2021 Preview (Part 1): 35 Picture Books

This is a list of picture books that are releasing in 2021. They include a wide-range of topics by well-known and debut authors. Some titles are not featured because the cover image or release date has not been provided yet. The titles are listed according to their release date. Sometimes, however, publishers may move a release date up or back. If you know of any picture books that have been assigned a release date and cover image but are not listed, please leave us a comment below. Also, leave your thoughts on which books you’re excited to pre-order now. Coming up next, “2021 Preview (Part 2): Chapter and Middle-Grade Books.

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Baby Young, Gifted, and Black: With a Mirror! (Board  Book)  

Jamia Wilson | Andrea Pippins | Wide Eyed Editions | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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My Friend!  

Taye Diggs | Shane W. Evans | Feiwel and Friends | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Song in a Rainstorm: The Story of Musical Prodigy Thomas Blind Tom Wiggins 

Glenda Armand | Brittany Jackson | January 1 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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C Is for Country 

Lil Nas X | Theodore Taylor III. | Random House |  January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound 

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One Step Further: My Story of Math, the Moon, and a Mission  

Katherine Johnson | Joylette Hylick | Katherine Moore | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound  

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Stella’s Stellar Hair  

Yesenia Moises | Imprint | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge 

Ray Anthony Shepard | Keith Mallett | Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy 

Kekla Magoon | Laura Freeman | January 5 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Time for Kenny

Brian Pinkney | Greenwillow Books | January 12 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Off to See the Sea 

Nikki Grimes | Elizabeth Zunon | Sourcebooks | January 12 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Watch Me: A Story of Immigration and Inspiration 

Doyin Richards | Joe Cepeda | Feiwel and Friends | January 12 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston 

Alicia D. Williams | Jacqueline Alcántara | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books | January 12 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Ambitious Girl 

Meena Harris | Little, Brown BYR | January 19 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Together We March: 25 Protest Movements That Marched into History

Leah Henderson | Tyler Feder | Atheneum BYR | January 19 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book

Keila V. Dawson | Alleanna Harris | Beaming Books | January 26 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre 

Carole Boston Weatherford | Floyd Cooper | Carolrhoda Books | February 2 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Jayden’s Impossible Garden

Mélina Mangal | Ken Daley | Free Spirit | February 2 | PB | IndieBound

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Michelle’s Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change 

Sharee Miller | Little, Brown BYR | March 2 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Malaika’s Surprise (The Malaika Series, 3) 

Nadia L. Hohn | Irene Luxbacher | Groundwood Books | March 2 | PB |  Amazon | IndieBound

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The Old Boat 

Jarrett Pumphrey | Jerome Pumphrey | Norton Young Readers | March 2 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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The Electric Slide and Kai 

Kelly J. Baptist | Darnell Johnson | Lee & Low Books | March 2 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Peace 

Baptiste Paul | Miranda Paul | NorthSouth Books | March 2 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Dreams for a Daughter

Carole Boston Weatherford | Brian Pinkney | Atheneum BYR | March 9 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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My Day with the Panye

Tami Charles | Sara Palacios | Candlewick | March 16 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Game, Set, Sisters: The Venus and Serena Williams Story 

Jay Leslie | Ebony Glenn| Henry Holt | March 30 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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America, My Love, America, My Heart

Daria Peoples-Riley | Greenwillow Books | April 6 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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A Neighborhood Walk, A Musical Journey 

Pilar Winter Hill | Olivia Duchess | Albert Whitman & Company | April 1 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Your Mama 

NoNieqa Ramos | Jacqueline Alcántara | Versify | April 6 | PB |  Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Coyote’s Soundbite: A Poem for the Planet 

John Agard | Piet Grobler | Lantana Publishing | April 6 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope 

Jodie Patterson | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Crown | April 13 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound 

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Glow (Board Book)

Ruth Forman | Geneva Bowers | Little Simon | May 4 | PB | Amazon | IndieBound 

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Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress

Alicia D. Williams | April Harrison | Anne Schwartz Books | June 1 | PB | Amazon |  IndieBound

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Becoming Vanessa 

Vanessa Brantly Newton | Knopf BYR | June 15 | PB | Amazon | IndieBound

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The Cot in the Living Room

Hilda Eunice Burgos | Gaby D’Alessandro | Kokila | June 1 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound  

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My Voice Is a Trumpet 

Jimmie Allen | Cathy Ann Johnson | Flamingo Books | PB | July 13 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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