Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah's inspiring true story—which was turned into a film, Emmanuel's Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey—is nothing short of remarkable. Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled. Thompson's lyrical prose and Qualls's bold collage illustrations offer a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity.

LAURIE THOMPSON makes her picture book debut with Emmanuel's Dream. SEAN QUALLS is the award-winning children's book illustrator of Giant Steps to Change the World by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis-Lee; Little Cloud and Lady Wind by Toni Morrison and her son Slade; and Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston, for which he received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. Sean also created the art for Dizzy by Jonah Winter, which received multiple starred reviews and was named an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book, and Freedom Song by Sally Walker.