RALEIGH —Two books have been chosen to represent North Carolina in the 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival, and one of those has local ties.
Bountiful Red Acres: Two Farms, Two Families, and a Year on the Land written by Eileen Heyes and illustrated by Dare Coulter, is a book aimed at young readers in the age range of 8 to 11. The story is designed to let those readers get a taste of farm life in the North Carolina Piedmont through Bountiful Red Acres, which chronicles two local families around the end of the 10th century.
The story chronicles a year in the lives of two real life neighboring families—one Black and one White—moving from season to season through the year 1900. Despite the racial inequalities built into American life by both law and custom, the Sawyers and Hauser families share an abiding friendship as they rear children, tend crops, and build community.
“Author Eileen Heyes and artist Dare Coulter bring these real Surry County families to life for readers, offering a vibrant look at neighbors caring for each other as they force a living out of the red clay soil that is known today as Horne Creek Living Historical Farm State Historic Site on 308 Horne Creek Farm Road, Pinnacle. To learn more about the site https://historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/horne-creek-farm. To learn more about the book visit https://uncpress.org/book/9780865265028/bountiful-red-acres/ .
N.C. Humanities chose Bountiful Red Acres as it examines an intergenerational story and history, and raises questions about family, friendship, racial inequalities, and building community. N.C. Humanities chose this book to encourage engaging, productive conversation among readers and to shed light on new perspectives about important, timely topics.
Eileen Heyes, the author, grew up in California and has called North Carolina home for almost three decades. Her lifelong love of writing led her into a career in newspaper journalism, which lasted until the industry began to decline in the 2000s. By that time, she had published five books for young people, which have been honored by the New York Public Library, Society of School Librarians International, Child Study Council, and Mystery Writers of America.
A perpetual student, she earned a certificate in documentary arts from the Center for Documentary Studies and a master’s degree in English from N.C. State University. She loves to read, travel, and work in the endless arts-and-crafts project that is her front yard garden. She lives in Raleigh with her husband and a dog.
Dare Coulter, the illustrator, is an award-winning artist. She specializes in public art, specifically monumental sculptures, and large murals. She has illustrated nine children’s books, including Kwame Alexander’s An American Story, My N.C. from A to Z, and You Are My Sunshine. As illustrator of An American Story, Dare was selected for the 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults. See more of Coulter’s work at www.darecoulter.com.
The book joins Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy as part of the rhe 2024 National Book Festival, scheduled for Aug. 24 in Washington, D.C
North Carolina Humanities annually selects one book for young readers and one book for adults that are either written by a North Carolina author or prominently portrays stories of the state to be featured at the book festival. The books and authors are featured on the national Great Reads from Great Places reading list that is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book leading up to the National Book Festival. The list is composed of books and authors from each state and territory affiliate Center for the Book to showcase the rich culture and heritage of our country.
A selection of programs from this year’s festival will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival concludes. This year’s festival theme is “Books Build Us Up.” N.C. Humanities will be at the festival in Washington, D.C. to further promote these books, the resources of N.C. Humanities, and the important literary culture of North Carolina.
To further celebrate this year’s selections, NC Humanities is providing 40 free book boxes for teachers and school librarians in North Carolina! Book boxes can be used for curriculum or afterschool/youth programs and include 20 copies of Bountiful Red Acres, bookmarks, and other surprises. A Reading Response Journal, where students can record their thoughts on the book, and NC Humanities-original interactive reading comprehension materials will also be included. Please use the following link to request a book box by July 19: https://forms.gle/1PNkzrHPRNi4zXqM8
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