In Angelou's engaging first-person narrative young readers meet Thandi, an eight-year-old Ndebele girl in South Africa. Thandi relates details of her own life and of Ndebele culture, and these details are brought into focus through Courtney-Clark's shining, colorful photographs of Ndebele people. The Ndebele custom of painting houses with intricate, colorful patterns forms the inspiration for the design of this vibrant book that is an invitation to friendship. (Ages 5-8)

An acclaimed picture book from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominee Maya Angelou is now back in print in a gorgeous paperback edition. America's favorite poet joins a well-known photojournalist to tell the story of an eight-year-old Ndebele girl named Thandi, who lives in painted village in South Africa with her mother, her aunts, her mischievous younger brother, and her best friend, a chicken. Share the joys and challenges of growing up between two worlds--traditional African craft passed down from mother to daughter, and modern life found in the bright, colorful motifs of the murals and beadwork--and learn about a different culture through a new friend.