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Barnes, Derrick

Seven Million Steps: The True Story of Dick Gregory's Run for the Hungry

40 pp. | HarperCollins/Amistad | February, 2026 | Trade ISBN 9780063357525 $19.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frank Morrison. “What would you do if you knew someone who goes to bed every night without having supper?” With a second-person narration, Barnes and Christian Gregory (the subject’s son) chronicle activist and comedian Dick Gregory’s (1932–2017) “wild idea” to run from Los Angeles to New York City in 1976 to bring awareness to the problem of hunger in the United States. Gregory’s goal was to cover fifty miles a day; his only nourishment was “fruit juices, vitamins, water, and maybe sunflower seeds” because “if they have to go without -- then so will [he].” At many of his stops, people gathered to listen to his message; spectators (including Muhammed Ali) joined him to offer encouragement and amplify his message. Gregory reached New York on the Fourth of July as the city was celebrating the country’s bicentennial. The use of the second person allows readers to feel like they are a part of the trek, while Morrison’s oil paintings provide a realistic interpretation of Gregory’s run and the suffering of those experiencing hunger. In one resonant double-page spread, a Black mother holds a crying baby and child on the left-hand page while the right-hand page shows a cabinet empty except for a can of soup. Back matter includes an author’s note that gives more context to Gregory’s decision to run and the impacts of food insecurity.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2026

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