AGES 9-12 / GRADES 4-5

Wade Hudson (A) and Cheryl Willis Hudson (A)

List Price: $16.99 (Hardcover – 30 Celebrated Voices Advise Today’s Youth – 2020)

This powerful collection of short stories, essays, and poems is a call-to-action that invites all families to be anti-racist and advocates for change.

Thirty diverse, award-winning authors and…

This newly updated and extended version of…

Charles R. Smith Jr. (A) and Shane W. Evans (ILT)

List Price: $20.99 (Hardcover – History / 28 Important Days In History – 2015) 

Each day features a different influential figure in African-American history, from Crispus Attucks, the first man shot in the Boston Massacre, sparking the Revolutionary War, to Madame C. J. Walker, who…

Pusch Commey (A) and Innocent Dembetembe (ILT)

List Price:  $19.99 (Paperback – African Kings and Queens – 2014)

Volume one of 100 GREAT AFRICAN KINGS AND QUEENS chronicle the amazing exploits of 10 extraordinary monarchs of the African continent. Spanning over…

At Michelle Obama Academy, International Day is a time to celebrate culture, family, and food. But when Kyndle is asked to share his family’s dish, he draws a blank. His beloved salmon croquettes and collard greens don’t seem to fit neatly into any country’s cuisine—and that question sparks a journey of discovery.

Determined to uncover…

Life Skills for Kids is the perfect gift for boys and girls!

With the help of this guide, kids can learn foundation skills such as the basics in…

Kyndle Serves Up History: An International Day Soul Food Journey is a middle-grade novel that follows Kyndle, a curious and thoughtful student preparing for his school’s International Day. When Kyndle struggles to explain the cultural origins of his family’s food, he embarks on a journey of discovery—guided by family conversations, historical research, and lived experiences—that…

This is the story of LeBron James and his social justice work.

Jada Sly, a hilarious and spunky artist and spy, explores New York City on a mission to find her mom in this “fast paced, fun” illustrated novel from an acclaimed author (School Library Connection).

Ten-year-old Jada Sly is an artist and a spy-in-training. When she isn’t studying the art from her…

From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.

In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in…

A moving novel about how a girl’s family and friendships are turned upside down—just as the world is changing in 1970s Los Angeles, for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and Renée Watson.

Stevie’s life is fluctuating rapidly. She’s starting over in a brand new middle school. Quiet and observant, it’s hard for her to…

Empathy-building tools for kids ages 6 to 9

Help young kids discover how to be kind as they develop their empathy skills and learn to handle difficult social situations. Created by a school psychologist, this top choice in empathy books for kids is full of fun exercises that teach kids how to understand and…

From award-winning author and spoken-word artist Harold Green III, a reminder of the power of language and an inspiring guide to “using our words” to effect the change we want to see—and be—in the world.

Harold Green III’s Words Are My Superpower offers practical advice for younger readers on how the words they choose have…

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant #1New York Times bestseller Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy—a boldly original and suspenseful fantasy adventure by one of the most popular and imaginative voices of this generation, Angie Thomas.

All of Nic’s dreams have come true. After years of living…

From Sean Connolly, the master of messy and dangerous (and therefore extra-fun) science, a collection of more than 20 hands-on experiments that are like an interactive journey through the periodic table of elements.

In this  introduction to chemistry for STEM-curious kids ages 9 and up, each chapter of The Book of Ingeniously Daring Chemistry focuses…

Help kids grow their executive functioning skills with activities for ages 6 to 9

Executive functioning is the name for the skills we use to pay attention, complete tasks, and remember important things. But that’s a lot for a brain to do every day―especially for kids. TheExecutive Functioning Workbook for Kids helps them train…

Outgrow your piggy bank―an intro to investing for kids ages 8 to 12

Did you know that the sooner you understand money, the sooner you can make more of it? It’s true! Investing for Kids can help make you money savvy, showing you how to earn it, how to start a savings plan, and the…

Help your child become a financial whiz kid―for ages 8 to 12

It’s never too early to set children on the path to financial literacy. This activity book, a companion to Investing for Kids, teaches them how to become savvy with their finances. Through educational and engaging exercises, they’ll learn how to track their…

Praised as “a story of perserverance and love” in a starred review by Kirkus, here is a story about keeping dreams alive.

Onyx lives with his mother, who is showing signs of early-onset dementia. He doesn’t want to bring attention to his home — if Child Protective Services finds out, they’ll put him into foster…

A friendship hypothesis—and one failed experiment—leads one girl to investigate the science of middle school friendship makeups and breakups in this hopeful and heartwarming story from Tanita S. Davis, author of Partly Cloudy and Serena Says.

Rylee Swanson is beginning eighth grade with zero friends.

A humiliating moment at the end-of-seventh-grade pool party involving a…

Longlisted for the National Book Award

A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning illustrated middle grade novel in verse “full of vulnerability and hope” (Booklist, starred review) from the Newbery Honor–winning author of…

Jerry Craft (A) 

List Price: $15.99 (Paperback – 7th Grade / New School – 2019)

Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature!

Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school…

Langston Hughes (A)

List Price:$11.99 (Paperback – Poetry / Harlem Renaissance – 1996)

Illustrated in black-and-white. This classic collection of poetry is available in a handsome new gift edition that includes seven additional poems written after The Dream Keeper was first published. In a larger format, featuring Brian Pinkney’s scratchboard art on every…

Traci Todd (A) and Christian Robinson (ILT)

List Price $18.99 (Hardwood – Singer / Pianist / Activist – Civil Rights – 2021)

This illuminating and defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the story of little Eunice who grew up to become the acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her…

Jamia Wilson (A) and Andrea Pippins (ILT) 

List Price:  $23.99 (Hardcover –  Biographies / Black Movers and Shakers –  2019)

“…to be revisited again and again…The candy-colored pages and straightforward stories are hard to resist…” –The New York Times

“…diverse collection of iconic figures…vibrantly illustrated…beautifully crafted volume…” –Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“…exuberant…exquisitely designed…a…

Marne Ventura (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Biography / Science – Astro Physicist and Space Advocate – 2014)                                               

“Have you ever stared into the night sky, full of stars…

Kwame Alexander (A)

List Price: $16.99 (Hardcover – Soccer / Family / Love and Friendship – 2018)  

From the New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes Rebound, a dynamic novel in verse and companion to his Newbery Award-winner, The Crossover, illustrated with striking graphic novel panels.

Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down…

Kristen Anderson (A) and Dede Putra (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Sports / Basketball Legend  – 2019)

Grab your Js and hit the court with this Who Was? biography about NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

Meet the man who changed the game forever. Michael Jordan has always been competitive–even as a young boy,…

Virginia Hamilton (A) and Diane Dillon and Leo Dillon (Cover) Symmeon Shimin (ILT)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Small Town /Farm / Friendships – 2006)

Well spend the whole summer on the farm with Uncle Ross. I ought to make up something special just because we’ve…

G. Neri (A) and Randy Duburke (ILT)

List Price: $16.95 (Paperback –   South Side Gang Member  – 2010)

Eleven-year old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert “Yummy” Sandifer’s death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy’s life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull…

Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Fantasy / Futuristic Africa / Friendship – 2008)

In the Ooni Kingdom, children born dada—with vines growing in their hair—are rumored to have special powers. Zahrah Tsami doesn’t know anything about that. She feels normal. Others think she’s different—they fear her. Only Dari, her best…

In this timely follow-up to the best-selling, genre-defining Young, Gifted and Black, you can meet 52 more Black icons from around the world – this time spanning even more countries and including inspiring figures from as far back as the 1500s right up to present-day heroes.

Featuring the stories of recent changemakers such…

Belinda Rochelle (A)

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – African American Poetry and Art – 2000)

This stunning collection pairs twenty poems by distinguished African-American poets with twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists, in a way that has never been done before. Poets and artists span…

Kathleen Krull (A) and David Diaz (ILT)

List Price: $8.95 (Paperback – Sports / Track Athlete / Handicap / Determination – 2000)

Description: Wilma Rudolph was born in Tennessee in 1940 and contracted polio just before her fifth birthday. She was not expected to walk…

Sherri L. Smith and Who HQ (A)

List Price: $6.99  (Paperback – Who Was / Is Series -Tuskegee Airmen / Legendary Fighter Pilots – 2018)

It’s up, up, and away with the Tuskegee Airmen, a heroic group of African American military pilots who helped the United States win World War II.

During World…

Kate Bisantz and Max Bisantz (A)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Popular Singer / Artist – 2018)

As a young girl, Selena Quintanilla sang in a band called Selena y Los Dinos with her brother and sister. The family performed at fairs, weddings, quinceañeras, and on street corners in their native…

James Buckley (A), Ted Hammond (ILT) and Nancy Buckley (ILT)

Ellen Labrecque (A), Dede Putra (ILT), Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Author / Poet – 2016)

Born in Missouri in 1928, Maya Angelou had a difficult childhood. Jim Crow laws segregated blacks and whites in the South. Her family life was unstable at times. But much like her…

Yona Zeldis McDonough (A) and Jim Eldridge (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography / Evangelist / Feminist – 2015)

Almost 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, Sojourner Truth was mistreated by a streetcar conductor. She took him to court–and won! Before she was Sojourner Truth, she…

Yona Zeldis McDonough (A), Nancy Harrison (ILT) and Stephen Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography – Activist /Civil Rights Leader – 2010)

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned…

Meg Belviso (A), Pamela D. Pollack (A) and Stephen Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $5.57 (Paperback – Biography / South African / Leader – 2014)

As a child he dreamt of changing South Africa; as a man he changed the world. Nelson Mandela spent his life battling apartheid and championing a peaceful revolution. He…

Robert Edwards (A) and True Kelley (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Egyptian / Pharaoh – 2006)

Ever since Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun tomb in 1922, the young pharaoh has become a symbol of the wealth and mystery of ancient Egypt. Now, a…

Yona Zeblis McDonough (A) and John OBrien (ILT) and Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Musician / Trumpet – 2004)

If not for a stint in reform school, young Louis Armstrong might never have become a…

Bonnie Bader (A) and Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography / Preacher and Civil Rights Leader  – 2007)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize <span…

Ellen Morgan (A) and Stephen Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $5.57 (Paperback – Biography / Religious Icon – 2015)

This fascinating addition to the best-selling Who Was…? series does not settle questions of theology. Instead, it presents young readers with a biography that covers what is known historically about Jesus and places in his…

Sarah Fabiny (A) Who HQ (A) and Ted Hammond (ILT)

 List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Journalist / Activist- Exposed Lynching -2020) 

The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous black female journalist in nineteenth-century America.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida…

Zona Zeldis McDonough (A) and Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Conductor / Underground Railroad – 2002)

Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman knew first-hand what it meant to be someone’s property; she was whipped by owners and almost killed by an overseer. It was from other field…

Jim Gigliotti (A), Stephen Marchesi (ILT), Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Scientist – 2015)

Born in 1860s Missouri, nobody expected George Washington Carver to succeed. Slaves were not allowed to be educated. After the Civil War, Carver enrolled in classes and proved to be a star student. He…

Gail Herman (A), Nancy Harrison (ILT) and John O’Brien (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography – Sports / Baseball – 2010)

As a kid, Jackie Robinson loved sports. And why not? He was a natural at football, basketball, and, of course, baseball. But beyond athletic skill, it was his strength of character…