the help of Jerry Pinkney's beautiful watercolor and pastel pictures, depicts well the dry land, the swirling wind and earth, and an African-American family planting in hope with the help of a wondrous, dusty, divining stickfella."--The New York Times Book Review