Jerry Pickney: Back Home

Back Home (1992)
written by Gloria Jean Pickney
illustrated by Jerry Pickney

In this beautifully written and illustrated picture book, Ernestine is an eight-year-old girl visiting her relatives in North Carolina where she was born. The county smells and sights are much different from the city where she lives with her mom and dad. Her greatest challenge during this summer vacation trip is trying to get her cousin Jack Avery to like her. After several failed attempts, Ernestine and Jack Avery make amends before Ernestine leaves for home.

I was excited to find that Jerry Pickney's wife, Gloria Jean Pickney, wrote this picture book. She used many of her own expereinces for inspiration while writing the book. Yet again, Jerry Pickney provides the reader with fascinating illustrations like the ones in his Caldecott Award and Coretta Scott King Award winning titles. Soft colors fill the pages creating beautiful scenes. Flowers fill many of the pages in the summer story, and the colors blend well in the illustrations. More wonderful work provided by Jerry Pickney for generations to enjoy!

Other titles illustrated by Jerry Pickney:

• The Talking Eggs
• The Patchwork Quilt
• More Tales of Uncle Remus
• The Moon Over Star
• New Shoes for Silvia
• The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket

Also, his website is amazing! http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/frameset.html