News & Reviews

How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Justice A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Quill Tree Books (Harper Collins) (pub. 1.27.2026) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthors: Yvonne Clark-Rhines with Monica Clark-Robinson    Illustrator: Abigail Albano-Payton C haracter: Septima Clark O verview : " Septima Clark was born poor, Black, and a girl. Being  one  of those things in 1898 was hard, but all three meant that access to education was going to be a fight. But with stron

A Story About America A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Viking Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House) (pub. 2.24.2026) 40 pages Ages 4-8 A uthor and Illustrator: Veronica Mang C haracter: Aaron Copland O verview : " Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn in 1900 at the dawn of a new generation. In a community of immigrants, he had a front-row seat to the many ways that the United States was growing and changing. During this electrifying time, Aaron began making music a

Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Crown Books for Young Readers (pub. 3.4.2025) 40 pages Ages 4 - 8 A uthor: Richard Michelson    Illustrator: E.B. Lewis C haracters: President Barack Obama and Seder guests O verview : " In 1800, President John Adams held the first formal Christmas dinner at the newly built White House. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes observed Easter with a public “Egg Roll." But it wasn’t until 2009 that a US

Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) (pub. 1.20.2026) 40 pages Ages 7 -1o A uthor: Kate Hannigan    Illustrator: Sofia Moore C haracter: Louisa May Alcott O verview : " Louisa May Alcott wrote the beloved classic Little Women , but she started out as just a little girl scribbling in her journal. Born into the middle of a spirited, creative group of sisters, Louisa was always up for explorati

How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) (pub. 3.11.2025) 40 pages Ages 7 -10 A uthor: Kate Hannigan    Illustrator: Katie Hickey C haracter: Rachel Carson O verview : "Rachel Carson wasn’t always the  Rachel Carson, renowned environmental activist. From her earliest years, Rachel had a passion for nature—to her, it was a fairyland, and she loved to write a

The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Carolrhoda Books (Lerner) pub. 11.4.2025 40 pages Ages 7 -11 A uthor: Sun Yung Shin & Melina Mangal    Illustrator: Leslie Barlow C haracter: James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs O verview : " James Boggs was a worker from rural Alabama in the segregated South. Grace Lee Boggs was a philosopher from urban Rhode Island and New York City. Both found their life’s work, and each other, in Detroit. James

How Marie Procai Kept the Ukranian Art of Pysanky Alive A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Calkins Creek (Astra Books) 2.10.2026 48 pages Ages 7 -1o A uthor: Sandra Neil Wallace    Illustrator: Evan Turk C haracter: Marie Procai O verview : " As a new immigrant to America living in Minneapolis, Marie Procai felt homesick and alone—she missed her homeland, Ukraine. She took comfort in the ancient Ukrainian art of making pysanky, intricately decorated eggs for Easter, an art

How the Apollo Moon Missions Made Alma Thomas's Art Soar A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Millbrook Press (Lerner Publishing) (pub. 11.4.2025) 32 pages Ages 6-10 A uthor and Illustrator: Nina Crews C haracter: Alma Thomas O verview : " In 1969, people around the world watched as the Apollo 10 astronauts sent the first-ever live color television broadcasts from space. Abstract painter Alma Thomas was among those watching, and afterward, she began a series of bright, bold p

Discovering the Stuff of Stars A TRUE TALE WITH A C HERRY O N  T OP Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (pub. 1.27.2026) 56 pages Ages 7 -12 A uthor: Laura Alary    Illustrator: Yas Imamura C haracter: Cecilia Payne O verview : " Cecilia Payne loved learning to see nature’s wonders, even things other people called impossible. While studying at Cambridge, she dreamed of becoming a great astronomer like the ones she read about in the library. But too many people thought women didn

Calkins Creek (Astra Books for Young Readers) (pub. 10.14.2025) 48 pages Ages 7 -10 A uthor: Erin Frankel    Illustrator: Jasu Hu C haracter: Mary Oliver O verview : " Young Mary Oliver was enthralled by nature. In the forest, she wondered about the birds and the lilies and the water in the stream—about all the things that cannot speak yet somehow spoke to Mary. She wondered, too, about poetry, about how words pieced together filled her with light and how some poems felt like