Our Story Starts In Africa

A sensitively told and vibrantly illustrated story of Black history from its very ancient origins to its dynamic future. When Paloma goes to visit her family in Trinidad, she doesn’t feel that she fits in. But Tante Janet has a story to tell her: An ancient story of warrior queens and talking drums, of treasures and tales that span thousands of years… a story that Paloma shares in, because her story, too, starts in Africa. Join Tante and her inquisitive niece as they share the story of how her family came to the Caribbean, through the dark days of colonization and enslavement, to the emergence of a thriving, contemporary community of many faces, places and successes.

All too often, children’s books dealing with “Africa” are reductive with little mention or explanation of modern Africa and too much focus on traditional costume, dancing and animals. This book offers a new approach to caregivers wanting to talk about Black history and Blackness from its very origins, sensitively told and vibrantly illustrated.

The Girl Who Built An Ocean: An Artist, An Argonaut, And The True Story Of The World’s First Aquarium

“The inspiring tale of a seamstress-turned-scientist, Jeanne Villepreux-Power, who invented the world’s first aquarium”–

Fly

A novel in free verse about a middle schooler who discovers he’s not the only one grappling with the imperfections of the world.

In this powerful novel in free verse, Felix Landon Yarrow (F.L.Y., or “Fly”), a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, is captivated by the noble, chivalrous ideals of knighthood. So when he fears that a school villain, Carter, poses a danger to his lady love, Daria, he knows rescuing her must be his quest. Using his wits and his own unique powers, he constructs an elaborate plot meant to culminate with him on his wheeled “trusty steed” triumphantly conquering his enemy and saving his “damsel in distress.” Alas, for this brave knight, as for most middle schoolers, plans often have a way of going awry.

Severn Speaks Out

Before Greta Thunberg there was Severn Cullis-Suzuki, whose 1992 Earth Summit speech made her known as “the girl who silenced the world for five minutes.

Edge Of The Ocean

Flick tries to save a watery world from total destruction in this magical second book in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency series. Flick is now a badge-wearing member of the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, so when an urgent summons arrives at from Pirate Queen Nyfe, she and Strangeworlds Society guardian Jonathon immediately pack their bags for an adventure to The Break, a world of magic and piracy. Nyfe’s world is falling apart. The Break is used to having ships vanish without a trace, but there has been a sudden increase that can’t be explained by giant squid or merpeople. The edge of their flat world is coming ever closer to them and they need to escape before it collapses entirely. But how do you sail a ship through a suitcase? Or fit in a mer-queen the size of a whale? Flick and Jonathan must find a way to transport the inhabitants of the Break to another world before theirs disappears forever.

Don’t Look Back: A Memoir Of War, Survival, And My Journey From Sudan To America

In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don’t Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up.