Two new children's books view the natural world as a site of personal growth

NPR's Book of the Day

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

Two new picture books explore how the outside world can transform our relationships with our communities and ourselves. First, Kiese Laymon is out with a children's book about three Black boys who connect during a transformative summer in the South. With City Summer, Country Summer, Laymon says he wanted to explore the experience of getting lost as a kind of experimentation. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his wish to write a book about the emotional tenderness of Black boys. Then, The Littlest Drop is Sascha Alper's debut children's book, based on a parable from the indigenous Quechua people of South America. Brian Pinkney took over illustrations for the project after his father, Jerry Pinkney, died in 2020. In today's episode, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe brings Alper and Brian Pinkney together in conversation. The author and illustrator discuss the collaboration between father and son and Alper's desire to broaden the story beyond the climate crisis.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I grew up in a city, and so back then,
0:07.0	one of my only access points to nature to the pastoral was books. Today, we've got two children's
0:13.8	books that do just that. Push readers to see what's outside, literally. In a bit, we'll hear from
0:19.8	this son-of-famed illustrator Jerry Pinckney to find out what he's been working on. a bit, we'll hear from this son, a famed illustrator Jerry Pinckney,
0:22.0	to find out what he's been working on. But first, one of the kids in Kiesi Lehman's new book,
0:27.0	City Summer, Country Summer, is, like me, from New York City. And when he head south to visit his
0:32.7	grandmother, it's not just a new geographical space that he's exploring. He's also finding a different softer side of his own identity.
0:42.0	Lehman talks to NPR's Michelle Martin about his new book after the break.
0:45.9	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:50.7	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show,
0:56.2	Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
1:01.0	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:04.8	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:10.2	When schools out and parents need a break or cheap long-term babysitting, for generations, kids,
1:16.2	especially city kids, have gone to spend time with relatives in the summer.
1:20.0	What are those days like away from home?
1:22.4	What happens, though, when they're young black boys who are allowed to roam and explore
1:26.7	away from rules and routines,
1:29.0	but also away from everything they know.
1:31.5	Writer and MacArthur Genius of Kiesi Lehman has some ideas.
1:34.6	He has written a stunning new children's book called City Summer Country Summer,
1:38.3	and he's with us now in our studios in Washington to talk about his version of Endless Summer Days in the South.
	...

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