Please join Politics & Prose for an event with author Lesley Younge in conversation with two of her students upon the debut of her two new children’s books: both a co-authored middle grade novel and a picture book.
Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man. Nearer My Freedom is a middle school found verse novel that uses the acclaimed autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, as source text. Co-authored by Lesley Younge and Monica Edinger, it presents Equiano’s life story supplemented with annotations to provide historical context.
Lesley’s first published title, picture book, A-Train Allen, was the inaugural Grand Prize Winner of the Sleeping Bear Press Own Voices, Own Stories award. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Allen is the fastest kid around. They call him A-Train because he's practically faster than the subway. Race through the city with A-Train and discover what finally gets him to slow down.
Lesley Younge’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in recent issues of Midnight & Indigo and The Plentitudes. She is a fellow of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and Anaphora Literary Arts. A California native, Lesley now lives with her family in Silver Spring and teaches middle school in Washington D.C. She blogs and shares resources at teacherlesley.com
Nina Lee-Turner lives in Washington D.C. with her parents and her cat, Mochi. She is a sixth grader at Maret School. In 2022, Planet Word selected Nina as the winner in the middle school category of its inaugural Story Table Essay Contest. She enjoys playing the violin, tennis, and writing.
Emilie Allen is a proud DC native and student, who enjoys long walks, reality television, drawing, and (of course) reading anything and everything she can get her hands on. Her work has been recognized by the Parkmont Poetry Contest, Jean Mosee Young Writers Contest, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and the Planet Word Museum.
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This event is free with first come, first served seating.
