"Maya's nervous about fifth grade. She tries to keep calm by reminding herself she knows what to expect. But then she learns that this year won't be anything like the last. For the first time since kindergarten, her best friends Jada and MJ are placed in a different class without her, and introverted Maya has trouble making new friends. She tries to put on a brave face since they are in fifth grade now, but Maya is nervous! Just when too much seems...

Challenging herself to overcome long-held insecurities at the beginning of her junior year, Liv lands an unexpected role in her high school's hip-hopera production of Othello that helps launch her journey of self-empowerment.

"In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's ten children, but she is also the darkest-complected. The Quinns--all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers--live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and...

"Claire can't wait to get out on the ice and skate, skate, skate! She's going to jump, leap, and twirl! Just you wait--pretty soon she'll be on TV and dazzling audiences everywhere. But when Claire and her mom arrive at the Ice Center for Claire's very first skating lesson, it's not everything Claire was dreaming it would be...In this humorous tale of expectation meets reality, Claire discovers beautiful performances require lots of skill, and it's...

In a charming new chapter-book series by a social-change advocate, young Frankie emulates her journalist mama by reporting on household news with the help of her sister and an unlikely news crew.

A debut picture book about a curious student who finds herself in trouble for talking in class--even though she just wants to share all that she's learned. "Did you know that flamingos don't have teeth?" Questions, facts, and dreams--Ruby René could talk for hours. Once she got going, it was hard for her to stop. It didn't matter if it was history, science, or the lunch menu--Ruby René had so much to say! But when her teacher called home because...

"Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not. Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation...

Gabby loves expressing herself--especially in the dance studio--but lately, poetry is becoming her art form of choice, and for good reason: Gabby struggles with stuttering, and spoken word poetry helps her speech flow more freely. still, compared to how confident she feels on the dance floor, speaking up can be scary. When the city threatens to close her beloved community arts center, Gabby is determined to find a way to help. Can she harness the...

Eleven-year-old Beth thinks that Philip Hall likes her, but their on-again, off-again relationship sometimes makes her wonder.

"When a little girl has doubts about the color of her skin, her mother shows her all the wonderful, beautiful things brown can be! This message of self-love and acceptance uses rich, dreamy illustrations to celebrate the color using all the senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing" --