Tweens Fiction

Eleven-year-old Isabella’s blended family is more divided than ever in this “timely but genuine” (Publishers Weekly) story about divorce and racial identity from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper.

Eleven-year-old Isabella’s parents are divorced, so she has to switch lives every week: One week she’s Isabella with her dad, his girlfriend Anastasia, and her son Darren living in a fancy house where they are one of the only black families in the neighborhood. The next week she’s Izzy with her mom and her boyfriend John-Mark in a small, not-so-fancy house that she loves.

Because of this, Isabella has always felt pulled between two worlds. And now that her parents are divorced, it seems their fights are even worse, and they’re always about HER. Isabella feels completely stuck in the middle, split and divided between them more than ever. And she is beginning to realize that being split between Mom and Dad involves more than switching houses, switching nicknames, switching backpacks: it’s also about switching identities. Her dad is black, her mom is white, and strangers are always commenting: “You’re so exotic!” “You look so unusual.” “But what are you really?” She knows what they’re really saying: “You don’t look like your parents.” “You’re different.” “What race are you really?” And when her parents, who both get engaged at the same time, get in their biggest fight ever, Isabella doesn’t just feel divided, she feels ripped in two. What does it mean to be half white or half black? To belong to half mom and half dad? And if you’re only seen as half of this and half of that, how can you ever feel whole?

It seems like nothing can bring Isabella’s family together again—until the worst thing happens. Isabella and Darren are stopped by the police. A cell phone is mistaken for a gun. And shots are fired.

Appropriate for ages 10 – 12.

This joyful and heartfelt sequel to the NAACP Image Award-winning Cookies & Milk is a story of fame, self-confidence, and second chances, based on author Shawn Amos’s memories of growing up the son of Wally “Famous” Amos.

After the overnight mega success of his dad’s cookie store, twelve-year-old Ellis Johnson is on top of the world. He’s met celebrities, strangers stop “the Cookie Kid” on the street, and he’s even headed to NYC to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with his dad. Ellis is ready for his star turn, playing harmonica on national television—until his big break turns into the most embarrassing moment of his life.

Ellis is sure everyone at home is judging him, and he can barely stand to show his face in school. To make matters worse, his dad is going gaga for a new girlfriend, and DJ Wishbone goes from being pushed out of his radio station … to taking over Ellis’s place in the store. Ellis’s only bright spot is the loyal friends who have stayed by his side—and who, along with some new faces, might just be able to help Ellis with a daring plan to get his groove back.

This charming, semi-autobiographical novel proves that anything is possible with good music, good friends, loving family, and great cookies.

Onyeka and her superpowered friends race against time to save themselves and the Solari in this “thrilling…triumphant” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) second installment in the Onyeka middle grade series, perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, The Marvellers, and X-Men.

Onyeka and her superhero friends are on the run. Having exposed head teacher Dr. Dòyìnbó’s hidden agenda behind the Academy of the Sun, they’re living as fugitives, laying low as they try to figure out their next move. Despite their best efforts, Onyeka’s parents are still missing, and students at the Academy are still in danger.

But when their safe house is discovered, Onyeka must turn to the only allies they have left: a group of rebels called the Rogues. Joining forces, will the groups defeat their shared nemesis, or is there a new danger on the horizon?

Adapted from Emmanuel Acho’s New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, comes an essential young readers edition aimed at opening a dialogue about systemic racism with our youngest generation.

Young people have the power to affect sweeping change, and the key to mending the racial divide in America lies in giving them the tools to ask honest questions and take in the difficult answers. 

Approaching every awkward, taboo, and uncomfortable question with openness and patience, Emmanuel Acho connects his own experience with race and racism―from attending majority-white prep schools to his time in the NFL playing on majority-black football teams―to insightful lessons in black history and black culture. 

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy is just one way young readers can begin to short circuit racism within their own lives and communities.

Appropriate for ages 9 to 12.