"56th NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work - Children (2025)
#1 New York Times Bestseller!
From award-winning actress and mental-health advocate Taraji P. Henson, You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) shows kids the great things that can happen when we approach others and ourselves with empathy, patience, and love.
In this debut picture book from Taraji P. Henson, quirky, stylish and a bit off-the-cuff Lil TJ is ready for her first day of school. But when she gets there, TJ finds that everything she does is a little different than everyone else and she's standing out in all the wrong ways. Once TJ's classmate Beau notices, he relentlessly teases her. TJ is filled with anxiety and doubt until she recalls some important words of wisdom from her Grandma Patsy. When she looks inside to her own creativity and personality, she figures out how to help herself make new friends! -and helps someone else too!
You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) is the perfect read for:
- Easing back-to-school jitters and setting a course for the new school year
- Helping children ages 4-8 to overcome anxieties and embrace what makes them unique
- Classroom and library story time, as well as bedtime reading
- Promoting mental wellness and learning socialization skills, embracing the importance of standing in their own uniqueness, and promoting friendship over bullying.
Includes author's note with references for parents and teachers.
Taraji P. Henson is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe winning actress, writer, and producer. She started the Boris Lawrence Henson foundation in 2018, which promotes mental health awareness and provides resources and services aimed at tackling the mental health crisis."
"Summer’s almost over, which means one thing and one thing only: It's Color War time! Color War is the event of the summer, a massive camp-wide competition that divides the campers into two teams: Blue and White. All of the upper campers are hoping they'll be selected as Lieutenant, a team leader position and a huge honor. Jenny's convinced she's got Lieutenant in the bag, being a 'Popular Girl' and all. And Play Dough sure hopes he does, too—members of his family have been White-team Lieutenants for generations, and he doesn't want to disappoint them. But when assignments are announced, both Jenny and Play Dough are in for a big surprise."
"An outrageously funny new children's book from award-winning author Joseph Elliott, star of CBeebies' Swashbuckle and CBBC's Big Fat Like.
When Atticus and Autumn's dads leave them with their eccentric great-grandmother Nora for the weekend, they're hoping for a few days scoffing biscuits and playing video games. But when Nora's around, nothing ever goes quite to plan...
After a stranger from Nora's past leaves a menacing note pinned to her front door, Atticus and Autumn are swept away on a hair-raising adventure dodging snot-flinging sea monsters, battling thunderous electrosquibs and trying to escape from a very flappy goose!
Complete with wild and joyful illustrations from Nici Gregory, this rip-roaring tale is perfect for readers aged 8 and up!"
"TALL. HIGH AS THE CLOUDS. STRONG AS A HORSE'S BACK. LIKE A COWBOY.
In the early hours before dawn, a young girl and her father greet their horses and ride together through the waking city streets. As they trot along, Daddy tells cowboy stories filled with fun and community, friendship, discovery, and pride.
Seeing her city from a new vantage point and feeling seen in a new way, the child discovers that she too is a cowboy—strong and confident in who she is.
Thoughtfully and lyrically written by debut author Stephanie Seales, this beautiful story is a celebration of Black joy, outdoor play, and quality time spent between child and parent.
Enhanced with sound effects"
"Winnie and her mom have been “two girls against the world” for longer than Winnie can remember. But now Mom is moving Winnie away from her beloved Denver, away from her two best friends.
In Rock Springs, Wyoming, Winnie will have to make new friends (hard), go to a school where the kids tease her (unbearable), and get used to living with her stepfather-to-be and his annoying son (impossible). Winnie is determined to find a way back to Denver and her old life. But how? If only the magic in the stories that Winnie adores were true. …
Then one night, a mysterious bird leads Winnie to a strangely glowing oak tree, and there, in its branches is a nest of golden eggs that are not eggs at all but wishes, wishes that are soon coming true in unexpected ways. Here is real magic, if only Winnie can figure out how to make a wish that will fix her life without ruining everything.
“With immersive prose and a pinch of real magic, Amanda Rawson Hill spins a fairy tale about anxiety, anger, and acceptance that will linger with a reader ever after.”—Cindy Baldwin, author of Where the Watermelons Grow
A Junior Library Guild Selection"
"Warrior. Chief. Diplomat.
