The city of Hartford, Conn. is one of the poorest small cities in the nation in terms of families with incomes below the poverty level (34 percent), and persons under the age of 18 living in poverty (47 percent). In addition, the NAEP exam revealed the state has the largest achievement gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers and minority groups in seven out of 10 measured categories. Therefore it would be an outstanding event for children and youth to be exposed to a nationally recognized author/illustrator.