Check Out the 2025 Columbus Children's Book Festival Authors
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
A stunning special edition of the first book in Lauren Tarshis's action-packed New York Times bestselling I Survived series, featuring 80 pages of all-new, full-color bonus content!
This special edition features a new letter from the author and 80 pages of full-color bonus content, including a tour of the Titanic's first-class decks; historical photos of the ship and passengers; the story of the cutthroat race to find the Titanic wreckage; and a timeline of the technology that helped us uncover it. Perfect for readers new to the series as well as I Survived fans!
George Calder must be the luckiest kid alive -- he and his little sister, Phoebe, are sailing with their aunt on the Titanic, the greatest ship ever built! George can't resist exploring every inch of the incredible boat, even if it gets him into trouble.
But one night while George is off exploring, a terrible boom shakes the entire boat. Soon the impossible is happening: The Titanic is sinking.
George has always gotten out of trouble before. Can he survive this nightmare?
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Sounds Like Joy
A little mermaid explores the magical feeling of playing and creating with fishy friends in Sounds Like Joy, a colorful underwater picture book and essential read-aloud from Yesenia Moises, illustrator of tennis Olympian Serena Williams's The Adventures of Qai Qai!
One day, Joy finds something unexpected on the ocean reef. When she shakes it, it makes a brand-new noise!
Soon she and her aquatic animal friends are dancing to the beat and feeling amazing . . . until her "jingle-jangle" loses a few important pieces and stops making the special sound she loves.
The little mermaid's friends spring into action with some creative noisemaking to cheer her up! How can they use what they have under the sea to make the sound she's missing?
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Resist: A Story of D-Day
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz comes a gripping, 80-page bonus story about D-Day that can be read alongside the novel Allies, or on its own!
Samira Zidane lives in Nazi-occupied France during World War II...and she has a secret. She and her mother are spies for the underground resistance. They crack codes and trade messages that will help sabotage the Nazis' plans.
When her mother is captured by enemy soldiers, Samira must travel through the war-torn countryside on a desperate and daring rescue mission.
And today just happens to be D-Day: the pivotal moment when Allied soldiers are landing in France. Battles rage all around her, and Samira only has a small dog named Cyrano for company. Can she find a way to save her mother before time runs out?
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Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue!
An Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller!
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2024
The construction crew is back and ready to help renovate! In this latest picture book in the New York Times bestselling series, everyone's favorite construction crew is teaming up on a new and exciting adventure: cleaning up a neighborhood that needs some love.
Since its debut more than a decade ago, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and the series of books it launched have become beloved favorites of kids and parents alike, with millions of copies sold. These popular, timeless bedtime stories continue to delight families everywhere! In their new adventure, the crew is working together with new friends--garbage trucks, roll-off trucks, container delivery trucks, and more!--to help refurbish old homes, set up dumpsters and garbage cans, sort trash, recycling, compost, and transport the garbage away.
A fleet of heroes, in they drive;
the whole earth shakes as they arrive.
Rumbling, roaring, rolling through,
they're big and strong (and stinky, too!)
It's the mighty GARBAGE CREW!
Sherri Duskey Rinker's playful rhyming text and AG Ford's vibrant illustrations make cleaning up fun from start to finish. Little construction fans will love watching trucks, both familiar and new, work together as a team to make these houses back into homes.
BESTSELLING CHILDREN'S BOOK SERIES: Every new preschool book in the series has been on the New York Times bestseller list. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site's legions of fans will be thrilled to welcome this new addition!
GOTTA LOVE GARBAGE TRUCKS: So many children love watching garbage trucks pick up trash from their homes every week, and their new garbage crew friends will show them how it's done--on the grandest, garbagiest of scales! This story combines the joy of garbage trucks with beloved construction characters.
ROLLICKING READ-ALOUD VEHICLES BOOK: The bouncing, energetic rhymes make for a tremendously satisfying read-aloud experience, perfect for energetic toddlers who love construction.
TEACHES TEAMWORK: The story teaches teamwork, collaboration, and working together to solve a problem--real-world skills that kids and their grown-ups love.
Perfect for:- Young truck, tractor, and construction fans
- Anyone fascinated by garbage trucks and trash collectors
- Parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians looking for engaging, action-packed books on team building and friendship
- Readers who love the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train series
- Fans of I Stink!, Trash Truck, and Blaze and the Monster Machines
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I Survived the Black Death, 1348
"The Black Death was a pandemic of unimaginable proportions, taking the lives of 75 - 200 million people worldwide. Lauren Tarshis's story of one girl surviving the plague pulses with terror, action, and hope. The deadliest disease in the history of the world... Elsie dreams of becoming a brave warrior like her father, who is an archer fighting in England's war against France. But life isn't fair in 1348 Europe. Peasant girls like Elsie can't be archers or knights or anything exciting. Then one day in the forest, Elsie and her best friend, Humphrey, discover a chest filled with stolen treasures--and a dangerous secret. At last Elsie has a chance to prove that she's as brave as any knight. Little does she know that a deadly illness -- the Black Death--has begun its attack on England. It's already killed millions around the world. And now it's come for Elsie"--Provided by the publisher.
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Heroes
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, Ground Zero, and Two Degrees comes this heart-pounding, inventive, and powerful new novel about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor... as only Alan Gratz can tell it!
December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. There's nothing to fear, right?
December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes.
Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors scream, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.
Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach... to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neighbors show Stanley. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanley is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing.
If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship--and their dreams--survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed?
Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and inventive storytelling that make Alan Gratz (Refugee, Ground Zero) one of today's biggest authors, this riveting look at the attack on Pearl Harbor explores themes of prejudice, power, and what it truly means to be a hero.
Plus: The book ends with an all-original, 10-page black & white comic that brings to life the comic book idea that Frank and Stanley brainstorm in the novel. The comic is written by Alan Gratz and illustrated by Judit Tondora.
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I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964
The Great Alaska Earthquake is the largest and most powerful recorded earthquake in US history. Lauren Tarshis's story of one child surviving this terrifying natural disaster pounds with page-turning action and heartwarming hope.
It was 1964 in the brand-new state of Alaska, a vast land of staggering beauty and heart-stopping dangers. Eleven-year-old Jack had grown up living happily with his parents in an off-the-grid cabin, miles from their closest neighbors. Grizzlies and wolves outnumbered people, and dark winter days were 30 degrees below zero. Jack had always thought of himself as strong -- "Alaska tough". But then the most powerful earthquake in American history -- the Good Friday Earthquake -- struck.
