People & Places

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Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker & Ekua Holmes (hardcover)
Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker & Ekua Holmes (hardcover)

Visit a truly special street bursting with joy, hope, and dreams. Inspired by the neighborhood where they grew up as cousins, this gorgeous picture book from an award-winning illustrator and critically acclaimed author is the perfect gift or keepsake for every generation.


 
Welcome to Dream Street–the best street in the world!  Jump rope with Azaria–can you Double Dutch one leg at a time?  Dream big with Ede and Tari, who wish to create a picture book together one day. Say hello with Mr. Sidney, a retired mail carrier who greets everyone with the words, “
Don’t wait to have a great day. Create one!” On Dream Street, love between generations rules, everyone is special, and the warmth of the neighborhood shines.
 


A magical story from the critically acclaimed author of
 Nana Akua Goes to School and a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning illustrator. Illuminating this vivid cast of characters are vibrant, joyful illustrations that make this neighborhood–based on the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston where the author and illustrator grew up together as cousins–truly sing. This book is a perfect way for parents to share with their children the importance of community.

Appropriate for ages 4 to 8.

$19.00
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña (hardcover)
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña (hardcover)

Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There’s the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There’s the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony. And then there’s the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo–walking the same path, going to the exact same place–Milo realizes that you can’t really know anyone just by looking at them.

Appropriate for ages 4 to 7.

$19.00
Most Perfect You
by Jazmyn Simon (hardcover)
Most Perfect You by Jazmyn Simon (hardcover)

Jazmyn Simon’s debut is a moving love letter to children struggling to accept themselves inside and out—exactly as they are. This gorgeous picture book was inspired by a conversation between the author and her daughter.


I was shown all the smiles in the entire world. I looked at all of the many bright smiles until I found my favorite: your smile.


After comparing herself to other little girls, Irie confides in her mama that she feels something is wrong with her, that she’s not perfect as she is. And so Irie’s mama tells the magical story of how Irie was intentionally and wonderfully made. In fact, Irie is made up of all her mother’s favorite things: sparkling eyes, a bright smile, and a kind heart.


Actor and activist Jazmyn Simon’s tender picture book emphasizes the unique beauty and strength of all children, encouraging them to love their most perfect selves.

Appropriate for ages 4 to 7.

$19.00
Stella Keeps the Sun Up by Clothilde Ewing (hardcover)
Stella Keeps the Sun Up by Clothilde Ewing (hardcover)

In this incandescently fun, hijinks-filled picture book, a young girl schemes to keep the sun up in the sky so she never has to go to bed.


If Stella had her way, she would stop sleeping on her sixth birthday. Because sleep is
 boring. And there are so many better things you could be doing. And Stella is tired of being tired. So she comes up with a plan. People only have to go to bed when it gets dark, and it only gets dark because the sun goes down. If she can keep the sun in the sky, she and her best friend, Roger, can stay up for a hundred years! 


They enact their magnificent, wonderful, genius plan, offering the sun a cup of coffee, shining a light at it so it will shine back, and jumping on a trampoline to reach the sun and push it higher. But before long, Stella begins to wonder…are there downsides to keeping the sun up forever?

Appropriate for ages 4 to 7.

$18.00
That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown (hardcover)
That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown (hardcover)


An affecting picture book from Tameka Fryer Brown and #1 
New York Times bestselling illustrator Nikkolas Smith (The 1619 Project: Born on the Water) that challenges the meaning behind the still-waving Confederate flag through the friendship of two young girls who live across the street from each other.

Bianca is Keira’s best friend. At school, they are inseparable. But Keira questions their friendship when she learns more about the meaning of the Confederate flag hanging from Bianca’s front porch. Will the two friends be able to overlook their distinct understandings of the flag? Or will they reckon with the flag’s effect on yesterday and today?

In That Flag, Tameka Fryer Brown and Nikkolas Smith graciously tackle the issues of racism, the value of friendship, and the importance of understanding history so that we move forward together in a thought-provoking, stirring, yet ultimately tender tale.

A perfect conversation starter for the older and younger generations alike, this book includes back matter on the history of the Confederate flag and notes from the creators.

Appropriate for ages 6 to 10.

$19.00
You So Black by Theresa the S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. (hardcover)
You So Black by Theresa the S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. (hardcover)


Based on Theresa Wilson’s (a.k.a. Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.’s) beautiful, viral spoken word poem of the same name,
 You So Black is a picture book celebration of the richness, the nuance, and the joy of Blackness.


Black is everywhere, and in everything, and in everyone—in the night sky and the fertile soil below. It’s in familial connections and invention, in hands lifted in praise and voices lifted in protest, and in hearts wide open and filled with love. Black is good.
 


Accompanied by powerful yet tender illustrations by award-winning illustrator London Ladd, Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. has adapted her poem, full of gorgeous lyricism and imagery, to show readers the love, joy, resilience, and universality in the beauty of Blackness.

Appropriate for ages 5 to 8.

$19.00