A fresh new edition of a classic picture book by a legendary author and a beloved illustrator, about a girl and her mother, with themes of growing up, dreams, and letting go.
A ROSE, A BRIDGE, AND A WILD BLACK HORSE
by Charlotte Zolotow; illustrated by Julie Morstad; afterword by Crescent Dragonwagon
Cameron Kids/Abrams, March 2024
A girl declares all the things she’ll do for her mother when she is all grown up—from climbing mountains and swimming across oceans, to picking the pinkest rose, to building the biggest bridge and a castle for her mother to live in, to taming a wild black horse for her mother to ride—ending with the friend she will bring her mother to keep her company while she travels the world.
Originally published in 1964, A ROSE, A BRIDGE, AND A WILD BLACK HORSE is a new edition of a beloved picture book by renowned children’s book author Charlotte Zolotow, reenvisioned by her daughter, celebrated author Crescent Dragonwagon, and illustrated by award–winning artist Julie Morstad.
The book includes an afterword by Crescent Dragonwagon about her mother and this special new edition of their book.
Charlotte Zolotow was a children’s book editor for HarperCollins, where she edited hundreds of books over her 50–year career. In addition to editing, she authored over 90 books for young readers, including William’s Doll, which has been in print for over 50 years, and the original version of A ROSE, A BRIDGE, AND A WILD BLACK HORSE, published in 1964 by Harper & Row, which featured a brother and his younger sister.
Crescent Dragonwagon is the author of more than 50 books for readers of all ages, including a new edition of her 1977 classic Will It Be Okay?, illustrated by Jessica Love and published by Cameron Kids. Crescent is the daughter of and literary executor for her late mother, Charlotte Zolotow. A native New Yorker, Crescent lives in the Arkansas Ozarks.
Julie Morstad is an award–winning fine artist, author, and illustrator. Her illustrations can be found in numerous picture books, including The Dress and the Girl, published by Abrams. Julie lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In this beautiful new edition of a timeless picture book classic, a child asks, « Will it be okay? » That bee sting, that thunderstorm, those powerful feelings, losing a loved one. Written by Crescent Dragonwagon, daughter of legendary children’s book author and editor Charlotte Zolotow, and illustrated by the equally inimitable Jessica Love, WILL IT BE OKAY? answers a timeless and universal question with honesty, humanity, beauty, and humor. Will it be okay? Yes—yes, it will.