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January 2023 Children’s & YA New Releases

The new year is only a few days away, so let’s get our monthly new releases lists started for 2023. January’s list is huge! Parents, teachers, librarians, or anyone interested in children’s and young adult books by Black authors, get ready to explore. Leave a comment, and let us know what titles interest you.

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Picture Books


Ruby Bridges (My Itty-Bitty Bio)

Kelisa Wing | Jeff Bane | Cherry Lake Publishing | January 1, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


The Ashe Brothers: How Arthur and Johnnie Changed Tennis Forever

Judy Allen Dodson | David Wilkerson | Capstone | January 1, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Baby Boy, You Are a Star! (Bright Brown Baby Board Book) 

Andrea Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Cartwheel Books | January 3, 2023 | Bd Bk | Amazon | Bookshop 


Lovely Day (Picture Book Based on the Song by Bill Withers)

Bill Withers | Skip Scarborough | Olivia Duchess | Scholastic Inc | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


What Does Brown Mean to You?

Ron Grady | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Beyonce: A Little Golden Book Biography

Lavaille Lavette | Anastasia Williams | Golden Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Harry Belafonte: A Little Golden Book Biography

Lavaille Lavette | Anastasia Williams | Golden Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


We Are Here

Tami Charles | Bryan Collier | Orchard Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


A Boy and His Mirror

Marchánt Davis | Keturah A. Bobo | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Story from the Great Migration

Glenda Armand | Keisha Morris | ‎Scholastic Press | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes

Traci N. Todd | Shannon Wright | Orchard Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


An American Story

Kwame Alexander | Dare Coulter | Little, Brown | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


A Flag for Juneteenth

Kim Taylor | Neal Porter Books | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland

Carole Boston Weatherford | E. B. Lewis | Candlewick | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Basketball Dreams 

Chris Paul | Courtney Lovett | Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan) | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music

Roberta Flack | Tonya Bolden | Hayden Goodman | Anne Schwartz Books | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Put On Your Shoes and Get Ready!

Raphael G. Warnock | Temika Grooms | Philomel Books | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship

Ibtihaj Muhammad | Hatem Aly | S.K. Ali |  Little, Brown BYR | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


Little Black Lives Matter

Khodi Dill | Chelsea Charles | Triangle Square | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Lift Every Voice and Change: A Sound Book: A Celebration of Black Leaders and the Words that Inspire Generations 

Charnaie Gordon | Aeron Cargill | becker&mayer! Kids | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


You So Black

Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. | London Ladd | Millner/Simon & Schuster | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement

Katheryn Russell-Brown | Kim Holt | Viking Books for Young Readers | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Let’s Celebrate Juneteenth (Board Book)

Mudpuppy | Tonya Abari | Tabitha Brown | January 17, 2023 | Bd Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


You Come from Greatness: A Celebration of Black History

Sara Chinakwe | Ken Daley | WaterBrook | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights

Angela Dalton | Lauren Semmer | HarperCollins | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


My Red, White, and Blue

Alana Tyson | London Ladd | Philomel Books | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better

Glenda Armand | Kim Freeman | Keith Mallett | Crown BYR | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


We Are Allies!

Taimani Emerald | Feiwel & Friends | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


A is for Aretha (Board Book)

Leslie Kwan | Rachelle Baker | Kokila | January 24, 2023 | Bd Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Jump In! 

Shadra Strickland | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop 


Plátanos Go with Everything

Lissette Norman | Sara Palacios | HarperCollins | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Nell Plants a Tree

Anne Wynter | Daniel Miyares | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, The Big Ways We’re the Same

Linsey Davis | Lucy Fleming | Zonderkidz | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


That Flag

Tameka Fryer Brown | Nikkolas Smith | HarperCollins | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce

Chiquita Mullins Lee | Carmella Van Vleet | Jennifer Mack-Watkins | Kokila | January 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop


Chapter & Middle-Grade Books


Jalen on the Go (Jalen’s Big City Life)

Dorothy H. Price | Shiane Salabie | Picture Window Books  | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Sadiq and Hooyo’s Drum (Sadiq Series)

Siman Nuurali | Christos Skaltsas | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Sadiq and the Festival of Cultures (Sadiq Series)

Siman Nuurali | Christos Skaltsas | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Beauty and the Beast (Plus Jake): An Untraditional Graphic Novel

Jasmine Walls | Vincent Batignole | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Snow White and the Unevil Queen: An Untraditional Graphic Novel

Jasmine Walls | Richard Watson | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


The Hyena and the Fox: A Somali Graphic Folktale

Mariam Mohamed | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the Basketball Game (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the Community Garden (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the Little Lie (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the Poetry Lesson (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the School Bully (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Bo and the Spooky House (Bo at the Buzz Series)

Elliott Smith | Subi Bosa | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


The Untold Story of Annie Turnbo Malone: Hair Care Millionaire

Artika R. Tyner | Capstone Press | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


The Untold Story of Sarah Keys Evans: Civil Rights Soldier

Artika R. Tyner | Capstone Press | January 1, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


