"Storyteller Haywood Fennell Sr. listened deeply, and then wrote. 'Coota and the Challenge' is a beckoning to all of us to heal and be restored. Children and adult readers will learn that Coota's story, with it's unique pattern woven with pain, endurance and beauty is an African American story, but also a universal one that depicts the interconnectedness of our sorrows and humanity. We read and experience Ms. Mattie's ancient remedy balm bringing wellness as it is rubbed over our minds and hearts."