In Spanish Florida during the nineteenth century, one man shaped the course of Black Seminoles—descendants of Seminole Indians and free Blacks and escaped slaves—more than any other. A political and military leader of both Seminole and African heritage, John Horse valiantly defended his people from slave hunters, other tribes, and the U.S. government.
After fighting in the Second Seminole War—one of the longest and most costly Native American conflicts in United States history—Horse negotiated territory for the Black Seminoles and became a guide and interpreter. As part of the Underground Railroad, he led a group of former slaves and Seminoles to safety in Mexico and later to Texas, where many became scouts who defended the western American border.
Author Glennette Tilley Turner’s expertly researched biography depicts a complex, fascinating figure who served as a counselor to fellow Seminole leaders, an agent of the U.S. government, a captain in the Mexican army, and a conductor in the Underground Railroad. No matter the part he played, one thing remained constant: Whether in battle or at the negotiating table, Horse fought tirelessly to help his people survive and find a home. A Man Called Horse is a tale of daring, intrigue, and the lifelong quest for freedom.
“An exciting and well-documented tribute to the courage, insight, and dedication of John Horse [and] an excellent contribution to the little-known history of Horse and the Black Seminoles.”—A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff, professor emerita of English, University of Illinois, and recipient of the Modern Language Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Native American literature"
"One cold and rainy day, a boy named Elmer befriends an old alley cat who tells him a way he can fly. All he has to do is rescue an enslaved baby Dragon from a mysterious island inhabited by all sorts of wild animals. Intrigued, the young boy, armed with only his wits and a knapsack of essential implements, embarks on a perilous journey to Wild Island to free the Dragon and fly. This adventure story by Ruth Stiles Gannett has delighted and entertained children from the day it was first published."
"One two, the Caretaker's coming for you. Three-four, you'll breathe no more. Five-six, you'll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you'll meet your fate.
Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.
To take his mind off his mom's return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he's ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond . . . and they don't ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life—and only he can stop him."
"When Evie Mei discovers that her recently passed mother was the head of a guild of magical weavers, she enters the Chinese netherworld to try and bring her back in this middle-grade debut.
Twelve-year-old Evie Mei Huang never did like helping in her mom’s tailor shop. She hated dyeing and spooling the thread and how the measuring tape gets all twisted up. Most of all, now that her mother has died, she hates that she isn’t here anymore.
When the universe sends a life preserver, Evie knows to grab it. So it’s weird when a talking monkey shows up and tells her that her plain, hardworking tailor mother was actually the head of a guild of magical weavers who control the fate of humanity. He also comes bearing the information that her mother is trapped in Diyu, the Chinese underworld, and that only Evie can get her back. No pressure.
But the important thing is that Evie’s mom isn’t dead. And if she’s got this one shot to bring her back and save her family, she’s got to take it."
"“I’m Tom’s dog, and he’s my human. We belong to each other.” Rebel is a good dog, and he loves his simple, perfect life on the farm with his owner Tom – until one day the war comes too close… Now Tom is determined to join the rebellion to defeat the king’s men. But Rebel knows war is dangerous, and he will stop at nothing to save the human he loves. Rebel must bring Tom home before it’s too late."
"Each book in the True Horse Stories focuses on a contemporary horse from a different part of the world, and each animal is, in his or her own way, a hero.
PBJ Decks Smokin Gun (Gunner) is an American Paint Horse, one of the many of Heather Lott Goodwin's herd, and a valuable show animal that won the World Championship Paint Horse title. When Hurricane Katrina passed over the Goodwin property, it took with it the fences, the cattle, and several horses. Heather and her family lived in their horse trailer for six weeks and considered themselves lucky to have safe, comfortable shelter. After the storm, they searched for the animals and recovered many of them. But three months passed before they located Gunner, a hundred miles away. They were told he was in terrible shape and should be put down. Nevertheless, Heather drove on washed-out roads to bring him home, starving, dehydrated, and blind in one eye. With the help of a vet and her mother, she nursed him back to health. Amazingly, nine months later, he was well enough to compete again in the World Championship Paint Horse Show. Gunner's story is a testament to love and to determination."
"Goosebumps now on Disney+!
Next summer you'll stay home...if you survive!The food isn't great. The counselors are a little strange. And the camp director seems demented. Billy can handle all that. But then strange things start to happen after dark, his parents won't answer his letters, and his fellow campers start to disappear. What's going on? Camp Nightmoon is turning into Camp Nightmare! And Billy might be next."
