Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present – Jamia Wilson, Illustrator – Andrea Pippins
Join us on a journey across borders, through time and even through space to meet 52 icons of color from the past and present in a celebration of achievement. Meet figureheads, leaders, and pioneers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Rosa Parks, as well as cultural trailblazers and sporting heroes, including Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, and Serena Williams. Discover how their childhood dreams and experiences influenced their adult achievements. This book will help the next generation to chase their own dream . . . whatever it may be.
February 1| Wide Eyed Editions | PB Ages 8 and up |Grades 2 and up|64 Pgs | Purchase
Seeing into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright – Richard Wright, Illustrator – Nina Crews
A selection of haiku poems by the acclaimed 20th-century African-American writer stands as an accessible introduction to his work and reflects the timeless and ubiquitous realities of African-American youth. Illustrated by award-winning artist of The Neighborhood Mother Goose.
February 1 | Millbrook |PB Ages 5 and up | Grades PK and up | 32 Pgs | Purchase
This Is It – Daria Peoples – Riley
When a young dancer is nervous about her upcoming auditions, her shadow springs to life and leads her on a joyous exploration of their city. Soon enough, the young girl finds confidence in her skills, her body, and her ability to shine. With an energetic, rhythmic text that begs to be read aloud and striking, exuberant artwork, This Is It is a love story to originality and the simple joy of movement.
February 6 | Greenwillow Books| PB Ages 4 and up | Grades PK and up | 40 Pgs | Purchase
The Big Bed – Bunmi Laditan, Illustrator – Tom Knight
From the creator of the Honest Toddler blog, The Big Bed is a humorous picture book about a girl who doesn’t want to sleep in her little bed, so she presents her dad with his own bed―a camping cot!―in order to move herself into her parents’ big bed in his place. A twist on the classic parental struggle of not letting kids sleep in their bed.
February 6 | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | PB Ages 4 and up | Grades PK and up | 40 Pgs | Purchase
The Belles – Dhonielle Clayton
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.
But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite, the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land.
But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie, that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.
With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles, or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.
February 6 | Freeform | YA Ages 12 and up | Grades 7 and up | 448 Pgs | Purchase
Prettyboy Must Die – Kimberly Reid
When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late-night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo―along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”―Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.
Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.
His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.
February 13 | Tor Teen| YA Ages 12 and up | Grades 7 and up | 288 Pgs | Purchase
Boonoonoonous – Olive Senior, Illustrator – Laura James
In this vibrant and exquisitely illustrated picture book, written by Commonwealth Prize-winning Jamaican-Canadian Olive Senior, and with pictures by the acclaimed artist Laura James (the team that created Anna Carries Water), a young girl learns to love her difficult-to-manage, voluminous and boonoonoonous hair.
February 15| Tradewind Books |PB Ages 5 and up | Grades K and up | 32 P | Purchase