The 9.2 magnitude quake lasted nearly five minutes, destroying downtown Anchorage and sending 30-foot tsunamis into coastal cities, wiping out entire communities. Its vibrations were felt around the world. In the end, it caused billions of dollars in damage and the death of 129 people.
New York Times bestselling author Lauren Tarshis tells the story of the disaster that changed our understanding of earth science -- and tested one boy in ways he never could have imagined. Includes a section of nonfiction backmatter with more facts and photos about the real-life event.
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The Adventures of Qai Qai
From superstar athlete, record breaker, entrepreneur, philanthropist (and mama) Serena Williams, comes a magical picture book in which a little girl learns to believe in herself with the help of her doll and best friend, Qai Qai.
“Don’t be scared, Best Friend! I’m right here with you, always!”
“But what if I’m not good enough?”
“Girl!” Qai Qai answered. “You’re already good enough when you walk in the door! Come on, let me show you.”
Baby Girl has a dance recital coming up, and she can't help but worry. She's practiced and practiced, but what if something goes wrong? What if she forgets the steps or freezes up during her solo?
Luckily, her best friend Qai Qai the doll has her back! When Qai Qai comes to life, they go on a magical journey that shows Baby Girl that she’s ready for the stage.
The Adventures of Qai Qai, a heartwarming picture book from beloved athlete Serena Williams, shows readers the power of believing—in your best friend and in yourself. -
Construction Site: Taking Flight!
Get ready for takeoff! This addition to the beloved New York Times bestselling Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series features the same fan-favorite trucks in an exciting new setting: a bustling airport!
When an airport needs an expansion, the Construction Site crew is on the job! With help from fun new vehicles from the airport, they'll build new roads and runways, prep planes for their trips, and clean up after a surprise snowstorm.
The airport is a busy place--Belt Loader, Tractor, Snowplow, and many other vehicles pull the planes, pump the fuel, move the luggage, maintain the runways, and much more. Working together, the team will get all the planes in the air in time for a sweet and sleepy goodnight.
Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford, the author-illustrator team behind many bestselling Goodnight Construction Site books, bring their playful rhyming text and vibrant illustrations to another exciting tale of teamwork, sure to satisfy construction fans everywhere.
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT: An airplane book to delight toddlers at home and on the go! Special new vehicles help the original crew fuel the planes, maintain the runways, clear away snow, and build a BIG new airport wing so that everyone can get where they are going.
ROLLICKING READ-ALOUD: Sherri Duskey Rinker's bouncing, energetic rhymes make for a tremendously satisfying read-aloud experience, perfect for active kids who love construction.
TEACHES TEAMWORK: Just like all the stories in the Construction Site series, this book emphasizes working together and the joy of a job well done--real-world skills presented to young readers in a fun, accessible setting!
REST AS REWARD: These books help small children slow their own engines and wind down after a busy day. Each story offers the delight of construction work and a well-earned, sleepy ending to tuck readers into bed.
Perfect for:- Young truck, tractor, and construction fans
- Families getting ready for a trip
- Airplane, flight, and airport vehicle enthusiasts
- Parents and caregivers looking for action-packed books about teamwork and friendship
- Teachers, librarians, and storytime readers
- Birthday, holiday, or travel activity gift for little vehicle fans
- Fans of the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site series
- Readers who love classic children's books by authors such as Dr. Seuss, Chris Van Dusen, Kevin Henkes, and Sandra Boynton
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Construction Site: Farming Strong All Year Long
The construction crew is back and ready to help out on the farm! Working together with new friends, they'll get the job done all year long.
There's work to do! No time to waste! All year the farm's a busy place!
Six hardworking trucks--with help from brand-new farm vehicles--have work to do in each of the seasons: planting in spring, building a barn in the summer, harvesting in fall, and finally tucking the animals in for a cozy winter. Construction enthusiasts will love this look at a farm through the year, and all the rough, tough work there is to do!
Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford, the author-illustrator team behind the many bestselling Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site books, bring their playful rhyming text and vibrant illustrations to another exciting tale of teamwork, sure to delight little construction fans everywhere.
THE CREW VISITS THE FARM: This new addition to the bestselling Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series features the same beloved trucks in an exciting new setting: a busy farm! They'll help build a barn, repair a road, and bring in crops, while the farm vehicles till, water, and harvest.
EXPLORE EVERY SEASON ON THE FARM: Just right for teaching early concepts such as weather or seasons, this picture book invites little readers to experience adventure on the farm every day of the year! From learning about nature and growing food to watching the construction crew tuck the animals into their new barn, there's so much to see and do on the farm! At last everyone is tucked in tight for winter--and a sweet goodnight!
ROLLICKING READ ALOUD: Sherri Duskey Rinker's bouncing, energetic rhymes make for a tremendously satisfying read-aloud experience, perfect for energetic kids who love construction.
TEACHES TEAMWORK: Just like all the stories in the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series, this book emphasizes teamwork, collaboration, and working together--real-world skills presented to young readers in a fun, accessible setting!
Perfect for:
Fans of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series
Truck and construction vehicle enthusiasts
Gift-givers
Teachers and librarians -
I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871
Could an entire city really burn to the ground? One brave boy finds out in this graphic novel adaptation of Lauren Tarshis's bestselling I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, with text adapted by Georgia Ball and art by Cassie Anderson.
Oscar Starling never wanted to move to Chicago. The smog, the stench, the thieves around every corner -- it's so different from his old life on the farm. Will the big city ever feel like home? But shortly after Oscar arrives, a huge fire breaks out. All of Chicago is ablaze and one thing is clear: the city is like a powder keg, ready to explode. An army of firemen tries to help, but this fire is a ferocious beast that wants to devour everything in its path. Will Oscar -- and his new city and new friends -- survive one of the most famous and devastating fires in history? Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series comes to vivid life in graphic novel editions. Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, or for existing fans of the I Survived chapter book series, these graphic novels combine historical facts with high-action storytelling that's sure to keep any reader turning the pages. Includes a nonfiction section at the back with facts and photos about the real-life event.
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Roto and Roy: to the Rescue!
