Children's Books Catalog
Big Boy Joy
Author: Connie Schofield-Morrison
I am a big boy,
Full of big boy joy!
Big boys can climb high and go, go, go! Big boys can smash and crash. They can share and play.
Playtime is the best time--a time of wonder, where big boys can run free, make new friends, and imagine worlds beyond their own. Their big feelings and big energy spread big boy joy for all to share!
Acclaimed author Connie Schofield-Morrison and New York Times bestselling illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice join forces in this exuberant celebration of imagination, play, and big boy joy!
Beyoncé: Shine Your Light
Author: Sarah Warren
Beyoncé was quiet.
A push-an-empty-swing kind of quiet.
That’s how most of the world saw her, until . . .
She can sing! Do you know she can sing?
one teacher looked closer.
Onstage, Beyoncé became a different person.
Dazzling!
Confident
Bold
This was where she belonged.
Beyoncé is bold, talented, confident, and an inspiring voice and power to millions of people all around the world. This captivating picture book biography celebrates the icon's rise from a shy little girl to a world-famous superstar. Discover the story of Beyoncé as she finds her voice, through trials and triumphs, and understand that you, too, can shine your light like Beyoncé.
Between Two Windows
Author: Keisha Morris
A friendship blossoms between two children as they pass drawings across the clothesline between their apartment windows in this imaginative picture book about creativity, the power of art, adventure, innovation, and friendship.
Between two windows, Kayla and Mateo pass drawings of dinosaurs back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...until a story comes to life and the worlds of two friends come together.
But when the clothesline is taken down, the friends must use their creativity to find a new way to keep their story going.
Better Than A Touchdown
Author: Jalen Hurts
From Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts comes an empowering story about friendship, the power of teamwork, and achieving goals together.
Jalen is so excited for the new school year because this is the year he’ll finally get to try out for the football team! But when he arrives at school, he learns the unthinkable—that the football team has been cut. He and his friends are devastated. But Jalen isn’t ready to give up, and with some advice from some friends, maybe—just maybe—they can save the day.
Better than a Touchdown is a love letter to the power of community, being there for one another, and how a piece of good advice can change the course of a day. Told with Jalen’s signature wisdom and gorgeous art by Nneka Myers, Better than a Touchdown carries a message we can all learn from: that by working together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.
Bemused
Author: Farrah Rochon
The untold origin story of the 5 Muses from Disney’s Hercules is revealed in this rollicking YA fantasy filled with mythical adventure, music, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
The Muses narrated Hercules’s story. Now, in this novel for fans of the New York Times bestsellers Go the Distance and Fire & Fate, they’ll narrate their own "gospel truth."
Living in a quiet seaside village with their overprotective mother, teenaged sisters Calliope, Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore, and Thalia are talented performers with no audience. If Calli had her way, she'd pursue her dream of writing epic stories in the city of Thebes. But family comes first, and as the eldest, she'd never leave her beloved sisters behind.
Then, following a disastrous public music performance, their mother reveals a shocking secret: she is Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, and for nearly two decades, she’s been on the run from the gods of Mount Olympus, desperate to keep her daughters safe from their machinations. Before she can share more, she is kidnapped . . . and though the girls don’t know it yet, the villain pulling the strings is none other than Hades, fiery God of the Underworld.
Under Calli’s leadership, the sisters embark on a journey to save their mother and to learn more about their own divine origins. But the path ahead is filled with mythical trials and tribulations, and they’ll need to rely on both their individual talents and the strength of their sisterhood to ensure that they ascend from "zeroes" to "heroes"--or more accurately, heroines.
Before the Ships: The Birth of Black Excellence
Author: Maisha Oso
For so many of us, the first introduction to Black history begins with lessons about slavery. While slavery is a crucial part of African-American history, it is not the beginning. In fact, there is a rich history tied to the continent of Africa that deserves to be told and to be marveled at-- which is exactly what Maisha Oso does in Before the Ships. With sparse yet moving text, Maisha takes us back in time to before the advent of the Transatlantic slave trade. We see the grandness of African royalty, the bravery of warriors like the Queen of Kush, and stories being told in song with griots and drums. Candice Bradley's gorgeous and reflective illustrations illuminate the strength of Black history and Black joy, reminding readers about the power within us all.
Bee Fearless
Author: Mikaila Ulmer
A business memoir from lemonade entrepreneur and one of TIME Magazine's Top 30 Most Influential Teens, Mikaila Ulmer, and her advice for life and business--now in paperback!
