It’s Saturday, and that can mean only one thing. It’s time for the Daddy Daughter Day surprise! Avery and her father prepare for the newest chapter in their tradition of spending the whole day together exploring new things. This Saturday involves a bus ride from their home in New Jersey to New York City. Aside from their normal stopover at their favorite eatery for a quick bite, Avery and her father do not visit the usual sites.

The duo hop on a subway that takes them all the way north to Harlem and to a building across the street from where Daddy was born, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture – a national landmark. There, daddy introduces his little girl to important people from the past – Katherine Johnson, Wilma Rudolph, Ruby Bridges, and more. Father and daughter spend the rest of the day walking through exhibits, learning about black history and culture in America. As the day comes to an end and Avery and her father come home, she cannot contain her excitement to her mother and proudly proclaims, “On the next Daddy Daughter Day, I’ll be the tour guide.”

Author Dorothy H. Price takes wonderful memories from her childhood visiting various landmarks around New York City with her own father and creates a beautiful story about a father and daughter learning and embracing their history and culture. Illustrator Bryan M. Wilson masterfully captures the day with vibrant colors and creates scenes that encapsulate the story being told. The result of such detail provided by the author and illustrator bring attention to the following:

• Black History and Culture: The father in this story brings his daughter to another historical landmark in New York City, but not for a typical visit as they had done to the Bronx Zoo or Times Square. His goal with this special visit is to educate his young daughter on black history and culture in the United States and around the world. The historical figures mentioned in the story serve as an entry level introduction for readers to research and learn about their contributions to American history and culture.
• Father-Daughter Relationship: Readers can join in on the adventures of Avery and her father and draw similarities to their own relationships with their fathers and father figures in their lives.
• Father’s Day Planning: Father’s Day is typically celebrated in schools around the country by having students create art projects for their fathers. Daddy Daughter Day can serve as a template for new gift ideas for fathers across the United States. The gift does not have to be something physical. It can be an experience or adventure shared by father and child, which can serve as a gift to be cherished for a lifetime.

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Mama steers the cart toward the produce section of the grocery store and picks up a bunch of green plantains. Thus begins a week of anxious anticipation as a young girl waits for mustard yellows to seep onto the unripe green peels. By Thursday, black marks begin to splotch and streak across the plantains. And finally, on Sunday, the frying pan sizzles and hisses, as Mama serves up the warm, sugary slices the young girl has waited for so long.

Much like there is sweet treasure hidden beneath the skin of a plantain, this beautifully written and evocative story reaches far beyond the act of preparing a favorite food. Ripening Time celebrates the way food and family entwine to connect us across generations—and serves as a touching reminder that some of the sweetest rewards in life are worth the wait.

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Bedtime Classics introduce classic works of fiction to little literary scholars through character-driven narratives and colorful illustrations. Designed to be the perfect one-minute bedtime story (or five minutes–if you’re begged to read it over and over), parents can feel good about exposing their children to some of the most iconic pieces of literature while building their child’s bookshelf with these trendy editions!

When Jack is sent to market to sell his family’s cow, he makes a trade for some magical beans, much to his mother’s chagrin. To Jack’s surprise, the beans grow into a giant beanstalk. Jack climbs all the way up and encounters a frightening giant. But when the giant is fast asleep, Jack climbs up and steals his treasures.

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The boy is teased for looking different than the other kids. His skin is darker, his hair curlier. He tells his mother he wishes he could be more like everyone else. And she helps him to see how beautiful he really, truly is.

For years before they both achieved acclaim in their respective professions, good friends Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans wanted to collaborate on Chocolate Me!, a book based on experiences of feeling different and trying to fit in as kids. Now, both men are fathers and see more than ever the need for a picture book that encourages all people, especially kids, to love themselves.

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The Big Cheese is the best at everything, and brags about it, too. When the annual Cheese-cathlon comes around, the Big Cheese is prepared to win, as always. But then the quiet new kid, Wedge Wedgeman, comes out on top! Is a slice of humility all the Big Cheese needs to discover that some things are better than being the best?

Readers of all ages will laugh along as they learn how grate life can be when you celebrate others as much as yourself.

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Meet Jerry Lawson, the Black engineer who revolutionized the video game industry, in this engaging picture book biography perfect for fans of Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History.

Before Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, there was a tinkerer named Jerry Lawson. As a boy, Jerry loved playing with springs, sprockets, and gadget-y things. When he grew up, Jerry became an engineer—a professional tinkerer—and in the 1970s, he turned his technical know-how to video games.

Back then, if players wanted a new video game, they had to buy an entire new console, making gaming very expensive. Jerry was determined to fix this problem, and despite roadblocks along the way and having to repeat a level or two, it was never game over for his mission. Eventually, he leveled up and built a brand-new kind of video game console: one that allowed players to switch out cartridges! He also founded Video Soft, Inc., the first African American–owned video game company in the country.

Jerry’s tinkering and inventions changed the video gaming world forever. Today, gamers have access to hundreds of video games at the push of a button, all thanks to him. Game on!

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In this Caldecott Honor winner perfect for the Thanksgiving season and for fans of Last Stop on Market Street, a generous woman is rewarded by her community. A Spanish edition, ¡Gracias, Omu!, is also available for purchase.

Everyone in the neighborhood dreams of a taste of Omu’s delicious stew! One by one, they follow their noses toward the scrumptious scent. And one by one, Omu offers a portion of her meal. Soon the pot is empty. Has she been so generous that she has nothing left for herself?

Debut author-illustrator Oge Mora brings to life a heartwarming story of sharing and community in colorful cut-paper designs as luscious as Omu’s stew, with an extra serving of love. An author’s note explains that “Omu” (pronounced AH-moo) means “queen” in the Igbo language of her parents, but growing up, she used it to mean “Grandma.” This book was inspired by the strong female role models in Oge Mora’s life.

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What will you choose to be?
A free spirit?
A weaver of words?
A star dancing across the night sky?
A limitless galaxy?

The possibilities are endless in this uplifting ode to the power of potential. With lyrical text by bestselling author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and images by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt—the team behind CreativeSoul Photography—each page of The Me I Choose To Be is an immersive call for self-love that highlights the inherent beauty of all Black and brown children.

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Written with several elements of the African American oral tradition — LOCS, NOT DREADS celebrates the rich history and beauty of naturally loc’d styles. Perfect for readers of CROWN: An Ode to the Fresh Cut and Hair Love.

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