In a Cloud of Dust

A celebration of bicycles, cooperation, and the resourcefulness of children everywhere In a Tanzanian village school, Anna struggles to keep up. Her walk home takes so long that when she arrives, it is too dark to do her homework. Working through the lunch hour instead, she doesn’t see the truck from the bicycle library pull into the schoolyard. By the time she gets out there, the bikes are all gone. Anna hides her disappointment, happy to help her friends learn to balance and steer. She doesn’t know a compassionate friend will offer her a clever solution—and the chance to raise her own cloud of dust. Brought to life by Brian Deines’ vivid oil paintings, Alma Fullerton’s simple, expressive prose captures the joy of feeling the wind on your face for the first time. Inspired by organizations like The Village Bicycle Project that have opened bicycle libraries all across Africa, In a Cloud of Dust is an uplifting example of how a simple opportunity can make a dramatic change in a child’s life. "Soaked in warm golds and oranges, Deines's oil paintings glow with a sense of promise as the children race around the schoolyard on their bikes. Fullerton says quite a bit with few words in her verselike prose, and a detailed author's note discusses the vital role bicycles play in communities across Africa and supplies information about bicycle donation organizations."—Publishers Weekly

About the Author :
Alma Fullerton's free-verse novels for juvenile and young adult readers have earned her multiple nominations and awards, including the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and the CLA Book of the Year Honour. Her first picture book, A Good Trade, has been a White Ravens Choice, a Bank Street Best Book, and a nominee for the OLA Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award and the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards. Alma lives in Midland, Ontario. Brian Deines is a fine artist and the award-winning illustrator of over 20 children's books, including A Bear in War, Bear on the Homefront, The Road to Afghanistan, and On a Snowy Night. Dragonfly Kites, part of a trilogy written by Tomson Highway, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for illustration and the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award. A graduate of the Alberta College of Art, Brian lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and daughter.

Review :
Soaked in warm golds and oranges, Deines's oil paintings glow with a sense of promise as the children race around the schoolyard on their bikes. Fullerton says quite a bit with few words in her verselike prose, and a detailed author's note discusses the vital role bicycles play in communities across Africa and supplies information about bicycle donation organizations. Publishers Weekly Oil paintings in rich shades of orange show the children surrounded by clouds of dust...and the simple text reads aloud smoothly, making the book a good introduction for a discussion of different yet similar lives. An author's note, appropriate for adults sharing this story with children, explains the need for bicycles in southern African countries and provides the names of organizations that work to fill that need. A nice addition to primary-grade 'values' collections. Kirkus Reviews Notable for its message of putting others before oneself, the story is buoyed by illustrations that shimmer with movement, light, and feeling. Shades of ochre, amber, and pale gold radiate from each two-page spread, conveying through oil paint the warmth and grittiness of this village and its children. An author's note explains the role of and constant need for bicycles in Africa. Booklist Fullerton's inviting text is spare and poetic... Deines' radiant oil paintings glow... Quill & Quire This glowing book is a wonderful introduction for young readers to life in a culture where many things are different, but some things are exactly the same. The National Reading Campaign Highly recommended for classroom investigation and discussion and learning about good citizenship. Resource Links [Deines'] rich oil paintings, with their solid figures and warm palette, are very much up to the task of giving readers the sense of life in Africa. The joy of the children who have received a life-changing gift leaps off the pages...Fullerton...has provided a spare text that touches neatly on all the key points of the story. CM Magazine In a Cloud of Dust...teaches a powerful lesson about sharing, and can be used by parents and teachers to show children there are others in the world who are less fortunate. The Montreal Gazette The dusty Tanzanian countryside and the children's joyous faces, rendered realistically in Deines's artwork, shows how simple acts can transform a child's life. Foreword Magazine Alma Fullerton's text is modest in its quantity but weighty in its simple message of compassion and support...Brian Deines' illustrations are incomparable, effectively portraying the dusty and lengthy distances over Anna must travel to school...highly evocative of the landscape and mood of the remote areas of Anna's Tanzanian home... CanLit for LittleCanadians