My Mama Needs Me by Mildred Pitts Walter

“Picture-book creator Cummings crafts a well-written debut novel with a likable main character. “Cummings’s first offering for middle graders and middle schoolers is suspenseful and well-paced, striking a solid balance between ghost story and school story past and present.” - The Horn Book Readers will appreciate that Trace’s project is ultimately a success, whether it’s truly academic or emotional, but the journey is an important one.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Graduate of Southern University with an MA in education from Antioch College. “Cummings marries a chillingly gothic tone to the palpable realism of Trace’s reluctant therapy sessions, new-kid awkwardness, and mourning. Delegate to the 2nd World Black and African Festival of the Arts & Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977. She is also the author/illustrator of the Harper Growing Tree book, My Aunt Came Back and Angel Baby. In addition to her art for the Coretta Scott King Award winner My Mama Needs Me by Mildred Pitts Walter, Pat’s luminous work includes Angel Baby Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Talking With Artists. “In her middle grade debut, Cummings (the Harvey Moon picture books) follows Trace’s progress as he begins to absolve himself from guilt about the accident, learn about his lineage, and understand his family’s position in history. Pat Cummings is the illustrator of the Coretta Scott King Award winner My Mama Needs Me, written by Mildred Pitts Walter. “From its dramatic opening to its satisfying conclusion, this is an absorbing, multi-layered novel an excellent choice for all middle school collections.” - School Library Journal (starred review)