The Beat on Ruby's Street

Gold Category Winner for the Wishing Shelf Award and Finalist in the 2019 Minnesota Author Project The last thing eleven-year-old Ruby Tabeata expected to happen on her way to a Jack Kerouac reading was to be hauled to the police station.

It's 1958 and Ruby is the opposite of a 1950s stereotype: fierce, funny and strong willed, she is only just starting to chart her course in a family of Beat Generation artists in Greenwich Village, New York. Ruby dreams of meeting famous poets while becoming one herself; instead, she's accused of trying to steal fruit from a local vendor and is forced to live in a children's home.

In this inspiring coming of age story Ruby struggles to return to family and friends, and she learns her only choice is to follow her heart.

Join Ruby on her journey as she finds unexpected friendships, the courage to rebel against unjust authority and the healing power of art in this unique historical middle grade novel by Jenna Zark.

Please note: narrative language and dialogue was designed to evoke the 1950s. The author does not condone 1950s language in present times.