The First Part Last


Book Description

Bobby's a classic urban teenager. He's restless. He's impulsive. But the thing that makes him different is this: He's going to be a father. His girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant, and their lives are about to change forever. Instead of spending time with friends, they'll be spending time with doctors, and next, diapers. They have options: keeping the baby, adoption. They want to do the right thing. If only it was clear what the right thing was.




Heaven


Book Description

Coretta Scott King Award–winning author Angela Johnson writes a poignant young adult novel of deception, self-discovery, and knowing what to do when truth is at hand. You never know what’s gonna come down—in Heaven.At fourteen, Marley knows she has Momma’s hands and Pops’s love for ice cream, that her brother doesn’t get on her nerves too much, and that Uncle Jack is a big mystery. But Marley doesn’t know all she thinks she does, because she doesn’t know the truth. And when the truth comes down with the rain one stormy summer afternoon, it changes everything. It turns Momma and Pops into liars. It makes her brother a stranger and Uncle Jack an even bigger mystery. All of a sudden, Marley doesn’t know who she is anymore and can only turn to the family she no longer trusts to find out. Truth often brings change. Sometimes that change is for the good. Sometimes it isn’t.




All Different Now


Book Description

In 1865, members of a family start their day as slaves, working in a Texas cotton field, and end it celebrating their freedom on what came to be known as Juneteenth.




Julius


Book Description

A humorous and joyful celebration of love and sharing by the award-winning and bestselling duo, Angela Johnson and Dav Pilkey. When Maya's grandfather comes to visit from Alaska, he brings a surprise in a crate -- something, he says, to teach her "fun and sharing." Maya hopes it's a horse or a big brother. But instead, it's a huge, pink pig named Julius! Maya's parents see Julius as a slob, but Maya feels differently. She sees a playmate, a protector, and a sharer in all that's magical and wild. This brand-new edition of the classic picture book by award-winning author Angela Johnson and illustrator Dav Pilkey will teach a new generation of readers about friendship, affection, and sharing, with lots of laughs along the way.




I Dream of Trains


Book Description

Papa says it's the sound of leaving that speaks to my soul... The poignant words of two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Angela Johnson and striking images from fine artist Loren Long join forces in this heartbreaking yet uplifting picture book about a boy, his love for trains, and his adulation of one legendary engineer. It's the story of a hero lost and a hero discovered, of a dream crushed then reawakened, but mostly it is a story of the force that sustains the human spirit -- hope.




Joshua's Night Whispers


Book Description

Joshua and his father listen to the night sounds. On board pages.




Looking for Red


Book Description

Twelve-year-old Mike -- short for Michaela -- loves the ocean. The sights, sounds, and smells of her coastal home are embedded in her very soul. But Michaela loves her brother, Red, even more. Then one day Red disappears. One minute he's there, the next...gone. No warning. No time to prepare. And Mike must come to terms with that loss or risk never finding comfort in what remains of the life she and her brother once shared.




Toning the Sweep


Book Description

Winner of the Coretta Scott King AwardA School Library Journal Best BookA Booklist Editor's Choice One Last LookEmmie and her mother are headed for the desert to help Grandmama Ola pack up her life. Box by box, the pieces of Ola's past are neatly tucked away, and a collection of memories is opened. As the end of their final visit draws closer, Emmie, Mama, and Ola come to terms with the history they share. Each holds on to a separate truth -- a truth about life, about death, and about themselves.







A Girl Like Me


Book Description

A joyful celebration of girls of color that encourages girls to reject limitations and follow their dreams.