When Mikaila Ulmer was four, she was stung by a bee--twice in one week. She was terrified of going outside, so her parents encouraged her to learn more about bees so she wouldn't be afraid. It worked. Mikaila didn't just learn what an important role bees play in our ecosystem, but she also learned bees are endangered, and set out to save them. She started by selling cups of lemonade in front of her house and donating the small proceeds to organizations dedicated to bee conservation. When she realized the more lemonade she sold, the more bees she could help, Me & the Bees Lemonade was born. Now she sells her lemonade across the country. From meetings with Fortune 500 CEOs, to securing a deal on Shark Tank, to even visiting the Obama White House, Mikaila's lemonade and passion for bee conservation have taken her far.
In Bee Fearless, part memoir, part business guide, Mikaila shares her personal journey and special brand of mindful entrepreneurship and offers helpful tips and guidance for young readers interested in pursuing their own ventures, instilling in them the bee-lief that they can bee fearless and achieve their dreams too.
Bedtime Bonnet Board Book
Author: Nancy Redd
This joyous and loving celebration of family is the first-ever picture book to highlight Black nighttime hair traditions--and is perfect for every little girl who knows what it's like to lose her bonnet just before bedtime.
In my family, when the sun goes down, our hair goes up!
My brother slips a durag over his locs.
Sis swirls her hair in a wrap around her head.
Daddy covers his black waves with a cap.
Mama gathers her corkscrew curls in a scarf.
I always wear a bonnet over my braids, but tonight I can't find it anywhere!
Bedtime Bonnet gives readers a heartwarming peek into quintessential Black nighttime hair traditions and celebrates the love between all the members of this close-knit, multi-generational family.
Perfect for readers of Hair Love and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut!
Becoming Vanessa
Author: Vanessa Brantley-Newton
On Vanessa's first day of school, her parents tell her it will be easy to make friends. Vanessa isn't so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn't what she'd hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.
The next day, she picks out a plain outfit, and tells her mom that her name is too long. She just wants to blend in, with a simple name like the other girls--why couldn't her parents have named her Megan or Bella? But when her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, it gives her the confidence she needs to introduce her classmates to the real Vanessa. Perfect for readers of Alma and How She Got Her Name and The King of Kindergarten.
Becoming a Ballerina: The Story of Michaela Mabinty DePrince: A Heartwarming Pic
Author: Laura Obuobi
In a Sierra Leone dust storm, ballet swooped into Michaela Mabinty DePrince’s life and never let her go. After her adoption brought her to the United States, ballet continued to be the consoling hand that guided Michaela, filling her with joy and hope. Over time, Michaela’s love for ballet only grew, and with it her dream of becoming a professional dancer.
However, there were peers who told Michaela she didn’t belong in the ballet world, that her skin and vitiligo made her too different. But ballet had stirred in Michaela a faith and determination that would help her turn her dreams into a reality.
From the acclaimed author of NAACP Image Award nominee Black Gold and What Love Looks Like, Laura Obuobi, and artist Olivia Duchess comes a lyrical and heartwarming picture book about one of the most influential ballerinas of our generation, inspiring all of us to never give up on our dreams.
Beasts of War
Author: Ayana Gray
Once a prisoner to Fedu, the vengeful god of death, Koffi has regained her freedom, but she is far from safe. Fedu will stop at nothing to hunt her down and use her power to decimate the mortal world. Koffi knows when Fedu will strike: during the next Bonding, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. To survive, Koffi will have to find powerful new allies quickly, and convince them to help her in the terrible battle to come.
Once a warrior-turned-runaway, Ekon has carved out a new life for himself outside Lkossa, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. Now, alongside unexpected friends, Ekon tries to focus on getting Koffi to the Kusonga Plains before the next Bonding. If he fails, Koffi will be consumed, either by her own dangerous power, or the terrible fate Ekon is doing everything he can to prevent. Ekon devotes himself to protecting Koffi, but the lingering threats from his own past are more urgent than he knows.
As Koffi and Ekon race to the Kusonga Plains—and try to garner the help of Eshōza’s ancient gods along the way—they must face a slew of dangerous beasts old and new. In the end, destiny may unite Koffi and Ekon for the last time—or tear them apart for good.
Beasts of Ruin
Author: Ayana Gray
After having promised to use her new powers to serve Fedu, the cunning god of death, and assist in his plans to remake the world, Koffi finds herself a prisoner in Thornkeep—a luxurious mansion with well-manicured gardens. But Fedu’s beautiful realm is a lie. Koffi and many other darajas are trapped there by a deadly, inscrutable mist, making escape impossible. But something within the mist calls to Koffi, igniting her magic. It soon becomes clear that the very thing imprisoning her could be the key to not only her freedom, but finally unlocking the remaining mysteries of her own magic, allowing her to fight the god of death and perhaps even win.
