The Friendly Four

Celebrate friendship with Coretta Scott King Award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist!

Drum is worried that summer will be a bummer until Dorene, Louis, and Rae enter his life unexpectedly. Together they embark on an unforgettable summer of discovery and creative play.

With free-verse poetry perfect for reading aloud and inspired illustrations, this picture book by the legendary author/illustrator team follows four children as they explore the bonds of friendship, family, and community.

"Fun for reading aloud." --Booklist

Eloise Greenfield's first book was published in 1972. She was the author of forty-eight children's books including Honey, I Love and Other Poems and The Great Migration. She received many awards, including the 2018 Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Eloise was a beloved children's book creator whose pioneering voice, especially for the Black American experience, has made her an inspiration to many generations of readers.

Jan Spivey Gilchrist is the award-winning illustrator-author of seventy-four children's books. Dr. Gilchrist illustrated the highly acclaimed picture book The Great Migration: Journey to the North, winner of the Coretta Scott King Honor Award, a Junior Library Guild Best Book, an NAACP Image Award nominee, a CCBC Best Book, and a Georgia State Children's Book Award nominee. She won the Coretta Scott King Award for her illustrations in Nathaniel Talking and a Coretta Scott King Honor for her illustrations in Night on Neighborhood Street, all written by Eloise Greenfield. She was inducted into the Society of Illustrators in 2001 and into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent in 1999. She lives near Chicago, Illinois.