A heartfelt middle grade novel about the stories that heal us, and about having the courage to let go of the past.

Ato has always seen his father as a real-life Superman, maybe even with a bit of Iron Man and the Hulk mixed in. When he dies, Ato and his mother are devastated, and struggle to put the pieces of their lives back together. So when Ato’s mother decides he should spend the summer with his grandmother, he isn’t sure what to expect. It certainly isn’t arriving to find her preparing to bury the family sofa. As the summer goes by, Nana tells stories about the couch that span generations and that are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. In listening, Ato discovers his father’s vibrant, complicated life, and learns to honor his past with hope for his future.

Whimsical and wise, Crossing the Stream is a big-hearted story of loss and love set in contemporary Accra, from one of Ghana’s most lauded children’s book authors.

Elizabeth-Irene Baitie