When a drought spreads through the land of the short grass, the animals set out across the great plain to find food. Their only hope for survival is a tree with a variety of colorful fruit. The problem is its branches are too high. To reach them, the wise old turtle says, one must know the name of the tree, something only King Lion is privy to. In this Bantu folktale retold by Celia Barker Lottridge, the hero is not the most cunning or the strongest but the one that tries the hardest. Ian Wallace’s striking illustrations of desert landscape and luscious fruit help bring this tale to life.
Celia Barker Lottridge is a writer and storyteller who has written several highly acclaimed children's books, including
Ticket to Curlew (winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Historical Fiction Award),
Berta: A Remarkable Dog (nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award,
Horn Book starred review) and
Stories from the Life of Jesus (
Publishers Weekly starred review). She wrote
Home Is Beyond the Mountains after hearing her mother's stories about growing up in Persia and after reading letter's written by Celia's aunt, Susan Shedd. Born in Iowa and raised in the United States, Celia now lives in Toronto.
Ian Wallace is one of Canada’s best-known children’s book creators. He has published many classics, including Boy of the Deeps and Chin Chiang and the Dragon’s Dance. His illustrations for Canadian Railroad Trilogy and Just So Stories have each received three starred reviews. His most recent book is The Curiosity Cabinet.
Ian has won the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award, among others. He has been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Governor General’s Award and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.
Ian lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, Deb.