New Releases by Karen English

Zydeco—pure and beautiful and stomping good—takes the stage in a joyous celebration of extended family, community, and Louisiana culture. Every year on the last Saturday in July, Broussard-Bouchard folks come from near and far to the Big Once-a-Year Broussard-Bouchard Family Reunion. Alaine’s Auntie Yvette comes with the blanket she’s always crocheting. Uncle Malik brings photos from his last trip to Africa. Daddy and the uncles play dominoes under the live oak tree while Bill Jr. carries a watermelon up from the creek where’s it’s been cooling. Cousin Neecy has organized the biggest Double Dutch game ever, but Alaine—who let Big Boy, the fluffy orange indoor cat, slip outside to certain doom—sits alone and worries. Until the first note sounds: zydeco, drawing her in with outstretched arms. Allons danser. When the music and dancing finally stop—until next year—who’s waiting all curled up on the front porch, furry and orange and as safe as Alaine’s secret? Brimming with Louisiana music, culture, and color, this vibrant and gorgeously illustrated portrait of family tradition will have you two-stepping in a heartbeat.

Red shoes glowing--Perched on a pedestal in the shop windowas if on a throne."I want those, Nana," Malika says, as they pass the shop."We'll see," Nana says with a wink. "Looks like you could use a new pair." Malika is delighted when Nana surprises her with a beautiful new pair of red shoes! And with a click-clack-click and a swish, swish, swish, Malika wears her wonderful new shoes everywhere she goes. But one day, the shoes begin to pinch Malika's toes. And alas, they don't let her forget that her feet have grown! Soon Malika and Nana are off to the Rare Finds Resale Shop, where the shoes can be resold -- so somebody else can enjoy them!Who will be the next to wear the red shoes? Malika wonders.Then Inna Ziya buys the shoes, and readers follow the shoes all the way across the world to Ghana in Africa, where Amina, another little girl, who has fasted her first time for Ramadan is about to get an amazing gift!Karen English and Ebony Glenn have crafted a satisfying and heartwarming story about a pair of shoes, two girls, and a connection they share across continents.

When Nadia is chosen to be a flower girl in Auntie Laila's traditional Pakistani wedding, her hands are decorated with beautiful designs made with mehndi, and she comes to understand the rich culture she has inherited.

After having a fight, two friends spend the day ignoring each other, until the lure of a game of jump rope helps them to forget about being mad.

Third-grader Richard and his friends are four days from earning a pizza party for good behavior when a very strict substitute suspects that some of them have been cheating.

It’s 1965, Los Angeles. All twelve-year-old Sophie wants to do is write her book, star in the community play, and hang out with her friend Jennifer. But she’s the new black kid in a nearly all-white neighborhood; her beloved sister, Lily, is going away to college soon; and her parents’ marriage is rocky. There’s also her family’s new, disapproving housekeeper to deal with. When riots erupt in nearby Watts and a friend is unfairly arrested, Sophie learns that life—and her own place in it—is even more complicated than she’d once thought. Leavened with gentle humor, this story is perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

"Third-grader Gavin and his friends aren't sure what to make of the new boy in their class, Khufu. He doesn't look or act like other kids. When Gavin's bike goes missing, they think Khufu stole it, but did he?"--

In the fourth book in the Carver Chronicles series, third grader Calvin is dealing with his next door neighbors moving away—and the school bully moving in. Meanwhile, competition at the school science fair is heating up, and Calvin must decide what to do when his data doesn't prove his theory. This lively installment in a chapter book series about a diverse group of elementary schoolers by Coretta Scott King Honoree Karen English offers spot-on storytelling, relatable characters and situations, and plenty of action.

Carlos isn’t sure how he feels about the news that his cousin Bernardo will be joining his class at Carver Elementary. But when Bernardo comes to live with him temporarily, taking over Carlos’s top bunk, his spot on the school soccer team, and even his Papi’s attention, Carlos knows he isn’t happy. Worse, Bernardo starts messing with Carlos’s pet geckos! Carlos tries to see past his cousin’s annoying ways, but Bernardo sure doesn’t make it easy. Will Carlos—and his geckos—survive Bernardo's visit? Can he keep the peace for his family’s sake? Emerging and newly independent readers are sure to recognize themselves in this humorous school and family story.

Richard can't wait to show off his skills at a friend's skateboard birthday party, but a note home from his teacher threatens to ruin his plans. This charming second book in a new series about third grade boys by Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winner Karen English offers spot-on storytelling, relatable characters and situations, and plenty of action.

What will Nikki and Deja do when their beloved teacher is out and a clueless substitute takes her place? Deja is dismayed to learn that her teacher has had an accident and a substitute will be taking her place. Under the new sub's care, nothing is the same in Room Ten. A few of the class troublemakers plot to take advantage of the situation, and soon other students join in. Should Nikki and Deja go along with the rest of the kids in tormenting him? Should they help him out by tattling on their classmates? Or is there another way to handle the situation? Here is another charming entry in a chapter book series praised for its accessibility, authenticity, and humor.

While Ms. Shelby-Ortiz is recovering from an injury, substitute Mr. Willow takes over Nikki and Deja's third-grade class with disastrous results.

Gavin wants to make a good impression at Carver Elementary, where no one knows he excels at soccer and skateboarding, but an annoying big sister, a bully, and his great aunt's Pomeranian are not helping.

Wedding drama brews when Nikki and Deja's beloved teacher announces her plans to be married! Ms. Shelby is getting married! As the girls in Nikki and Deja's class compete over who can plan the best imaginary wedding for their teacher, Nikki excitedly throws herself into preparations for the real thing. But Deja is not so enthusiastic. Her Auntie Dee has been temporarily laid off from her job, and Deja is worried. What will happen now that Deja can no longer afford a new dress and special hairdo? Will Nikki leave her best friend behind while she shops and primps? Will Deja be able to get over her jealousy and enjoy the celebration anyway? This accessible chapter book series shines with emotional depth and humor, perfectly capturing the complexities and joys of elementary school girls' friendships.

Nikki and Deja are going to Ms. Shelby's wedding, but will they still be friends when the ceremony is over? Illustrations.

Will Nikki and Deja's plans to become celebrated journalists succeed? Nikki and Deja know that there's plenty of newsy news—news that's interesting and exciting—happening on their block and at Carver Elementary, just waiting to be reported. Luckily, Nikki has her special pen and notepad, Deja has the use of Auntie Dee's computer, and they both have lots of ideas. Before long, the Fulton Street Newsy News Newsletter is born. At first, everyone wants to read what the girls have written. But after just one issue, some unexpected problems arise. This accessible chapter book series shines with emotional depth and humor, perfectly capturing the complexities and joys of elementary school girls' friendships.

A distinctive new voice in children's fiction Francie lives with her mother and younger brother, Prez, in rural Alabama, where all three work and wait. Francie's father is trying to get settled in Chicago so he can move his family up North. Unfortunately, he's made promises he hasn't kept, and Francie painfully learns that her dreams of starting junior high school in an integrated urban classroom will go unfulfilled. Amid the day-to-day grind of working odd jobs for wealthy white folks on the other side of town, Francie becomes involved in helping a framed young black man to escape arrest -- a brave gesture, but one that puts the entire black community in danger. In this vivid portrait of a girl in the pre--Civil Rights era South, first-time novelist Karen English completes Francie's world using lively vernacular and a wide array of flesh-and-blood characters. Francie is a 2000 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book.

When an arrogant new girl comes to school, third-graders and best friends Nikki and Deja decide to form a club that would exclude her but find the results not what they expected.