This rip-roaring rescue adventure series by bestselling author Sherri Duskey Rinker and award-winning artist Don Tate celebrates the teamwork of man and machine!
When a flash flood threatens a nearby town, helicopter Roto and pilot Roy soar to the rescue! Quick--a truck needs to be hoisted to safety! Hurry--that family's car is being swept away! Now grab as many sandbags and supplies as you can carry! This mission's going to be rough, but Roy and Roto are tougher than tough.
From Sherri Duskey Rinker, bestselling author of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series, and acclaimed illustrator Don Tate, this action-packed story showcases two awesome heroes and the power of teamwork. -
Ban This Book
You’re Never Too Young to Fight Censorship!
In Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, a fourth grader fights back when From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg is challenged by a well-meaning parent and taken off the shelves of her school library. Amy Anne is shy and soft-spoken, but don’t mess with her when it comes to her favorite book in the whole world. Amy Anne and her lieutenants wage a battle for the books that will make you laugh and pump your fists as they start a secret banned books locker library, make up ridiculous reasons to ban every single book in the library to make a point, and take a stand against censorship.
Ban This Book is a stirring defense against censorship that’s perfect for middle grade readers. Let kids know that they can make a difference in their schools, communities, and lives!
“Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero.... Stand up and cheer, book lovers. This one’s for you." —Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor-winning The Underneath
“Ban This Book is absolutely brilliant and belongs on the shelves of every library in the multiverse.”—Lauren Myracle, author of the bestselling Internet Girls series, the most challenged books of 2009 and 2011
“Quick paced and with clear, easy-to-read prose, this is a book poised for wide readership and classroom use.”—Booklist
"A stout defense of the right to read." —Kirkus Reviews
“Gratz delivers a book lover’s book that speaks volumes about kids’ power to effect change at a grassroots level." —Publishers Weekly -
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
As the sun sets behind the big construction site, all the hardworking trucks get ready to say goodnight. One by one, Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer, and Excavator finish their work and lie down to rest—so they'll be ready for another day of rough and tough construction play! With irresistible artwork by best-selling illustrator Tom Lichtenheld and sweet, rhyming text, this book will have truck lovers of all ages begging for more.
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
A thrilling graphic novel adaptation of Lauren Tarshis's bestselling I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, with text adapted by Georgia Ball and art by Haus Studio
George Calder must be the luckiest kid alive - he and his little sister, Phoebe, are sailing with their aunt on the Titanic, the greatest ship ever built! George can't resist exploring every inch of the incredible boat, even if it gets him into trouble.
But one night while George is off exploring, a terrible boom shakes the entire boat. Soon the impossible is happening: The Titanic is sinking.
George has always gotten out of trouble before. Can he survive this nightmare?
With art by Haus Studio and text adapted by Georgia Ball, Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series takes on vivid new life in this bold graphic novel edition. Includes nonfiction back matter with facts and historical photos of the real-life Titanic disaster.
Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, or for existing fans of the I Survived chapter book series, I Survived graphic novels combine historical facts with high-action storytelling that's sure to keep any reader turning the pages.
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It's So Quiet
A silly, noisy bedtime book that will have readers squealing, croaking, and laughing along before settling down for a quiet night's sleep!
It's time for bed, but one little mouse just can't get to sleep--it's TOO QUIET! However, the night is actually full of sounds, from the croak of the bullfrog to the howl of a coyote on a distant hill. As the rhythmic symphony of nighttime noises build in this rollicking read-aloud, the mouse starts to wonder whether he wouldn't like a little MORE quiet.
* From the bestselling author of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series
* Sweet illustrations by renowned artist Tony Fucile
* A hilarious read-aloud perfect for bedtime or story time
Little readers will delight in the humor and interactivity of It's So Quiet--which concludes by encouraging an appreciation of nighttime's soothing quiet.
* Children's books for kids ages 3-5
* Funny, rhyming picture book
* Perfect for kids who love animals and animal noises -
Refugee
The award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel from Alan Gratz tells the timely--and timeless--story of three different kids seeking refuge.
A New York Times bestseller!
JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world...
ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America...
MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe...
All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.
As powerful and poignant as it is action-packed and page-turning, this highly acclaimed novel was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than four years and continues to change readers' lives with its meaningful takes on survival, courage, and the quest for home.
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Steam Train, Dream Train Colors
All aboard for a rainbow of train cars and their lively animal crew! Vivid colors and cozy rhyming text inspired by the bestselling Steam Train, Dream Train will make learning colors a rich experience for the smallest readers.
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Steam Train, Dream Train
From the team behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site comes the train book kids have been dreaming of!
The dream train pulls into the station, and one by one the train cars are loaded: polar bears pack the reefer car with ice cream, elephants fill the tanker cars with paints, tortoises stock the auto rack with race cars, bouncy kangaroos stuff the hopper car with balls. Sweet, silly dreams and happy smiles before sleep are guaranteed for Thomas the Train book fans any budding train enthusiasts!
- Introduce your child to new animals and experiences with this ideal children's bedtime book
- A great read-aloud book for kids or early reader book for kids beginning to read on their own
- Features beautiful art and words from an award-winning writer and illustrator team
If you loved Mighty, Mighty Construction Site and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, this book will be the ideal addition to your children's book set and is perfect for:- Readers of first story books for baby or toddlers or bedtime stories for the whole family
- Read-along children's book or next step up from board books for early readers
- Boys and girls who love imaginative stories about things like trains, trucks, cars, dinosaurs, and little critters
- Fans of Sandra Boynton, Richard Scarry, Nancy Tillman, and Dr. Seuss books
- Adding to the shelf with books like Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?, Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, Peppa Pig: Little Library, and Good Night, Little Blue Truck
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Stella's Stellar Hair
Black girl magic takes the solar system in Stella's Stellar Hair, a celebration of hair, family, and self-love from debut author-illustrator Yesenia Moises!
It’s the day of the Big Star Little Gala, and Stella's hair just isn't acting right! What’s a girl to do?
Simple! Just hop on her hoverboard, visit each of her fabulous aunties across the solar system, and find the perfect hairdo along the way.
Stella’s Stellar Hair celebrates the joy of self-empowerment, shows off our solar system, and beautifully illustrates a variety of hairstyles from the African diaspora. Backmatter provides more information about each style and each planet.
