A stunning feat of original storytelling from the recipient of

the 2018 John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

CARRIMEBAC David Barclay Moore

illustrated by
The Town That Walked John Holyfield

In a boldly transportive original tale, David Barclay Moore

infuses history with wry folk wisdom, metaphorical power,
and a splash of magic. The Civil War may be over, but
times are not substantially improved for the freed Black
citizens of Walkerton, Georgia, who are shunned by the
white folks of the surrounding towns. One day, though,
ol’ Rootilla Redgums and her grandson, Julius Jefferson,
arrive. Rootilla teaches the citizens of Walkerton how to
make all sorts of beautiful things, and the white people
can’t get enough. But some aren’t so happy. When a
hooded mob threatens to burn down the town, Julius and
Rootilla must work wonders to protect Walkerton and its
people—even if it means moving heaven and earth itself.
With exquisite cinematic illustrations by John Holyfield
and a generous trim size, this portrait of Black endurance
draws on the rhythms and traditions of African American
storytelling to open a powerful window into the past.

David Barclay Moore, an author and On sale March 8, 2022

filmmaker, won a John Steptoe New Talent Author HC: 978-1-5362-1369-0 • $18.99 ($24.99 CAN)
Award for his debut novel, The Stars Beneath Our
Photo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Ages 6–9 • 40 pages • Also available as an e-book

Feet, which was optioned as a film by Michael B.
Jordan. Born and raised in Missouri, he has done
work with Sony, Harlem Children’s Zone, and
Quality Services for the Autism Community.
David Barclay Moore is based in Brooklyn.

John Holyfield is a renowned fine artist and

illustrator of numerous books for young readers,
including Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend by
Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud, Meet
Miss Fancy by Irene Latham, Mahalia Jackson:
Walking with Kings and Queens by Nina Nolan,
and The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner. John
Holyfield lives in Virginia.

Illustrations copyright © 2022 by John Holyfield

A Note from David Barclay Moore
“Oftentimes,” wrote race relations anthropologist John Dollard, “just to go away
is one of the most aggressive things that another person can do.”

The magical townsfolk of Carrimebac conjured themselves from my imagination

and simply would not let me go. Their story grew partly from my love of folklore,
fairy tales, and mythology and also from my curiosity in all-Black communities
that sprang up in the Americas during and after slavery.

In particular, the real-life history of the Dorchester Academy in Liberty County,

Georgia, provided some inspiration for Carrimebac’s setting. The Dorchester
community educated freedpeople after the Civil War’s end. During this period
in Georgia, under the white governing political group known as the Redeemers,
Blacks had diminished access to the vote, were lynched at soaring rates, and
were murdered for acts as simple as skipping rocks across someone else’s lake
or pilfering a duck.

Against this backdrop, the protagonists of my story, ol’ Rootilla Redgums and
her peculiar grandson, Julius, are refugees of a sort. And they and their fellow
citizens of Walkerton, Georgia, are soon challenged. But like any one of us
facing a challenge, they learn we must all use our imaginations—our own special
magic—to decide the best way to confront it.

I hope my original folktale excites the imaginations of children everywhere, that

they may see our world differently.

Illustration copyright © 2022 by John Holyfield