The Last Stand (2024 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year)

The author of Nigel and the Moon, delivers a tender intergenerational story inspired by his childhood in the rural south. Here's a farm stand that represents the importance of family, community, and hope.

Every stand has a story.
This one is mine.

Saturday is for harvesting. And one little boy is excited to work alongside his Papa as they collect eggs, plums, peppers and pumpkins to sell at their stand in the farmer's market. Of course, it's more than a farmer's market. Papa knows each customer's order, from Ms. Rosa's pumpkins to Mr. Johnny's peppers. And when Papa can't make it to the stand, his community gathers around him, with dishes made of his own produce.

Heartwarming illustrations complement the lyrical text in this poignant picture book that reveals a family's pride in their work, and reminds us to harvest love and hope from those around us.

Antwan Eady is the author of the award-winning picture book Nigel and the Moon, illustrated by Gracey Zhang. Down the dirt roads of South Carolina’s Low Country is where Antwan’s understanding of—and appreciation for—family, community, and land unfolded. Now he shares those stories with the world. When he isn’t writing, he’s visiting schools, libraries, and colleges throughout the country. A graduate of Clemson University, Antwan lives in Savannah, Georgia.

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey are a sibling author-illustrator duo from Houston, Texas. Together they work on books for kids, including their Caldecott Honor-winning There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, It’s a Sign!, Somewhere in the Bayou, and their author-illustrator debut, The Old Truck, which received seven starred reviews and was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, as well as an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Book. They both reside in Austin, Texas, with their families.