Step It Up! The French Dukes
by Debbie Taylor
| Illustrated by Kristle Marshall
| Picture Book
| Published 09-10-2023
Ten-year-old Kenny Mitchell longs to be a member of the French Dukes Precision Drill Team. When he fails to make the team, he tries harder. With the help of his older brother, he learns to "step it up" just in time to help the French Dukes win an important talent competition.
Set in the 1960s Ann Arbor Kenny’s story is inspired by the real-life French Dukes Precision Drill Team.
Debbie Ann Taylor is a picture book author and magazine writer. Her work has been published in children’s magazines including Spider, Cricket, and Pockets Magazine. Taylor is the author of the acclaimed picture book, Sweet Music in Harlem and books for the Toggle Talk educational series. Her hobbies include visiting museums and botanical gardens with her family. Taylor and her husband live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is the author of Over in Motown and Step It Up! The French Dukes.
THE EARLIEST DREAM JOB I CAN REMEMBER HAVING IS WANTING TO ILLUSTRATE CHILDREN’S BOOKS AS A FIRST-GRADER.
Kristle Marshall went on to study Photography at Savannah College of Art & Design; but, her openness and curiosity eventually reunited her with a passion she had since she was little: drawing. Her artwork typically combines hand lettering and stylized illustrative elements or scenes; but Kristle loves to tinker with animation and other media. Right now, she's having a blast working full-time with hand-lettering artist, designer, and educator, Lauren Hom.