In a Cloud of Dust

In a Cloud of Dust written by Alma Fullerton and illustrated by Brian Deines (2015)

Anna goes to school in Tanzania at the end of a long dusty road. She walks a long way to and from school each day. Then one day her teacher calls her outside where a truck full of bicycles has stopped in a cloud of dust. Joseph, from the bicycle repair shop leaves bicycles on the road for the children. Many of her friends get new bicycles, but by the time Anna gets there, there are none left. Anna helps her friends learn how to ride the bicycles in the road outside the school building. Then when it is time to go home, Anna runs behind the others and catches a ride with several of her friends. At the last stop her friend Mohammad hands the bicycle to Anna because he is home and she still has a long way to go. Anna hops on and rides away in her own cloud of dust, promising to pick him up on the way to school the next morning.

Learning to share and help your friends is a valuable lesson for children of all ages. This beautiful story is told with simple and lyrical language and gorgeous artwork. It’s also a story of how something so common to many American children can be so important to a child in another part of the world, and how it can change the way they live and do things.

Color wheel pasta for a fun side dish or art project.

Decorate your bicycle for a neighborhood parade.