An Imprint Book
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The United States V. Jackie Robinson
A moving and inspiring nonfiction picture book about Jackie Robinson's court martial trial--an important lesser-known moment in his lifetime of fighting prejudice with strength and grace. Students who have been introduced to this American hero from such books as Brad Meltzer's I Am Jackie Robinson can take a deeper look at a key event in his life with The United States v. Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson broke boundaries as the first African American player in Major League Baseball. But long before Jackie changed the world in a Dodger uniform, he did it in an army uniform.
As a soldier during World War II, Jackie experienced segregation every day--separate places for black soldiers to sit, to eat, and to live. When the army outlawed segregation on military posts and buses, things were supposed to change.
So when Jackie was ordered by a white bus driver to move to the back of a military bus, he refused. Instead of defending Jackie's rights, the military police took him to trial. But Jackie would stand up for what was right, even when it was difficult to do.
This nonfiction picture book is a strong choice for sharing at home or in the classroom--as Booklist noted: "A story that will appeal to both baseball fans and those looking for an interesting way to highlight lesser-known aspects of the fight for civil rights."
With an author's note, a timeline, bibliography, and more, this book offers helpful resources for readers, teachers, and librarians to find out more about Jackie Robinson and the history of civil rights in the US.
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Milo Imagines the World
Milo Imagines the World is a warm and richly satisfying story from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling picture book duo, about a little boy with a big imagination who learns that you can't know anyone just by looking at them. Set in a bustling city, and full of a family love that binds even in difficult circumstances.Milo is on a train journey through the city with his older sister, looking at the faces of the other passengers and drawing pictures of their lives. Milo wonders if perhaps the little boy in bright white trainers is living in a castle with a moat and a butler. But when the little boy gets off at the same stop and joins the same queue as him, Milo realises that you can't judge by appearances and that we are all more alike than we are different: both boys are visiting their mothers in prison.Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson once again deliver a hugely powerful and enjoyable picture book, full of rich details both to look at and to talk about. Anyone who has ever travelled on public transport will relate to Milo's journey.
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Mexican WhiteBoy
Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña's Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions.
Danny is tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it.
But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny is brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.
That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. But to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.
Matt de la Peña's critically acclaimed novel is an intimate and moving story that offers hope to those who least expect it.
"[A] first-rate exploration of self-identity." --SLJ
"Unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal of the complexities of life for inner-city teens...de la Peña poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in yourself and shape your own future." --The Horn Book Magazine
"The baseball scenes...sizzle like Danny's fastball. Danny's struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens, but especially to those of mixed race." --Booklist
"De la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity." --Kirkus Reviews
"Mexican WhiteBoy...shows that no matter what obstacles you face, you can still reach your dreams with a positive attitude. This is more than a book about a baseball player--this is a book about life." --Curtis Granderson, New York Mets outfielder
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
A Junior Library Guild Selection -
Love
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"[A] poetic reckoning of the importance of love in a child's life . . . eloquent and moving."—People
"Everything that can be called love -- from shared joy to comfort in the darkness -- is gathered in the pages of this reassuring, refreshingly honest picture book."—The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice / Staff Picks From the Book Review
“Lyrical and sensitive, ‘Love’ is the sort of book likely to leave readers of all ages a little tremulous, and brimming with feeling.”—The Wall Street Journal
From Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long comes a story about the strongest bond there is and the diverse and powerful ways it connects us all.
"In the beginning there is light
and two wide-eyed figures standing near the foot of your bed
and the sound of their voices is love.
...
A cab driver plays love softly on his radio
while you bounce in back with the bumps of the city
and everything smells new, and it smells like life."
In this heartfelt celebration of love, Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long depict the many ways we experience this universal bond, which carries us from the day we are born throughout the years of our childhood and beyond. With a lyrical text that's soothing and inspiring, this tender tale is a needed comfort and a new classic that will resonate with readers of every age. -
Last Stop on Market Street
"Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful."
CJ begins his weekly bus journey around the city with disappointment and dissatisfaction, wondering why he and his family can't drive a car like his friends. Through energy and encouragement, CJ's nana helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine.
This beautifully illustrated, emotive picture book explores urban life with honesty, interest and gratitude.
Last Stop on Market Street has won multiple awards and spent time at the number one spot in the New York Times Bestseller List.
April is National Poetry Month!
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Summer Snow
A major collection of entirely new poems from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of Time and Materials and The Apple Trees at Olema
A new volume of poetry from Robert Hass is always an event. In Summer Snow, his first collection of poems since 2010, Hass further affirms his position as one of our most highly regarded living poets. Hass's trademark careful attention to the natural world, his subtle humor, and the delicate but wide-ranging eye he casts on the human experience are fully on display in his masterful collection. Touching on subjects including the poignancy of loss, the serene and resonant beauty of nature, and the mutability of desire, Hass exhibits his virtuosic abilities, expansive intellect, and tremendous readability in one of his most ambitious and formally brilliant collections to date. -
How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)
"A gorgeous collection. . . . These poems unplug from TV and social media and the outrage of the moment and turn our attention to the immediate and the everlasting, human intimacy and the power and mystery of nature." --Tampa Bay Times
In this intimate collection, Barbara Kingsolver, beloved author of The Poisonwood Bible and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Demon Copperhead, and recipient of numerous literary awards including the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguish Contribution to American Letters, trains her eye on the everyday and the metaphysical in poems that are beautifully crafted, emotionally rich, and luminous
In her second poetry collection, Kingsolver offers reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild. She begins with "how to" poems addressing everyday matters such as being hopeful, married, divorced; shearing a sheep; praying to unreliable gods; doing nothing at all; and of course, flying. Next come rafts of poems about making peace (or not) with the complicated bonds of friendship and family, and making peace (or not) with death, in the many ways it finds us. Some poems reflect on the redemptive powers of art and poetry itself; others consider where everything begins. Closing the book are poems that celebrate natural wonders--birdsong and ghost-flowers, ruthless ants, clever shellfish, coral reefs, deadly deserts, and thousand-year-old beech trees--all speaking to the daring project of belonging to an untamed world beyond ourselves.
Altogether, these are poems about transcendence: finding breath and lightness in life and the everyday acts of living. It's all terribly easy and, as the title suggests, not entirely possible. Or at least, it is never quite finished.