While Koffi attempts to decipher the secrets of the mist and learns to wield her own deadly power, Ekon is determined to make his way to Thornkeep to fight alongside her. But leaving Lkossa is easier said than done. Ekon, once a promising soldier, is now a wanted man on the run from those he once called brother. He’s forced to make new, uneasy alliances to flee Lkossa and turn his back on everything he once believed. And each day he draws closer to the realm of death, so too does Ekon draw nearer to a long-hidden truth about himself that could change his loyalties forever.
Koffi and Ekon—separated by both land and gods—risk everything to reunite. But the longer they’re apart, the more they will have to reckon with changing destinies and, maybe, changing hearts.
Beach Hair
Author: Ashley Woodfolk
When I wake up with the wildest bed headand Mommy and Daddy do tooMommy says we all have beach hair, so Daddy says, “Guess we should go to the beach.”
At the beach, everyone has beach hair. There’s twisty and twirly hair, flossy and glossy hair, hair that’s barely there, and hair that’s everywhere.
The best part about a beach day is the belonging and joy that everyone feels when they let their hair run as wild and free as the sea.
Big Bold Beautiful Me
Author: Jane Yolen and Maddison Stemple-Piatt
Kids will delight in reading Big, Bold, Beautiful Me and find themselves marching along and standing side-by-side protagonists just like them who portray body positivity in a loud, proud, and very fun way.
Grown-ups will welcome the message of healthy attitudes when facing negative or derogatory comments of others. Together it is a valuable resource for young readers to confidently embrace who they are with big bold beautiful appeal to teachers, librarians, counselors, and parents, too.
I pull my shoulders back, and I walk with pride
Hiking with my Nana, going stride for stride.
Then I look in the mirror—and what do I see?
Big and bold and beautiful me!
Beyonce: A Little Golden Book Biography
Author: Lavaille Lavette
This captivating Little Golden Book biography celebrates Beyoncé's rise from a shy little girl to a world-famous superstar.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Beyoncé continues to inspire and demonstrate that dreams—no matter how big—can be achieved through hard work and determination. Michelle Obama has called her a "role model for us all."
Better Together, Cinderella
Author: Ashley Franklin
Tameika can’t seem to do anything right for her new twin siblings and struggles to find her place when they steal her spotlight. Luckily, she and her family are attending the community family ball. Tameika is sure a ball will make the perfect set to prove that she can be the best big sister ever.
But what if Tameika is wrong?
With some help from her beloved Uncle Derrick, this princess learns that a growing family is always better together!
Perfect for big sisters everywhere and for fans of Oona, Little Miss, Big Sis, and Sisters First.
Best Friends Forever: A Puppy's Tale
Author: Portia Y. Clare
Scoopie has just turned four, and she is getting a puppy for her birthday!
Scoopie and her new puppy, Sandy, become instant best friends. They play together, eat ice cream, and sleep in the same bed!
But when Sandy falls ill, Scoopie is left with endless questions:
What’s wrong with Sandy?
Will she get better?
When will we get to play again?
With just one diagnosis, everything changes.
Best Friends Forever: A Puppy’s Tale is a tender, heart-warming story about love, loss, and everlasting friendship. It is a wonderful resource for parents and teachers that will help them guide children through the real-life experience of owning, loving, and losing a beloved family pet, and finding the courage to share that love again.
Bella Ballerina
Author: Sharon M. Draper
Bella loves ballet class and listens hard to the music so she can tippy-toe turn, point, and plié in perfect time. When Madame announces a recital, Bella is determined to do her best. But when she tries to stretch up to leap lightly like a cloud, she wobbles and almost topples—luckily, a friend catches her.
Now, Bella’s nervous; maybe she can’t do this like she thought she could. On recital day, when the curtain goes up and the dancers get in position, Bella freezes. Can she find her courage in time to take the stage?
Before the Ever After
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?
Bedtime For Sweet Creatures
Author: Nikki Grimes
It's bedtime. But Mommy's little one is not sleepy.
He growls like a bear, he questions like an owl, he tosses his mane like a lion. He hunts for water like a sly wolf, and hides like a snake.
Mommy needs to wrangle her sweet creature in bed so that the whole family can sleep. From tigers to squirrels to snakes, the little boy dodges around his bedtime, until he is tired enough to finally sleep. His imaginative animal friends weave their way through the illustrations, eventually joining him in curling up for the night.
For those seeking children's books about diversity, this loving depiction of everyday shenanigans is sure to become a bedtime favorite. Bedtime for Sweet Creatures is an African American children's book that celebrates imagination, playful moments, and the love between a Black mother and child.
Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers
Author: Michelle Obama
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Michelle Obama’s worldwide bestselling memoir, Becoming, is now adapted for young readers.
Michelle Robinson was born on the South Side of Chicago. From her modest beginnings, she would become Michelle Obama, the inspiring and powerful First Lady of the United States, when her husband, Barack Obama, was elected the forty-fourth president. They would be the first Black First Family in the White House and serve the country for two terms.
