"Walls do not just create barriers and divide spaces. They can be canvases for artmaking; opportunities to shape a community." --The Horn Book

"This story of urban renewal sends a welcome double message by Verde: neighbors and neighborhoods are more than the way they look, and ordinary people can band together to transform big things." --Publishers Weekly

A boy takes on a community art project in order to make his neighborhood more beautiful in this empowering and inspiring picture book by Susan Verde, stunningly illustrated by award-winning artist John Parra.

One creative boy.
One bare, abandoned wall.
One BIG idea.

There is a wall in ngel's neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music, dancing, laughing. Not the wall. It is bleak. One boy decides to change that. But he can't do it alone.

Told in elegant verse by Susan Verde and vibrantly illustrated by John Parra, this inspiring picture book celebrates the power of art to tell a story and bring a community together.

This book has been graded for interest at 4-8 years.

There are 40 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2018 by Simon & Schuster .

Susan Verde is the author of The Museum , You & Me , and I Am Yoga , all illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. She lives in East Hampton, New York, and-when not writing-teaches yoga. John Parra is an award-winning illustrator whose books have received starred reviews. He has received the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for illustration, the International Latino Book Award for Best Children's Book Illustrations, and three Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor awards. He lives in Queens, New York.