An inspiring picture book for ages 7-10 from award-winning author-illustrator duo Gary Golio and E. B. Lewis.
During the Civil War battle at Fort Wagner in South Carolina William Carney performed a brave and noble act. When his regiment’s color guard carrying the United States flag was injured, William picked up the flag himself. Despite being shot several times and injured, William carried the flag across the battlefield to Union lines, making him a hero.
For Carney and other men of the 54th Massachusetts—the first official Black regiment of the Union Army, immortalized in the movie Glory—the flag was more than a piece of cloth. It was a near-sacred thing that represented a more just America where they might be free.
William Carney was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for this act, defying widespread racial discrimination and prejudice. This book celebrates his remarkable life with forceful prose by Gary Golio and drammatic watercolors by award-winning artist E. B. Lewis.
Author
Gary Golio
A visual artist, musician, and psychotherapist, Gary Golio is the author of the New York Times-bestselling picture book Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow, which received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, as did his recent Calkins Creek book Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem. Gary’s other titles, most of which profile important artists, include When Bob Met Woody, Strange Fruit, Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge, and The Soldier’s Friend. He lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, children’s book author Susanna Reich. Visit garygolio.com.
Learn More about Gary GolioIllustrator
E. B. Lewis
The recipient of a Caldecott Honor and an Orbis Pictus Award, along with many others, E. B. Lewis is the illustrator of more than seventy books for children. His Calkins Creek titles include Invincible by Wade Hudson, Seeking Freedom by Selene Castrovilla, and Lizzie Demands a Seat by Beth Anderson, which won Bank Street College of Education’s Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for excellence in nonfiction, along with many other honors. He is also the illustrator of Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem, also by Gary Golio. Visit eblewis.com for more information.
Learn More about E. B. Lewis