I Am Born to Be Awesome! (Step into Reading)

Mechal Renee Roe | Random House BYR | January 3, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Tiana’s Garden Grows (Disney Princess) (Step into Reading)

Bria Alston | Disney Storybook Art Team | January 3, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


Harmony and Heartbreak (Suitehearts, Bk. 1)

Claire Kann | HarperCollins | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Sincerely Sicily

Tamika Burgess | HarperCollins | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Books N Bros: 44 Inspiring Books for Black Boys

Sidney Keys III | Get Creative 6 | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Mission to Shadow Sea (Future Hero, Bk. 2) 

Remi Blackwood | Scholastic Press | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement

Willie Mae Brown | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


History Comics: Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes graphic

Tracey Baptiste | Shauna J. Grant | First Second | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


If You Sailed on the Titanic 

Denise Lewis Patrick | Winona Nelson | Scholastic Press | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


The Tyrell Show: Season Two 

Miles Grose | Shaz Enrico Lym | Scholastic Inc.| January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Infected: An AFK Book (Piggy Original Novel)

Terrance Crawford | Dan Widdowson | Scholastic Inc. | January 3, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Save the…Blue Whales 

Christine Taylor-Butler | Chelsea Clinton| Philomel Books | January 10, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


The Enchanted Bridge (Dragons in a Bag)

Zetta Elliott | Cherise Harris | Random House BYR | January 17, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Cookie Monsters

Erika J. Kendrick | Little Brown BYR | January 17, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life

Jerry Pinkney | Little, Brown BYR | January 17, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


The In-Between

Katie Wingate | Aladdin | January 17, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Figure It Out, Henri Weldon

Tanita S. Davis | Katherine Tegen Books | January 17, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


The Doggie Defendant (Judge Kim and the Kids’ Court, Bk. 2)

Milo Stone | Shawn Martinbrough | Joseph P. Illidge | Simon Spotlight | January 24, 2023 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop


The Many Fortunes of Maya

Nicole D. Collier | Versify | January 24, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Hands

Torrey Maldonado | Nancy Paulsen Books |  January 24, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Resistance Stories from Black History for Kids: Inspiring People and Events That Every Kid Should Know

Rann Miller | Bloom BYR | January 24, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Love without Bounds: An IntersectionAllies Book about Families

Chelsea Johnson | LaToya Council | Carolyn Choi | Ashley Seil Smith | Dottir Press | January 24, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop


Where the Black Flowers Bloom

Ronald L. Smith | Clarion Books | January 31, 2023 | MG | Amazon | IndieBound


Young Adult Books


Not Talking About You

Kevin heronJones | Lorimer | January 1, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Talia Hibbert | Joy Revolution | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The Wrong Kind of Weird

James Ramos | Inkyard | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Dark Testament: Blackout Poems

Crystal Simone Smith | Henry Holt | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop 


For Lamb 

Lesa Cline-Ransome | Holiday House | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


All That It Ever Meant 

Blessing Musariri |  Norton Young Readers | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop 


16 & Pregnant

LaLa Thomas | MTV Books (Simon & Schuster) | January 3, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


We Are All So Good at Smiling

Amber McBride | Feiwel & Friends | January 10, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop



Cool. Awkward. Black.

Karen Strong | Viking BYR | January 10, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption

Shannon Gibney | Dutton BYR | January 10, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Friday I’m in Love 

Camryn Garrett | Knopf BYR | January 10, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


A Mighty Long Way ( Adapted for Young Readers)

Carlotta Walls LaNier | Lisa Frazier Page | January 17, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


As You Walk On By

Julian Winters | Viking BYR | January 17, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Sun Keep Rising

Kristen R. Lee | Crown BYR | January 24, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The Minus-One Club 

Kekla Magoon | Henry Holt and Co BYR | January 24, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Introduction to Igbo Mythology for Kids

Chinelo Anyadiegwu | Bloom BYR | January 24, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Reggie & Delilah’s Year of Falling

Elise Bryant | Balzer + Bray | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Play the Game

Charlene Allen | HarperCollins/Tegen | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The Davenports

Krystal Marquis | Dial | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


How to Be a (Young) Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi | Nic Stone | Kokila | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


Promise Boys 

Nick Brooks | Feiwel & Friends | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The (Young) Antiracist’s Workbook: Questions for Changemakers

Ibram X. Kendi | Nic Stone| One World | January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


The Black Queen

Jumata Emill | Delacorte Press |  January 31, 2023 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop


December is a BIG month for us because your support in December makes a huge difference in the coming year. You can help us get off to a GREAT start in 2023 by donating to our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors and Books-To-You (BTY). BTY gives free books by Black authors to children in our community. You can donate today or any time of the year via PayPal, Cash App: $BCBooksA, or Venmo: BCBooksA. BCBA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and donations are tax-deductible. Thank you!   

Edit (01/12/23) We Are Your Children Too (YA) by P O’Connell Pearson was removed, the author is not Black.

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