Books in Young Readers Series series

Little Suzette and her nursemaid enjoy daily walks in the handsome park near their home. Often, they see a tall, elegant lady strolling in the park with her tiny puppy. Then, a comical incident transforms Suzette and the puppy into friends. The time and place of this gentle story is Paris in the 1870s, when many fine artists were creating the exciting approach to painting called Impressionism. As it happens, little Suzette's Uncle Edgar is one of those artists. He is the famous Edgar Degas. One day, Uncle Edgar sends an artist to paint Suzette's picture. Imagine Suzette's surprise, when the artist turns out to be the tall lady from the park! And imagine Suzette's delight when the little puppy comes with her! The result of this enchanting meeting lives on to this day in an art masterpiece. For the woman was the major American artist, Mary Cassatt. Her painting of Suzette and the little dog, known as The Little Girl in the Blue Armchair, now hangs in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C. Among this book's many beautiful full-color illustrations is a reproduction of the story's painting.

Considered one of the eminent writers of twentieth-century African-American literature, Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance and has influenced writers such as Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. She published four novels, two volumes of folklore, an autobiography, and several short stories and plays. This book includes a glossary, bibliography, and index. Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Florida, was a librarian at Patrick Air Force Base, and taught in Fort Pierce where writer Alice Walker discovered her grave in 1973.