The Way a Door Closes by Hope Smith

The Way a Door Closes by Hope Smith

My best friend, Preacher, is being just that. His sermon today is on fathers and I am his congregation.
Dads are light. They have no roots.
One strong wind, and they're gone.
Out of here. History.

With a click, a bang, a whisper--or no noise at all. There are so many ways that a door can close, but it's not just the closing; it's the knowing. And thirteen-year-old CJ knows too much--about losing his father, about his family's pain, and especially about what it means to hold things together when times are the toughest.

In this beautifully written and powerfully moving novel in poems, Hope Anita Smith tells the story of a young man's struggle to accept a father who has walked out on his family. Here, in CJ's words, is a portrait of hurt and healing, and finding the strength to open the door again.

The Way a Door Closes is the winner of the 2004 Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award and the 2004 Bank Street - Claudia Lewis Award and is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Hope Anita Smith is the author of The Way a Door Closes, the prequel to Keeping the Night Watch. A professional story-teller, Hope teaches poetry-writing workshops to all grade levels. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

E.B. Lewis has illustrated over 35 books for young readers, including Coming on Home Soon, for which he received a Caldecott honor, and His Talkin' About Bessie, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award. He teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and lives in Folsom, New Jersey.