Byzantine masterworks and period costumes give a sense of luxury to this picture book biography by Turk ( You Are Home) about Venice’s first female glassblower, Marietta Barovier. Blending Nigerian culture and American comics, Okorafor (the Akata series) has created a Black hero struggling to work toward justice while navigating inequitable power structures and others’ definitions of who he is.Ī Thousand Glass Flowers: Marietta Barovier and the Invention of the Rosetta Bead by Evan Turk. Cheerful persistence and chatty relatability recur in this fictionalized biography of Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso (1920–2019). After discovering that her mother took the $500 meant for the family’s summer trip, Nellie decides to raise the money herself in this middle grade novel.Īlicia Alonso Takes the Stage by Nancy Ohlin, illus. Twelve-year-old Nellie lives with her father, a short-order cook who struggles to support Nellie and her three brothers since his wife left. The YA graphic novel earned a starred review from PW. In Ifueko’s stunning fantasy debut, a woman known as “the Lady” commands a djinn to build her an invisible stronghold and impregnate her with a child who must someday grant her third wish. Mixing fact and fiction in this autobiographical graphic novel, debut author Hughes follows a teen experiencing Japanese internment firsthand through time travel to the WWII era.

Hartland’s gouache illustrations colorfully capture the children’s triumph in creating their own neighborhood garden, and the kinetic energy and colorful vibrancy of the city neighborhood.ĭisplacement by Kiku Hughes. Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery, illus. This rhyming picture book aims to allay reader’s anxieties. Early childhood educator Button depicts an anxiety that many school-age children share: using a bathroom that’s not their own. Raj’s Rule (for the Bathroom at School) by Lana Button, illus. The book earned a starred review from PW. Isaiah’s optimism, drive, and loyalty to friends and family make him a hero to cheer for, and lend a feeling of hope to this exploration of difficult topics including grief, alcoholism, and homelessness.