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Dearly
A new book of poetry from internationally acclaimed, award-winning and bestselling author Margaret Atwood
In Dearly, Margaret Atwood's first collection of poetry in over a decade, Atwood addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature and - zombies. Her new poetry is introspective and personal in tone, but wide-ranging in topic. In poem after poem, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived.
While many are familiar with Margaret Atwood's fiction--including her groundbreaking and bestselling novels The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments, Oryx and Crake, among others--she has, from the beginning of her career, been one of our most significant contemporary poets. And she is one of the very few writers equally accomplished in fiction and poetry. This collection is a stunning achievement that will be appreciated by fans of her novels and poetry readers alike.
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Call Us What We Carry
The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller
The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman
Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
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The Best American Poetry 2024
Renowned poet Mary Jo Salter, whose command of verse forms and high intelligence is universally acknowledged, selects the poems for the 2024 edition of The Best American Poetry, “a ‘best’ anthology that really lives up to its title” (Chicago Tribune).
The Best American Poetry series has been “one of the mainstays of the poetry publication world” (Academy of American Poets) since 1988. Each volume presents a curated selection of the year’s most brilliant, striking, and innovative poems, with comments from the poets themselves offering unique insight into their work.
Here, guest editor Mary Jo Salter, whose own poems display a sublime wit “driven by a compulsion to confront the inexplicable” (James Longenbach), has picked seventy-five poems that capture the dynamism of American poetry today. The series and guest editors contribute valuable introductory essays that assess the current state of American poetry, and this year’s edition is certain to capture the attention of both Best American Poetry loyalists and newcomers to the most important poetry anthology of our time. -
American Melancholy
A new collection of poetry from an American literary legend, her first in twenty-five years
Joyce Carol Oates is one of our most insightful observers of the human heart and mind, and, with her acute social consciousness, one of the most insistent and inspired witnesses of a shared American history.
Oates is perhaps best known for her prodigious output of novels and short stories, many of which have become contemporary classics. However, Oates has also always been a faithful writer of poetry. American Melancholy showcases some of her finest work of the last few decades.
Covering subjects big and small, and written in an immediate and engaging style, this collection touches on both the personal and political. Loss, love, and memory are investigated, along with the upheavals of our modern age, the reality of our current predicaments, and the ravages of poverty, racism, and social unrest. Oates skillfully writes characters ranging from a former doctor at a Chinese People's Liberation Army hospital to Little Albert, a six-month-old infant who took part in a famous study that revealed evidence of classical conditioning in human beings.
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The Wild Fox of Yemen
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Poetry
Winner of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, selected by Harryette Mullen
By turns aggressively reckless and fiercely protective, always guided by faith and ancestry, Threa Almontaser’s incendiary debut asks how mistranslation can be a form of self-knowledge and survival. A love letter to the country and people of Yemen, a portrait of young Muslim womanhood in New York after 9/11, and an extraordinarily composed examination of what it means to carry in the body the echoes of what came before, Almontaser’s polyvocal collection sneaks artifacts to and from worlds, repurposing language and adapting to the space between cultures. Half-crunk and hungry, speakers move with the force of what cannot be contained by the limits of the American imagination, and instead invest in troublemaking and trickery, navigate imperial violence across multiple accents and anthems, and apply gang signs in henna, utilizing any means necessary to form a semblance of home. In doing so, The Wild Fox of Yemen fearlessly rides the tension between carnality and tenderness in the unruly human spirit. -
Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light
A magnificent selection of fifty poems to celebrate three-term US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s fifty years as a poet.
Over a long, influential career in poetry, Joy Harjo has been praised for her “warm, oracular voice” (John Freeman, Boston Globe) that speaks “from a deep and timeless source of compassion for all” (Craig Morgan Teicher, NPR). Her poems are musical, intimate, political, and wise, intertwining ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love.
In this gemlike volume, Harjo selects her best poems from across fifty years, beginning with her early discoveries of her own voice and ending with moving reflections on our contemporary moment. Generous notes on each poem offer insight into Harjo’s inimitable poetics as she takes inspiration from Navajo horse songs and jazz, reckons with home and loss, and listens to the natural messengers of the earth. As evidenced in this transcendent collection, Joy Harjo’s “poetry is light and elixir, the very best prescription for us in wounded times” (Sandra Cisneros, Millions).
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Wearing My Mother's Heart
Performance poet Sophia Thakur offers a powerful new collection touching on intergenerational relationships, finding your voice, and what it means to be a woman.
In her heartfelt second poetry collection, Sophia Thakur takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the lives of women in the past and considers what it means to be a woman today. Exploring topics such as identity, race, politics, mental health, and self-love, she weaves together the voices of a grandmother, mother, and daughter and examines how previous generations have given us the freedom to speak out. Encompassing love from first crush to breakup, as well as the history that comes before us and the brave moments that make us, this collection will resonate with all young women as they approach the joys and pain of adulthood. -
Time Is a Mother
"Take your time with these poems, and return to them often.” —The Washington Post
The New York Times-bestselling collection of poems from the award-winning writer Ocean Vuong
How else do we return to ourselves but to fold
The page so it points to the good part
In this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among the aftershocks of personal and social loss, embodying the paradox of sitting in grief while being determined to survive beyond it. Shifting through memory, and in concert with the themes of his novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Vuong contends with the meaning of family and the cost of being the product of an American war in America. At once vivid, brave, and propulsive, these poems circle fragmented lives to find both restoration as well as the epicenter of the break.
