we don have no backyard
frontyard neither...

Who needs a backyard when you've got brownstone steps, double dutch, and freeze tag beneath the sizzling summer sun? The jingling bell of the ice cream truck mingles with laughter and sidewalk rhymes. Frosty lemonade from the corner store and tight cornrows beat the heat with style. There's nothing like summer in the city when you've got friends, family, and imagination to keep you company.

Ruth Forman, whose work has been honored by the American Library Association, offers a poetic testament to childhood, language, and play. Cbabi Bayoc's richly hued paintings bring the streets of South Philadelphia to vivid life. Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon is celebration of city summer memories, and of African American culture and community.

"Children's Book Press has a magic touch, has found Rumpelstiltskin's loom, plays the flute of the Piper, is a national treasure...Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon by Ruth Forman is another great selection by this wonderful press. I'm calling out Children's Book Press. The moon will have to get here on its own."
--Nikki Giovanni, poet, author, professor

"Forman's poetry is sweet and evocative…This sweet reminiscence invites readers to recall the special things about their own summers."
--School Library Journal

"This children’s book is just as much for Mom and Dad to read as it is for the kids… beautiful when read aloud…a great book for bedtime or anytime."
--The Michigan Citizen, 2007