Growing up, Michelle and her older brother, Craig, shared a bedroom in their family’s upstairs apartment in her great-aunt’s house. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, poured their love and energy into their children. Michelle’s beloved dad taught his kids to work hard, keep their word, and remember to laugh. Her mom showed them how to think for themselves, use their voice, and be unafraid.
But life soon took her far from home. With determination, carefully made plans, and the desire to achieve, Michelle was eager to expand the sphere of her life from her schooling in Chicago. She went to Princeton University, where she learned what it felt like to be the only Black woman in the room. She then went to Harvard Law School, and after graduating returned to Chicago and became a high-powered lawyer. Her plans changed, however, when she met and fell in love with Barack Obama.
From her early years of marriage, and the struggle to balance being a working woman, a wife, and the mom of two daughters, Michelle Obama details the shift she made to political life and what her family endured as a result of her husband’s fast-moving political career and campaign for the presidency. She shares the glamour of ball gowns and world travel, and the difficulties of comforting families after tragedies. She managed to be there for her daughters’ swim competitions and attend plays at their schools without catching the spotlight, while defining and championing numerous initiatives, especially those geared toward kids, during her time as First Lady.
Most important, this volume for young people is an honest and fascinating account of Michelle Obama’s life led by example. She shares her views on how all young people can help themselves as well as help others, no matter their status in life. She asks readers to realize that no one is perfect, and that the process of becoming is what matters, as finding yourself is ever evolving. In telling her story with boldness, she asks young readers: Who are you, and what do you want to become?
Becoming Muhammad Ali
Author: James Patterson amd Kwame Alexander
Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius' family and neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve. Before long, he won his first Golden Gloves bout and began his transformation into the unrivaled Muhammad Ali.
Fully authorized by and written in cooperation with the Muhammad Ali estate, and vividly brought to life by Dawud Anyabwile's dynamic artwork, Becoming Muhammad Ali captures the budding charisma and youthful personality of one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.
Because You Are
Author: Jael Richardson
Little one,
there’s something you should know
You are just right
just enough
as you are
Conceived of as a letter to her younger self, Because You Are captures Jael Richardson’s insightful lessons about growing up, being joyful and loving yourself as a young Black girl. By exploring what inner beauty means, this story inspires children to recognize and build their self-worth, to dream big and to make a difference in the world. These lessons are brought to life on the page with lively and tender illustrations by Nneka Myers.
Beasts of War
Author: Ayana Gray
Once a prisoner to Fedu, the vengeful god of death, Koffi has regained her freedom, but she is far from safe. Fedu will stop at nothing to hunt her down and use her power to decimate the mortal world. Koffi knows when Fedu will strike: during the next Bonding, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. To survive, Koffi will have to find powerful new allies quickly, and convince them to help her in the terrible battle to come.
Once a warrior-turned-runaway, Ekon has carved out a new life for himself outside Lkossa, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. Now, alongside unexpected friends, Ekon tries to focus on getting Koffi to the Kusonga Plains before the next Bonding. If he fails, Koffi will be consumed, either by her own dangerous power, or the terrible fate Ekon is doing everything he can to prevent. Ekon devotes himself to protecting Koffi, but the lingering threats from his own past are more urgent than he knows.
As Koffi and Ekon race to the Kusonga Plains—and try to garner the help of Eshōza’s ancient gods along the way—they must face a slew of dangerous beasts old and new. In the end, destiny may unite Koffi and Ekon for the last time—or tear them apart for good.
Beasts of Prey
Author: Ayana Gray
There’s no such thing as magic in the broken city of Lkossa, especially for sixteen-year-old Koffi, who indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, knows the fearsome creatures in her care and paying off her family's debts to secure their eventual freedom can be her only focus. But the night those she loves are gravely threatened by the Zoo’s cruel master, Koffi unleashes a power she doesn’t fully understand, upending her life completely.
As the second son of a decorated hero, Ekon is all but destined to become a Son of the Six—an elite warrior—and uphold a family legacy. But on the night of his final rite of passage, Ekon encounters not only the Shetani—a vicious monster that has plagued the city for nearly a century and stalks his nightmares—but Koffi who seems to have the power to ward off the beast. Koffi’s power ultimately saves Ekon, but his choice to let her flee dooms his hopes of becoming a warrior.
Desperate to redeem himself, Ekon vows to hunt the Shetani and end its reign of terror, but he can’t do it alone. Koffi and Ekon form a tentative alliance and together enter the Greater Jungle, a world steeped in wild, frightening magic and untold dangers. The hunt begins. But it quickly becomes unclear whether they are the hunters or the hunted.