The author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, winner of the 2016 Whiting Award, the 2017 T. S. Eliot Prize, and a 2019 MacArthur fellowship, Vuong writes directly to our humanity without losing sight of the current moment. These poems represent a more innovative and daring experimentation with language and form, illuminating how the themes we perennially live in and question are truly inexhaustible. Bold and prescient, and a testament to tenderness in the face of violence, Time Is a Mother is a return and a forging forth all at once. -
Spoken Word
A “rich hybrid of memoir and history” (The New Yorker) of the literary art form that has transformed the cultural landscape, by one of its influential practitioners, an award-winning poet, professor, and slam champion
“Bennett…transport[s] us back to the city blocks, bars, cafes and stages these artists traversed and inhabited…an instructive text for young poets, artists or creative entrepreneurs trying to find a way to carve out a space for themselves…Shines with a refreshing dynamism.” —The New York Times
In 2009, when he was twenty years old, Joshua Bennett was invited to perform a spoken word poem for the Obamas, at the same White House "Poetry Jam" where Lin-Manuel Miranda declaimed the opening bars of a work-in-progress that would soon revolutionize American theater. That meeting is but one among many in the trajectory of Bennett's young life, as he rode the cresting wave of spoken word through the 2010s. But in this book, he is not a memoirist so much as a participant historian, who goes back to the roots of the spoken word form, considering the Black Arts movement and the prominence of poetry and song in Black education; the origins of the famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side living room of the visionary Miguel Algarín, who hosted verse gatherings with legendary figures like Ntozake Shange and Miguel Piñero; the rapid growth of the "slam" format that was pioneered at the Get Me High Lounge in Chicago; the perfect storm of spoken word's rise during the explosion of social media; the stories and perspectives of many others on this journey, as they helped shape spaces dedicated to literature as practiced with urgency by people of color and to the pursuit of human freedom.
A celebration of voices outside the dominant cultural narrative, who boldly embraced an array of styles and forms and redefined what—and whom—the mainstream would include, Bennett's book illuminates the profound influence spoken word has had everywhere melodious words are heard, from Broadway to academia, from the podiums of political protest to cafés, schools, and rooms full of strangers all across the world. -
Poetry Unbound
In the tumult of our contemporary moment, poetry has emerged as an inviting, consoling outlet with a unique power to move and connect us, to inspire fury, tears, joy, laughter, and surprise. This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama's appealing, unhurried reflections. With keen insight and warm personal anecdotes, Ó Tuama considers each poem's artistry and explores how its meaning can reach into our own lives.
Focusing mainly on poets writing today, Ó Tuama engages with a diverse array of voices that includes Ada Limón, Ilya Kaminsky, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, Layli Long Soldier, and Reginald Dwayne Betts. Natasha Trethewey meditates on miscegenation and Mississippi; Raymond Antrobus makes poetry out of the questions shot at him by an immigration officer; Martín Espada mourns his father; Marie Howe remembers and blesses her mother's body; Aimee Nezhukumatathil offers comfort to her child-self. Through these wide-ranging poems, Ó Tuama guides us on an inspiring journey to reckon with self-acceptance, history, independence, parenthood, identity, joy, and resilience.
For anyone who has wanted to try their hand at a conversation with poetry but doesn't know where to start, Poetry Unbound presents a window through which to celebrate the art of being alive.
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Musical Tables
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the former United States Poet Laureate and New York Times bestselling author of Aimless Love, a collection of more than 125 small poems, all of them new, and each a thought or observation compressed to its emotional essence
“Whenever I pick up a new book of poems, I flip through the pages looking for small ones. Just as I might have trust in an abstract painter more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short.”—Billy Collins
You can spot a Billy Collins poem immediately. The amiable voice, the light touch, the sudden turn at the end. He "puts the ‘fun’ back in profundity,” says poet Alice Fulton. In his own words, his poems tend to “begin in Kansas and end in Oz.”
Now “America’s favorite poet” (The Wall Street Journal) has found a new form for his unique poetic style: the small poem. Here Collins writes about his trademark themes of nature, animals, poetry, mortality, absurdity, and love—all in a handful of lines. Neither haiku nor limerick, the small poem pushes to an extreme poetry’s famed power to condense emotional and conceptual meaning. Inspired by the small poetry of writers as diverse as William Carlos Williams, W.S. Merwin, Kay Ryan, and Charles Simic, and written with Collins’s recognizable wit and wisdom, the poems of Musical Tables show one of our greatest poets channeling his unique voice into a new phase of his exceptional career.
3:00 AM
Only my hand
is asleep,
but it’s a start. -
The Hurting Kind
An astonishing collection about interconnectedness—between the human and nonhuman, ancestors and ourselves—from National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist Ada Limón.
“I have always been too sensitive, a weeper / from a long line of weepers,” writes Limón. “I am the hurting kind.” What does it mean to be the hurting kind? To be sensitive not only to the world’s pain and joys, but to the meanings that bend in the scrim between the natural world and the human world? To divine the relationships between us all? To perceive ourselves in other beings—and to know that those beings are resolutely their own, that they “do not / care to be seen as symbols”?
With Limón’s remarkable ability to trace thought, The Hurting Kind explores those questions—incorporating others’ stories and ways of knowing, making surprising turns, and always reaching a place of startling insight. These poems slip through the seasons, teeming with horses and kingfishers and the gleaming eyes of fish. And they honor parents, stepparents, and grandparents: the sacrifices made, the separate lives lived, the tendernesses extended to a hurting child; the abundance, in retrospect, of having two families.
Along the way, we glimpse loss. There are flashes of the pandemic, ghosts whose presence manifests in unexpected memories and the mysterious behavior of pets left behind. But The Hurting Kind is filled, above all, with connection and the delight of being in the world. “Slippery and waddle thieving my tomatoes still / green in the morning’s shade,” writes Limón of a groundhog in her garden, “she is doing what she can to survive.”
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Dream Drawings
"[Momaday] must be ranked among the greatest of our contemporary writers."--American Scholar
"Momaday's poems are rich with description, lush with dreaming, and filled with magic." -- Library Journal (starred review)
From Pulitzer Prize winner and revered literary master N. Scott Momaday, a beautiful and enchanting new poetry collection, at once a celebration of language, imagination, and the human spirit.
"Language and the imagination work hand in hand, and together they enable us to reveal us to ourselves in story. That is indeed a magical process. . . . We imagine and we dream, and we translate our dreams into language." --from the Preface
A singular voice in American letters, Momaday's love of language and storytelling are on full display in this brilliant new collection comprising one hundred sketches or "dream drawings"--furnishings of the mind--as he calls them. Influenced by his Native American heritage and its oral storytelling traditions, here are prose poems about nature, animals, warriors, and hunters, as well as meditations that explore themes of love, loss, time, and memory. Each piece, full of wisdom and wonder, showcases Momaday's extraordinary lyrical talent, the breadth of his imagination, and the transformative power of his writing. Dream Drawings is also illustrated with a selection of black-and-white paintings by Momaday that capture the spirit of his prose.
Poignant, inspired, and timeless, this is a collection that will nourish the soul.
