Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community

"Verde's unique style and simple yet increasingly important messages of peace, mindfulness, and community make her stories a must-share...A must-purchase." --School Library Journal (starred review)

"Walls do not just create barriers and divide spaces. They can be canvases for artmaking; opportunities to shape a community." --The Horn Book

"This story of urban renewal sends a welcome double message by Verde: neighbors and neighborhoods are more than the way they look, and ordinary people can band together to transform big things." --Publishers Weekly

A boy takes on a community art project in order to make his neighborhood more beautiful in this empowering and inspiring picture book by Susan Verde, stunningly illustrated by award-winning artist John Parra.

One creative boy.
One bare, abandoned wall.
One BIG idea.

There is a wall in ngel's neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music, dancing, laughing. Not the wall. It is bleak. One boy decides to change that. But he can't do it alone.

Told in elegant verse by Susan Verde and vibrantly illustrated by John Parra, this inspiring picture book celebrates the power of art to tell a story and bring a community together.

Susan Verde’s first picture book, The Museum, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. Booklist praised, ＂The rhymed text captures the excitement of a being sparked by art.＂ Her other books include You and Me, I AmYoga, The Water Princess, and I Am Peace, all illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds; as well as Rock ’n’ Roll Soul, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell; My Kicks, illustrated by Katie Kath; and Hey, Wall, illustrated by John Parra. Susan is a former elementary school teacher with a Master’s degree in reading remediation. In addition to writing books, Susan teaches yoga and mindfulness to kids (and adults) of all ages. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her three children. Learn more at SusanVerde.com.

John Parra’s illustrations for Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, written by Monica Brown, earned the book a New York Times Best Illustrated Book designation. He also illustrated Green Is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, which received a Pura Belpré Honor and the Américas Book Award: Commended; Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner, which won the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration and was a Bank Street Best Book of the year; and Hey, Wall, by Susan Verde, which School Library Journal called ＂a must-purchase＂ in a starred review. Learn more at JohnParraArt.com.