Something for everyone!
Published: February 2, 2024
Check out these titles at your local libraries, bookstores, and online.
Picture Books:
CORETTA: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CORETTA SCOTT KING by Coretta Scott King; illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Godwin Books, On Sale 01/02/24, Ages 4-8): Adapted from her adult memoir, this is the first picture book authored by the late, Coretta Scott King, and an unrivaled chance to introduce the next generation to The King family’s profound legacy.
HOMEGROWN by DeAnn Wiley (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), On Sale 01/09/24, Ages 4-8): This sweet message of family and community being the essential water and sun to our youngest buds will resonate, but Homegrown also offers new ways to see the beauty of the places we call home and the warmth that exists within those walls. It is a perfect gift that highlights how proud we can be of where we came from.
GLENN BURKE, GAME CHANGER: THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE HIGH FIVE by Phil Bildner; illustrated by Daniel J. O’Brien (Farrar Straus & Giroux BYR, on-sale February 20, 2024, ages 6-9) Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. An inspiring picture book biography about Glenn Burke, the first Major League Baseball player to come out as gay, and the story of how he created the world’s most recognizable handshake, the high five.
Middle Grade:
MY SELMA!: STORIES OF A SOUTHERN CHILDHOOD AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT by Willie Mae Brown (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 3, 2023, Ages 10-14): Combining family stories of the every day and the extraordinary as seen through the eyes of her twelve-year-old self, Willie Mae Brown gives readers an unforgettable portrayal of her coming of age in a town at the crossroads of history.
MORE THAN A DREAM by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long (FSG Books for Young Readers, 8/29/2023, Ages 10-14) A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST SELECTION. Hailed as “an essential reeducation on one of the most consequential events in US history” by Ibram X. Kendi, this gripping middle-grade account offers a fresh look at the groundbreaking 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by spotlighting the protest’s radical roots and the underappreciated role of Black women—includes a wealth of contemporary black-and-white photos throughout.
Young Adult:
ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE: A MEMOIR-MANIFESTO by George M. Johnson (Square Fish, On-Sale January 16, 2024, ages 14-18): In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia.
WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Feiwel & Friends, On Sale 03/19/24, Ages 14-18) : In Where Sleeping Girls Lie — a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades — a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.