Triumphant Stories to Inspire Today’s Young Readers

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

A powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition.

Jewell Parker Rhodes goes West in this thrilling adventure story about a son and his father who set out to win land during the Oklahoma Land Rush—if they can survive the journey.

Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn’t make her feel very free.

Addy is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother. Now, years later, Addy’s grandmother has enrolled her in a summer wilderness program.

Lanesha loves her Mama Ya-Ya like nothing else in the world. With a hurricane on the horizon, it’s going to take everything she has to keep them both alive.

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

Mother-daughter team Rhodes and McWilliams feature a mother-daughter duo in this energetic picture book rooted in the history of step. “Where me and Mama live, not many people look like us. Sometimes that makes Mama sad as can be,” begins the young Black narrator.