Harbor Me is the story of six kids that meet for a weekly chat with no adults around in the ARTT Room, short for “A Room to Talk”. Their personal stories also mirror larger issues taking place in society. From the beginning of the selection process, Harbor Mespoke to the committee as a perfect choice for the return of One Book One Town as a book that can be embraced and shared by the entire community. It is timely story, heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful, told exquisitely and lyrically by Woodson.  

The Day You Begin is a charming picture book written by Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López about feeling different. It is also about realizing that when you are willing to share what makes you different, life opens up to you. This book was inspired by a poem in Woodson’s bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. 

About the Author:
Jacqueline Woodson has written more than two dozen award-winning books for young adults, middle graders and children. She received the 2014 National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming, which also won the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor Award, the NAACP Image Award, and the Sibert Honor Award. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Another Brooklyn, which was a 2016 National Book Award Finalist and Woodson’s first adult novel in twenty years. In 2015, Woodson was named Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Most recently, she was named the 2018 Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress.