Cooper's lyrical prose and striking full-color paintings are combined in a brief, moving portrait about a prominent writer of the Harlem Renaissance. His grandma took care of young Langston Hughes in Kansas; she had once worked on the Underground Railroad, and so he heard those stories, along with ones she told him about John Brown, the Buffalo soldiers and his own grandfather. Although Hughes apparently felt emotionally homeless as a youth, his life and works continue to offer both hope and home to many. A tour de force by Floyd Cooper. (Ages 4-12)

Young Langston Hughes was a dreamer. He dreamed about heroes like Booker T. Washington, who was black just like him. When he heard the clackety-clack of train wheels, he dreamed about the places it had been. But most of all, he dreamed about having a happy home. And so, one day, he began turning those dreams into beautiful prose. As he did, he discovered where his home really was—in the words and rhythms of his poetry that reached people all over the world. The beloved Langston Hughes comes to life in a book for poets, dreamers, children, and adults—anyone who has ever thought of what home means to them.

"Teachers looking for a good way to introduce youngsters to this prominent poet will find this book to be an excellent accompaniment to his work." —School Library Journal

"Like Hughes' poetry, the power of Cooper's story is that it confronts sadness even as it transcends it." —Booklist

"His text is as inviting as his illustrations." —The New York Times Book Review