As a successful former slave, Clara Brown used her money to help other freed slaves get a new start in life. In 1859 Clara bought her own freedom and headed west to Colorado to find her daughter, who was sold when she was just a little girl. Clara didn't find her daughter there, but she did get rich. The people she helped became her family, and she became known as "Aunt" Clara Brown. "Aunt Clara's story teaches children about tenacity, caring for and about others, and strength of character. Porter's beautiful illustrations done in earthtones with simple lines have a powerful, primitive style." Linda Lowery is an award-winning author of more than 60 fiction and nonfiction books for readers from preschool to middle grade. She currently lives in Tennessee. Janice Lee Porter was born and raised in Chicago. She has a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from California State University, Chico. She is the illustrator of over two dozen children's books and is an art faculty member at Shasta College in Redding, California, where she teaches painting and drawing. She lives in Chico, California.