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Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head
Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma, and resilience from the celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Black Is King, award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire
“The beautifully crafted poems in this collection are fiercely tender gifts.”—Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist
“Shire is the real thing—fresh, cutting, indisputably alive.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times
Mama, I made it / out of your home / alive, raised by / the voices / in my head.
With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a young girl, who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. In Shire’s hands, lives spring into fullness. This is noisy life, full of music and weeping and surahs and sirens and birds. This is fragrant life, full of blood and perfume and shisha smoke and jasmine and incense. This is polychrome life, full of henna and moonlight and lipstick and turmeric and kohl. The long-awaited collection from one of our most exciting contemporary poets, this book is a blessing, an incantatory celebration of resilience and survival. Each reader will come away changed. -
Above Ground
A Best Book of the Year 2023:
TIME
NPR's Best Books
New York Public Library
Electric Lit
The Root
NBC Today
Mother JonesThe New York Times bestselling poetry collection with "inextinguishable generosity and abundant wisdom" (Monica Youn) from Clint Smith, author of #1 bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award winner How the Word Is Passed.
Clint Smith's vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. There are poems that interrogate the ways our lives are shaped by both personal lineages and historical institutions. There are poems that revel in the wonder of discovering the world anew through the eyes of your children, as they discover it for the first time. There are poems that meditate on what it means to raise a family in a world filled with constant social and political tumult. Above Ground wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands, how we carry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the same body. Smith's lyrical, narrative poems bring the reader on a journey not only through the early years of his children's lives, but through the changing world in which they are growing up--through the changing world of which we are all a part.
Above Ground is a breathtaking collection that follows Smith's first award-winning book of poetry, Counting Descent. -
This is the Honey
A breathtaking poetry collection on hope, heart, and heritage from the most prominent and promising Black poets and writers of our time, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander.
In this comprehensive and vibrant poetry anthology, bestselling author and poet Kwame Alexander curates a collection of contemporary anthems at turns tender and piercing and deeply inspiring throughout. Featuring work from well-loved poets such as Rita Dove, Jericho Brown, Warsan Shire, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith, Terrance Hayes, Morgan Parker, and Nikki Giovanni, This Is the Honey is a rich and abundant offering of language from the poets giving voice to generations of resilient joy, "each incantation," as Mahogany L. Browne puts it in her titular poem, is "a jubilee of a people dreaming wildly."
This essential collection, in the tradition of Dudley Randall's The Black Poets and E. Ethelbert Miller's In Search of Color Everywhere, contains poems exploring joy, love, origin, race, resistance, and praise. Jacqueline A.Trimble likens "Black woman joy" to indigo, tassels, foxes, and peacock plumes. Tyree Daye, Nate Marshall, and Elizabeth Acevedo reflect on the meaning of "home" through food, from Cuban rice and beans to fried chicken gizzards. Clint Smith and Cameron Awkward-Rich enfold us in their intimate musings on love and devotion. From a "jewel in the hand" (Patricia Spears Jones) to "butter melting in small pools" (Elizabeth Alexander), This Is the Honey drips with poignant and delightful imagery, music, and raised fists.
Fresh, memorable, and deeply moving, this definitive collection a must-have for any lover of language and a gift for our time.
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You Are Here
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Big Reads Selection
A 2024 NPR "Books We Love" Selection"Whoever you are, you will find yourself and your own world in the expansiveness of this collection."
-Margaret Renkl, New York Times
Published in association with the Library of Congress and edited by the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, a singular collection of poems reflecting on our relationship to the natural world by fifty of our most celebrated contemporary writers.
In recent years, our poetic landscape has evolved in profound and exciting ways. So has our planet. Edited and introduced by the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limón, this book challenges what we think we know about "nature poetry," illuminating the myriad ways our landscapes-both literal and literary-are changing.
You Are Here features fifty previously unpublished poems from some of the nation's most accomplished poets, including Joy Harjo, Diane Seuss, Rigoberto González, Jericho Brown, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Paul Tran, and more. Each poem engages with its author's local landscape-be it the breathtaking variety of flora in a national park, or a lone tree flowering persistently by a bus stop-offering an intimate model of how we relate to the world around us and a beautifully diverse range of voices from across the United States.
Joyful and provocative, wondrous and urgent, this singular collection of poems offers a lyrical reimagining of what "nature" and "poetry" are today, inviting readers to experience both anew. -
Forest of Noise
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • "A powerful, capacious, and profound" (Ocean Vuong) new collection of poems about life in Gaza by an award-winning Palestinian poet.
You are alive
for a moment
when living people
run after you.
Barely thirty years old, Mosab Abu Toha was already a well-known poet when the current siege of Gaza began. After the Israeli army bombed and destroyed his house, pulverizing a library he had painstakingly built for community use, he and his family fled for their safety. Not for the first time in their lives.
Somehow, amid the chaos, Abu Toha kept writing poems. These are those poems. Uncannily clear, direct, and beautifully tuned, they form one of the most astonishing works of art wrested from wartime. Here are directives for what to do in an air raid; here are lyrics about the poet’s wife, singing to his children to distract them. Huddled in the dark, Abu Toha remembers his grandfather’s oranges, his daughter’s joy in eating them.
Moving between glimpses of life in relative peacetime and absurdist poems about surviving in a barely livable occupation, Forest of Noise invites a wide audience into an experience that defies the imagination—even as it is watched live. Abu Toha's poems introduce readers to his extended family, some of them no longer with us. This is an urgent, extraordinary, and arrestingly whimsical book. Searing and beautiful, it brings us indelible art in a time of terrible suffering. -
Three Things I Know Are True
Five months ago, Liv's big brother, Jonah, shot himself in the head. It was an accident. He didn't know that the gun was loaded. But the damage was done. Now he won't ever be leaving their small mill town like he planned. Jonah can't speak, can't walk, can't take care of himself at all. Their house is full of machines and nurses working around the clock to keep Jonah alive. Liv's mom is struggling to cope with the aftermath, so Liv ends up being the one to soothe Jonah when he gets agitated, to lie with him when he can't sleep, and to see the carefree brother she's sure is still inside him somewhere. Liv hasn't spoken to Clay, Jonah's best friend, since the accident, even though he lives just across the street. The gun belonged to Clay's father, and Clay was with Jonah that terrible day. With Liv's mom suing Clay's father, there are lines Liv is not supposed to cross. As their entire community chooses sides, she feels the distance between them growing every day. Liv knows that Clay is nearly as broken as Jonah. She knows his life also changed forever the same moment as Jonah's. And she refuses to turn away from Clay, just as she refuses to give up on Jonah.
