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Jump AT The Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston

 



Written by Alicia Williams
Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021. Biography.

Zora loved to listen to tales. She could sit for hours and just drink in the folktales of home,  like bee's to honey she was drawn to stories. When she was younger she would look for any excuse to go down to Joe Clarke's store and sit on the front porch and listen to the tales being swapped . When she started telling her own tales, her father and grandmother would get upset with her for telling lies, but her mother saw the value in her stories and she encouraged her to "jump at the sun." Her mother said she may not land on the sun but at least she would get off the ground. So Zora did just as her mother said and she jumped. Even when life was hard she continued to jump and try and through determination and grit she eventually achieved her dream of becoming a writer of stories.

This delightful biography will inspire you to want to learn more, read more, and dream more. The text and illustrations of this book showcase Zora's world in beautiful rich colors that captures the lively enthusiasm and passion Zora had for life and for storytelling. This is a well told inspirational book about Zora Hurston's life and her drive to become a story-catcher. 

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