Kids

The life of civil rights icon Angela Davis is illuminated in an extraordinary picture book biography. Booklist praised this profound exploration of American history, activism, the civil rights movement, and the power of the people as a one that "should be part of all social studies curricula." For fans of Maya's Song, Nina, and There Was a Party for Langston.

Before she was an iconic civil rights activist, before she was one of the FBI's Most Wanted, before she was a teacher, Angela Davis was a young girl in Birmingham, Alabama. A girl whose parents taught her that freedom lives anywhere and everywhere it pleases. A girl who believed it when her mother told her, "It won't always be this way." And a girl who grew up to fight for the world and the future that she imagined could exist--for all people.

In this resonant and timely picture book biography of Angela Davis, acclaimed author-artist Daria Peoples invites young readers to join the fight. Her striking paintings and powerful text pay tribute to Angela Davis's evolution as an abolitionist, and dare readers of all ages to light the way to the future. An inspiring choice for fans of books by Kwame Alexander, Kadir Nelson, Christian Robinson, and Carole Boston Weatherford. Features extensive back matter, including a timeline of Angela Davis's life, a visual glossary, and an author's note.

In this action-packed graphic novel, readers explore the true story of the Harlem Hellfighters, one of the most courageous and decorated all-Black military units of World War I. Despite facing discrimination in the United States and across the globe, the Harlem Hellfighters earned a reputation as fierce fighters on the battlefield. Follow their journey from New York to the front lines in France during WWI, where they proved their valor and changed the way the world viewed Black soldiers. With fast-paced storytelling and vivid illustrations, this gripping graphic novel honors the bravery of the individuals who stood up against racism and fought for their country.

"I wish I didn't know that I was marching my sisters into a boiling pot of trouble cooking in Oakland..."

Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She's had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a radical new life in California.

But when the sisters arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their mother in Oakland, Cecile is nothing like they imagined. While the girls hope to go to Disneyland and meet Tinker Bell, their mother sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers.

Unexpectedly, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern learn much about their family, their country, and themselves during one truly crazy summer.

This beloved Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award finalist, and Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel about the three unforgettable Gaither sisters has been adapted into a beautiful full-color graphic novel for a new generation, with vibrant art by Sharee Miller.

Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory. 

Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom da boom, stepping and stomping, all in praise and love for Langston, world-mending word man. Oh, yeah, there was hoopla in Harlem, for its Renaissance man. A party for Langston.

From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library.

Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there’s a will, there’s always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. But she noticed that there were hardly any books at the library featuring Black people in respectful, uplifting ways. Thus began her journey of championing books, writers, librarians, and teachers centering Black stories, educating and inspiring future acclaimed authors like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin along the way.

As Mrs. Baker herself put it: “Children of all ages want to hear stories. Select well, prepare well and then go forth and just tell.”

It's 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don't get to own.

So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to the place where land is free--if they can get to it fast enough. But the journey isn't easy--the terrain is rough, the bandits are brutal, and every interaction carries a heavy undercurrent of danger.

And then there's the stranger they encounter and befriend: a mysterious soldier named Caesar, whose Union emblem brings more attention--and more trouble--than any of them need.

All three are propelled by the promise of something long denied to them: freedom, land ownership, and a place to call home--but is a strong will enough to get them there?

A celebration of childhood from an award-winning author, this upbeat day-in-the-life of a bunch of friends was inspired by the #BlackBoyJoy meme that spurred a movement.

From sunrise to sunset, a group of young Black boys joyously spend the day together as they live their best lives freely in their community. With confidence and a touch of swag, these friends do everything with one another: build a time machine, tend to the community garden, roleplay in the park, read, take a group selfie, and play basketball. With simple, spare text from celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and colorful, playful art from Reggie Brown capturing the pleasures of boyhood and friendship, Bros affirms the truth that Black boys deserve and are worthy of a childhood full of joy and free of risk, just as much as anyone. Timely and buoyant, it's a story sure to be enjoyed by anyone who knows what it is to be surrounded by friends with a day of adventure ahead of you.

From acclaimed author Camryn Garrett comes a middle-grade mystery with a magical twist, about a girl who goes to live with her aunt in the summer after the loss of her father--and who finds a doorway in Central Park that leads to a magically preserved historical village

Everything is changing, and twelve-year-old Rowan Robinson hates it. She's dreading having to spend her summer in New York City with her Aunt Monica, even though she used to love it. But things are just different after her father passed away. Without him, nothing about her world feels the same.

