Good Housekeeping Magazine's BEST 50 KIDS' Books of All Time   2025 United Women in Faith Reading Program Selection 2024 Mississippi Author of the Year Award Winner 2024 Mississippi Magnolia Award Honor Book 2024 Great Stone Face Book Award Nominee (New Hampshire) 2024 Beehive Book Award Nominee (Utah) 2023 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Youth Book Award Winner 2022 Foreword Reviews Indies Book of the Year Award Finalist 2022 New-York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize Finalist   Kate DiCamillo's READ BRAVE Reading Challenge Selection Kate DiCamillo's TOP FIVE Recommended Books for Children Week Junior Magazine TOP SEVEN Kids' Books of 2022 Common Sense Media BEST SIX Kids' Books of 2022 Award-winning author Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell the story of Ellis Earl, who dreams of a real house, food enough for the whole family—and to be someone. It's 1967, and eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown has big dreams. He's going to grow up to be a teacher or a lawyer—or maybe both—and live in a big brick house in town. There'll always be enough food in the icebox, and his mama won't have to run herself ragged looking for work as a maid in order to support Ellis Earl and his eight siblings and niece, Vera. So Ellis Earl applies himself at school, soaking up the lessons that Mr. Foster teaches his class—particularly those about famous colored people like Mr. Thurgood Marshall and Miss Marian Wright—and borrowing books from his teacher's bookshelf. When Mr. Foster presents him with a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ellis Earl is amazed to encounter a family that's even worse off than his own—and is delighted by the Buckets' very happy ending. But when Mama tells Ellis Earl that he might need to quit school to help support the family, he wonders if happy endings are only possible in storybooks. Around the historical touchstone of Robert Kennedy's southern "poverty tour," Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell a detail-rich and poignant story with memorable characters, sure to resonate with readers who have ever felt constricted by their circumstances. Drawing from her own childhood experiences, Jackson (Midnight without a Moon, 2017) creates a compelling story about racism, poverty, and the power of community to help lift people up. . . an excellent recommendation for any young reader looking for new books about the civil rights era. —Booklist (starred review) Jackson draws on her personal history to show real people behind Kennedy’s historic visit. . . She successfully presents individuals who, despite grinding poverty, nurtured hopes and dreams, and she highlights those like Mr. Foster and his church community who shared what they had with those in need. . . . Rich in detail; offers readers immediacy and connection. —Kirkus Reviews Ellis Earl, Mr. Foster, the Brown brood, and their predominantly Black community are astutely characterized, imbued with eclectic and lovable personalities. Jackson ( A Sky Full of Stars ) delivers a touching novel that resonates today, centering the crucial impact of community on one family’s financial precarity. —Publishers Weekly An inspiring story about a tight-knit family, The Lucky Ones makes real the people who lived, worked, and grew up in the Mississippi Delta amid the tumult of the 1960s. —Foreword Reviews Poverty and hunger are powerfully evident in this story which is based on author Linda Jackson’s experiences growing up in rural Mississippi during the 60s. . . . The southern dialect of the Black characters is spot on and helps lend the story a sense of place. —School Library Connection An engaging portrait of a boy who dreams of becoming a lawyer or teacher as a way to lift his family out of poverty in this novel inspired by Robert F. Kennedy's 1967 'Poverty Tour' of the Mississippi Delta. . . The author paints a vivid portrait of what it was like to be this poor. —The Buffalo News Linda Williams Jackson is the author of Midnight Without a Moon , which was an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, a Jane Addams Honor Book for Peace and Social Justice, and a Washington Post Summer Book Club Selection. Her second book, A Sky Full of Stars , received a Malka Penn Honor for an outstanding children’s book addressing human rights issues and was a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year. Born and raised in Rosedale, Mississippi, Linda Williams Jackson lives in Southaven, Mississippi, with her family. Wilsonville, Mississippi 1967 Friday, March 17 A Whole Moon Pie to Myself   “Thank you, Mr. Foster!”    Ellis Earl Brown waved goodbye to his teacher, then trekked with his sister Carrie Ann along the dusty path toward home. Mr. Julius Foster always offered to drive his lime-green station wagon all the way to the end of the winding path to drop Ellis Earl and Carrie Ann off directly in fr