A Story about Afiya

Every day, Afiya wakes to a brand new day and a clean white dress, ready for her adventures to begin…

Some people have dresses for every occasion but Afiya needs only one. Her dress records the memories of her childhood, from roses in bloom to pigeons in flight, from tigers at the zoo to October leaves falling. A joyful celebration of a young girl’s childhood, written by the late Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning Jamaican poet James Berry.

WINNER of the Northern Lights Book Awards Picture Book of the Year. USBBY Outstanding International Book 2021. New York Times, 25 Best Children's Books of 2020. A Guardian Children's Book of the Month.

“A joyous celebration of childhood, culture and place”—The New York Times, 25 Best Children's Books of 2020

“A unique and beautiful combination of poetic story and expressive art”—Kirkus Reviews

“An exquisite celebration of the simple magic of childhood”—Shelf Awareness

“Gorgeous”—School Library Journal

“A book to treasure”—Books for Keeps, 5 STARS