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Chlorine Sky
"An absolute masterpiece." -Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X
From the first ever poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center comes a bold coming-of-age story told in verse about a young woman who loses a best friend, but finds herself in the process. The joys of basketball, the tumult of high school, and the bonds of family are lyrically woven together in this must-read novel.
With Lay Li I don’t have to think too hard
I’m the friend of the star
& I don’t mind, not at all
It gives me time to think about my dreams & the WNBA
But when I call Lay Li & she don’t pick up
A pit in my stomach grows like a redwood tree
Sky is used to standing in the shadow of her best friend. Lay Li is the sun everyone orbits around. But since high school started, Lay Li has begun attracting the attention of boys, and Sky is left out in the cold. The only place Sky can find her footing is on the basketball court. With each dribble of the ball, Sky begins to find her own rhythm. Lay Li may always be the sun, but that doesn’t mean Sky can’t shine on her own.
With gritty and heartbreaking honesty, a critically acclaimed poet, delivers her first novel in verse about broken promises, fast rumors, and learning to generate your own light.
“A story about heart and backbone, and one only Mahogany L. Browne could bring forth.” –Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down -
Clap when You Land
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people...
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance--and Papi's secrets--the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
And then, when it seems like they've lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Great for summer reading or anytime! Clap When You Land is a Today show pick for "25 children's books your kids and teens won't be able to put down this summer!"
Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X and With the Fire on High!
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Blood Water Paint
"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker
"I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of my life."—Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one
A William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist
2018 National Book Award Longlist
Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint.
She chose paint.
By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost.
He will not consume
my every thought.
I am a painter.
I will paint.
Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence.
I will show you
what a woman can do.
★"A captivating and impressive."—Booklist, starred review
★"Belongs on every YA shelf."—SLJ, starred review
★"Haunting."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★"Luminous."—Shelf Awareness, starred review -
The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep
In powerful, vivid verse, the master behind The Watch That Ends the Night recounts one of history’s most harrowing—and chilling—tales of survival.
In 1846, a group of emigrants bound for California face a choice: continue on their planned route or take a shortcut into the wilderness. Eighty-nine of them opt for the untested trail, a decision that plunges them into danger and desperation and, finally, the unthinkable. From extraordinary poet and novelist Allan Wolf comes a riveting retelling of the ill-fated journey of the Donner party across the Sierra Nevadas during the winter of 1846–1847. Brilliantly narrated by multiple voices, including world-weary, taunting, and all-knowing Hunger itself, this novel-in-verse examines a notorious chapter in history from various perspectives, among them caravan leaders George Donner and James Reed, Donner’s scholarly wife, two Miwok Indian guides, the Reed children, a sixteen-year-old orphan, and even a pair of oxen. Comprehensive back matter includes an author’s note, select character biographies, statistics, a time line of events, and more. Unprecedented in its detail and sweep, this haunting epic raises stirring questions about moral ambiguity, hope and resilience, and hunger of all kinds. -
An Impossible Thing to Say
The Poet X meets A Very Large Expanse of Sea in a bold novel-in-verse starring a Persian American teen navigating his first crush, his family's post-9/11 dynamics, and the role of language in defining who we are.
"A dazzling story with a whole lot of heart. Read it." --Michael L. Printz Award winner Daniel Nayeri, author of Everything Sad Is Untrue
Omid needs the right words to connect with his newly met grandfather and distant Iranian heritage, words to tell a special girl what she means to him and to show everyone that he truly belongs in Tucson, Arizona, the only home he's ever known. Neither the school play's Shakespearean English nor his parents' Farsi seems up to the task, and it's only when Omid delves into the rhymes and rhythms of rap music that he starts to find his voice. But even as he does so, an act of terrorism transforms familiar accents into new threats.
Then a family member disappears, and it seems everyone but Omid knows why. When words fail altogether and violence takes their place, what will Omid do next?
Praise for An Impossible Thing to Say:
- "Funny on one page, poignant on the next, and often both at the same time, this beautiful tale of a tender, bewildered, and generous teen will find its way into readers' hearts." --#1 New York Times bestselling writer and Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water"An Impossible Thing to Say is tender, honest, and unforgettable, filled with characters that delight, verses that shine, and moments that took my breath away. Few books have ever made me feel so seen." --Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay"Arya Shahi just blew the door down on how we are allowed to tell our stories. Words are clearly his jam." --Firoozeh Dumas, New York Times bestselling author of Funny in Farsi and It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
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The Name She Gave Me
A heartbreakingly beautiful novel in verse about adoption, family, friendship, and love in all its many forms, perfect for fans of Robin Benway and Jandy Nelson, from the acclaimed author of Three Things I Know Are True.
Rynn was born with a hole in her heart—literally. Although it was fixed long ago, she still feels an emptiness there when she wonders about her birth family.
As her relationship with her adoptive mother fractures, Rynn finally decides she needs to know more about the rest of her family. Her search starts with a name, the only thing she has from her birth mother, and she quickly learns that she has a younger sister living in foster care in a nearby town. But if Rynn reconnects with her biological sister, it may drive her adoptive family apart for good.
This powerful story uncovers both beautiful and heartbreaking truths and explores how challenging, yet healing, family can be.
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Long Way Down
“An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Astonishing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A tour de force.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Printz Honor Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award
An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction
Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017
A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017
A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017
An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
A cannon. A strap.
A piece. A biscuit.
A burner. A heater.
A chopper. A gat.
A hammer
A tool
for RULE
Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he?
As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator?
Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES.
And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if Will gets off that elevator.
Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds. -
Punching the Air
New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. A must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo.
The story that I thought
was my life
didn't start on the day
I was born
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. Then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white.
The story that I think
will be my life
starts today
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth in a system designed to strip him of both.
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The Black Flamingo
Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time
A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican--but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.
As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born.
Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are--and allow us to shine.
"In this uplifting coming-of-age novel told in accessible verse, Atta chronicles the growth and glory of Michael Angeli, a mixed-race kid from London, as he navigates his cultural identity as Cypriot and Jamaican as well as his emerging sexuality." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")