City Summer, Country Summer

A lyrical picture book from the award-winning author of Heavy, about three Black boys who form a deep connection during a transformative summer trip down South to visit family.

On the ground of that garden, covered in vegetables and dirt, coated in laughter, I want to say that the Mississippi and New York in our Black boy bodies were indistinguishable.

Three Black boys spend one special summer exploring the Mississippi woods and woulds and coulds of sharing the kind of freeing friendship that is love.

Watched over and given space to discover by Grandmama and Mama Lara, New York, Country, and little C find camaraderie in their contrasts and all the unspoken things between them while playing games of marco polo in the thick garden and sledding on cardboard by the underpass.

With text brimming with love by award-winning author Kiese Laymon and deeply evocative illustrations by Ashley Franklin, City Summer, Country Summer illuminates the tenuous and tender bonds of friendship Black boys forge with one another.

Kiese Laymon is a Black Southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is the author of the genre-bending novel Long Division and the essay collection How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. Laymon's bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2018 Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. He was also the recipient of the 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard and a MacArthur Genius grant. He currently teaches English and creative writing at Rice University.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Alexis Franklin discovered digital art in high school and embarked on a self-taught path, mastering drawing tablets and software. Her online creations quickly gained traction, attracting diverse clients who resonated deeply with her work.

Alexis has lent her talents to TIME Magazine, Apple, Sports Illustrated, O Magazine, and acclaimed New York Times bestselling authors. Drawing inspiration from classical oil paintings, she infuses her artistry with their essence, resulting in the distinctive style she is known for today.

• Publisher: Kokila
• Publish Date: April 01, 2025
• Pages: 32
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9780593405567
• BISAC Categories: Boys & Men, People & Places - United States - African-American, Lifestyles - Country Life