On fridays

It is time for a new book to launch into the world and I am so excited and ecstatic about this. Jason Griffin and I are at it again. This time, we collaborated on a new picture book entitled ON FRIDAYS.

Senior citizen mentors help a boy make sense of loss in this powerful collaboration from acclaimed creators Winsome Bingham and Jason Griffin.

On Fridays after school, Jamar takes the bus to meet Momma at the assisted living center where she works. There’s always someone interesting to talk to there, like Mr. Dillon, who twirls and slides through the halls; Mr. Riff, who wears a suit and plays guitar in his room; and Miss Neely, who teaches Jamar to garden. They’re a community—a family.

Everything is right on Fridays. But when Momma wakes Jamar up to drive back to the center in the middle of the night, he knows something must be very wrong.

Funerals are for saying goodbye, but Jamar doesn’t want to say goodbye to Miss Neely. After all, why didn’t she say goodbye to him? Momma explains it wasn’t by choice; that’s why we have to give people their flowers while they’re here.

A collaboration between acclaimed author Winsome Bingham and Caldecott Honoree Jason Griffin, On Fridays is a stirring tribute to cross-generational friendship, and a glimpse at how grief can teach us to love better. Musical text and vivid illustrations animate a close-knit cast of characters sure to remain in readers’ hearts.

ON FRIDAYS is a different book. This book was engineered backwards. Normally, I would write the text and the publisher would find the illustrator. But this is unique that Jason did the art first and the publisher wanted a story to match the art and asked me to do it which I was so honored to do.

I will always remember this book because it found me in a very dark time. I was in the hospital being treated for depression when my agent reached out to me. I hadn’t written in months and the colors in the text sparked my creativity. The reds, yellows, greens, blues, tans, and so much vibrancy. Immediately, I began to write a story. I will always remember where I was when I drafted this book. I will always remember that it took me out of a dark place. I will always remember that this book was my saving grace. To Jason, his art, his creative spirit, I THANK YOU!