This lyrical picture book from popular singer-songwriter Laura Veirs and debut illustrator Tatyana Fazlalizadeh tells the story of the determined, gifted, and daring Elizabeth Cotten—one of the most celebrated American folk musicians of all time.

She was a little girl when she picked up a guitar for the first time. It wasn’t hers, it was her brother’s, and it wasn’t strung right for her (she was left-handed). But she flipped that guitar upside down and backwards and taught herself how to play it anyway.

By age 11, she’d written “Freight Train,” one of the most famous folk songs of the 20^th century. And by the end of her life, people everywhere knew her music. 

The Martin Guitar Elizabeth Cotten used to record “Freight Train” was featured in MIM’s recent special exhibition Acoustic America: Iconic Guitars, Mandolins, and Banjos.