Things start to get a little better when Rowan brings her dad's old camera to Central Park to take pictures. But as she's snapping photos, she notices a strange mirror-like shape floating in the air. When she gets closer to it, she trips and falls through the portal, and after she lands, she finds herself in a different world: Seneca Village, where Black people with magical abilities seem to live in the past, in a time without phones or electricity. At first, Rowan thinks it must be a dream, but the more time she spends in the village with her new friend Lily, the more she wants it to be real.

But outsiders aren't even supposed to be able to find Seneca. Rowan and Lily aren't sure how Rowan was able to see the portal, but they suspect it might have something to do with the girl who normally guards the portal having gone missing. As Rowan and Lily search for clues to help find the missing girl and uncover the truth of the portal's magic, Rowan begins to realize what secrets this village might be hiding, and how the events of the past still linger in the present day.

Filled with sparkling magic, honest explorations of grief, and moving depictions of a new friendship, The Forgotten Summer of Seneca asks us to remember a history that's often overlooked--and imagine a future where we're brave enough to embrace change.

We all have big feelings! Understanding why we have big feelings is important. Learn helpful ways to manage big feelings with your friends from Sesame Street!

Marco and Samara are best pals and have fun doing all sorts of activities together. But there's one thing they can't do together--swing. That's because wheelchairs don't fit on swings. So, Marco and the other kids at school decide to raise money for swings all kids can use.

Inspired by the true story of the students at Glen Lake Elementary in the Hopkins school district in Minnesota, A Swing for Samara celebrates the power of compassion and inclusion and highlights the many ways accessible playground equipment benefits all children.

Award-winning author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat.

Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents’ laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. 

What she doesn’t know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable. 

With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.

We are the scrappy ones. / We live, we adapt, we defy. / Made of stardust and grit, we are spectacular.

Children with disabilities experience the world in all kinds of ways. Yet one thing they share is navigating a world that doesn't always make space for them as they are. Existing on the edges can feel unfair--and downright exhausting. And at the exact same time, it can also foster creativity, resourcefulness, and adaptability. In a word, scrappiness.

Author and disability advocate Rebekah Taussig has written a groundbreaking anthem of belonging that celebrates the wide range of disabled children and affirms their worth, just as they are. Luminous illustrations by Kirbi Fagan portray a diverse cast of characters living, learning, and playing. A warm, joy-filled book for disabled and non-disabled readers alike.

Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy's excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment.

Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world. 

Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.

Imagine Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site set in the jungle. On a night too hot to sleep, Amma takes her daughter on a magical, moonlit motorbike ride through South India.

In this lush mother-daughter nighttime adventure through the jungles of southern India, debut author Maureen Shay Tajsar enchants the reader with all five senses, offering smells of spicy tea and warm hay, tastes of warm potato dosa, and wind washing over sandaled feet. Debut illustrator Ishita Jain immerses the reader in the deepest blue, the darkest night, and the coziest love, in a book that feels at once like a hug and an adventure. 

There's no better way to be lulled to sleep than tucked against Amma on her motorbike, and a Midnight Motorbike read-aloud is the next best thing. Drawing on the childhood memories of both author and illustrator, this sumtuous treasure is sure to be a new family favorite.

An outstanding STEM picture book documenting the transformation of an aircraft carrier that was gutted and turned into the world’s largest artificial reef.

What happens when something designed to be unsinkable gets bombed to the bottom of the ocean floor? With careful preparation, new life can take root!

This incredible story brings young readers along on the journey of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany—the Mighty O—as it gets stripped down to a steel shell for a new life below the waves.

After 25 years of service, launching more aircraft than any other carrier of its time, the ship found a new mission as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida. The Mighty O was prepped and reefed by a team of more than 150 scientists, engineers, and technicians. Today, it is home to a flourishing variety of marine animals. 

Designed to encourage regrowth and protect vulnerable marine life, artificial reefs are a crucial tool in the fight against overfishing, pollution, and warming water temperatures. Extensive back matter reveals more about the Mighty O’s history, the diseases eating away at the world’s natural reef systems, and the role artificial reefs play under the sea, and budding marine biologists will love poring over the exquisite illustrations.

Books for a Better Earth are designed to inspire children to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on.