Description

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On a cold gray morning in 1683, Molly Walsh sat on a stool tugging at the udder of an obstinate cow. When she spilled the milk, she was brought before the court for stealing. Because she could read, Molly escaped the typicalpunishment of death on the gallows. At the age of seventeen, the English dairymaid was exiled from her country and sentenced to work as an indentured servant in British Colonial America. Molly worked for a planter in Maryland for seven long years. Then she was given an ox hitched to a cart, some supplies-and her freedom. That a lone woman should stake land was unheard of. That she would marry an African slave was even more so. Yet Molly prospered, and with her husband Bannaky, she turned a one-room cabin in the wilderness into a thriving one hundred-acre farm. And one day she had the pleasure of writing her new grandson's name in her cherished Bible: Benjamin Banneker.

About the Author

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Chris K. Soentpiet is an award-winning illustrator whose work reflects his interest in people, history, and culture. He was given the gold medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York City for his illustrations in Haemi Balgassi's Peacebound Trains, and his books have been recognized by the American Booksellers Association, School Library Journal, the International Reading Association, the Junior Library Guild, Parents' Choice, Parents' magazine, and Smithsonian magazine. Soentpiet has a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute. 
 

Alice McGill is an award-winning author and professional storyteller. Among her books is the ALA Notable Molly Bannaky, winner of the 2000 IRA Picture Book Award and the 2000 Jane Addams Award. Alice McGill has toured to collect and tell stories in thirty-nine states, Canada, the West Indies, and South Africa. She lives with her husband in Columbia, Maryland.

Praise For…

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"The oversized format and stunning watercolor paintings turn this fictionalized biography of the grandmother of Benjamin Banneker into an exciting visual experience. . . . A good story in a fabulous artistic package." School Library Journal

This handsome, large-sized picture book shows her [Molly Bannaky] as a woman who was strong enough not only to survive harsh times but also to break new ground. Booklist, ALA —