This list may not feature all of February’s new children’s and young adult releases and may include paperback or revised editions. If you know of any that are not listed? Leave us a comment below.
Let ‘er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
In 1911, three men were in the final round of the famed Pendleton Round-Up. One was white, one was Indian, and one was black. When the judges declared the white man the winner, the audience was outraged. They named black cowboy George Fletcher the “people’s champion” and took up a collection, ultimately giving Fletcher far more than the value of the prize that went to the official winner.
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson | Gordon C. James | Carolrhoda | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon
When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he’s an environmental hero, bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon.
Baptiste Paul | Miranda Paul | Elizabeth Zunon | Millbrook | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride
Fast Enough combines an imagined story of Bessie Stringfield as a young girl with historical facts about Bessie as an adult. Bessie Stringfield went on to become the first African-American woman to travel solo across the United States on a motorcycle. Not only was she fast, but she was a true adventurer, daring to ride to places unsafe for African Americans in the 1930s and ’40s.Fast Enough is an inspirational story for anyone who’s been told they are not enough.
Joel Christian Gill | Lion Forge | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
Biddy Mason Speaks Up
[T]he newest installment in the Fighting for Justice series introduces young readers to another real-life champion for civil rights: Bridget “Biddy” Mason, an African American philanthropist, healer, and midwife who was born into slavery. When Biddy arrived in California, where slavery was technically illegal, she was kept captive by her owners and forced to work without pay. But when Biddy learned that she was going to be taken to a slave state, she launched a plan to win her freedom.
Arisa White | Laura Atkins | Laura Freeman | Heyday | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
New Kid
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
Jerry Craft | HarperCollins | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
No One Here Is Lonely
Eden has always had two loves: her best friend, Lacey, and her crush, Will. And then, almost simultaneously, she loses them both. Will to a car accident and Lacey to the inevitable growing up and growing apart…Sarah Everett deftly captures the heartbreak of losing your best friend and discovering love in the unlikeliest of places.
Sarah Everett | Knopf | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
On the Come Up
Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons…Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.
Angie Thomas | Balzer + Bray | February 5 | Amazon | IndieBound
Watch Us Rise
Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission–they’re sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women’s Rights Club. They post their work online–poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine’s response to the racial microaggressions she experiences–and soon they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate in real life, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices–and those of other young women–to be heard.
Renée Watson | Ellen Hagan | Bloomsbury YA | February 12 | Amazon | IndieBound
The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away
Twelve-year-old Simon is obsessed with aliens. The ones who take people and do experiments. When he’s too worried about them to sleep, he listens to the owls hoot outside. Owls that have the same eyes as aliens—dark and foreboding. Then something strange happens on a camping trip, and Simon begins to suspect he’s been abducted. But is it real, or just the overactive imagination of a kid who loves fantasy and role-playing games and is the target of bullies and his father’s scorn? Even readers who don’t believe in UFOs will relate to the universal kid feeling of not being taken seriously by adults that deepens this deliciously scary tale.
Ronald L. Smith | Clarion Books | February 19 | Amazon | IndieBound
Sorry Not Sorry
Janelle and Alyssa used to be friends. Best friends. They knew each other’s deepest secrets and went through the hardest times together. But that was then. Now? Their status is somewhere between frenemies and full-on rivals. Janelle is all about making a difference in her community, while Alyssa reigns over the shallowest girls in school. Until the day Alyssa collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Suddenly, everyone knows about her declining health and race against time. And, in a stunning twist of fate, the only person who might be able to save Alyssa’s life — is Janelle. But will the girls’ bitter past get in the way of their futures?
Jaime Reed | Point | February 26 | Amazon | IndieBound
My Mommy Medicine
When a child wakes up feeling sick, she is treated to a good dose of Mommy Medicine. Her remedy includes a yummy cup of hot chocolate; a cozy, bubble-filled bath time; and unlimited snuggles and cuddles. Mommy Medicine can heal all woes and make any day the BEST day!
Edwidge Danticat | Shannon Wright | Roaring Brook Press | February 26 | Amazon | IndieBound
If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes to donate and support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. Thanks in advance for your thoughtful gift!
