New Release Books by Tracey Baptiste

Author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on a journey across Africa to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built a continent and shaped the world. Black history begins thousands of years ago with the many cultures and people of the African continent. Through portraits of ten heroic figures — from Menes, the first ruler to be called Pharaoh, to Queen Idia, a sixteenth-century power broker, visionary, and diplomat — this rich and thrilling nonfiction text goes back many millennia to introduce readers to the underrepresented stories of Black history and Black excellence. Illustrator Hillary D. Wilson’s brilliant portraits accompany each profile, along with vivid, information-filled landscapes, maps, and graphics for readers to pore over and return to again and again. Key Text Features map maps author''s note chapters facts further information further reading headsings historical context historical note foreword illustrations illustrator''s notes introduction labels photographs references resources table of contents Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6 Determine an author''s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

From NYT bestselling author Tracey Baptiste comes a singular picture book that is both a biography about Claudette Colvin, the teen whose activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and a celebration of collective action. When fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin boarded a segregated bus on March 2, 1955, she had no idea she was about to make history. At school she was learning about abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, which helped inspire her decision to refuse to give up her seat to a white woman, which led to her arrest, which began a crucial chain of events: Rosa Park''s sit-in nine months later, the organization of the Montgomery bus boycott by activists like Professor Jo Ann Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Supreme Court decision that Alabama''s bus segregation was unconstitutional—a major triumph for the civil rights movement. Because of Claudette''s brave stand against injustice, history was transformed. Now it''s time for young readers to learn about this living legend, her pivotal role in the civil rights movement, and the power of one person reaching out to another in the fight for change.

A picture book that celebrates music, love, and family from author Cedella Marley. A poetic story about a young girl who moves to a new country and learns to make friends—inspired by a childhood growing up with the musician Bob Marley as a father. When Marley and her family move from Jamaica to Delaware, she knows life is about to change in big ways. And she''s got the perfect plan to help her and her siblings make friends: an outdoor concert for the whole neighborhood! But when weather ruins their plans, she discovers help in the most unlikely places as her new neighbors quickly become the kindest of friends. In this joyful, vibrant picture book inspired by her childhood and iconic father, Cedella Marley assures children that nothing can stop the music as long as they have community.

The scariest and most heart-pounding installment of the highly praised and popular Jumbies series! Huracan summons the wind and rain and wields lightning like a sword. He doesn’t miss and he never falters. He will destroy everything in his path if he desires. When an out-of-season hurricane sweeps through Corinne’s seaside village, she knows it’s not an ordinary storm. At first Corinne believes Mama D’Leau, the powerful and cruel jumbie who rules the ocean, has caused the hurricane. Then an even more ferocious storm wrecks the island, sending villagers fleeing their houses for shelter in the mountains, and Corinne discovers the chaos wasn’t caused by a jumbie, but by an angry god, Huracan. Corinne, with the help of her friends and even some of her enemies, must race against time to find out what has angered Huracan and try to fix it before her island home is destroyed forever. The Jumbie God’s Revenge blends Caribbean and West African tales to present powerful themes of community and heroism in a thrilling action adventure.

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center''s Black Liberation Reading List. Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson. Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds. Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of. Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland. Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough. Contributors: Justina Ireland Varian Johnson Rita Williams-Garcia Dhonielle Clayton Kekla Magoon Leah Henderson Tochi Onyebuchi Jason Reynolds Nic Stone Liara Tamani Renée Watson Tracey Baptiste Coe Booth Brandy Colbert Jay Coles Ibi Zoboi Lamar Giles

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This official Minecraft novel is an action-packed thriller! When a new virtual-reality version of the game brings her dreams—and doubts—to life, one player must face her fears. Bianca has never been good at following the plan. She’s more of an act-now, deal-with-the-consequences-later kind of person. But consequences can’t be put off forever, as Bianca learns when she and her best friend, Lonnie, are in a terrible car crash. Waking up in the hospital, almost paralyzed by her injuries, Bianca is faced with questions she’s not equipped to answer. She chooses instead to try a new virtual-reality version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish, giving her control over a world at the very moment she thought she’d lost it. As she explores this new realm, she encounters a mute, glitching avatar she believes to be Lonnie. Bianca teams up with Esme and Anton, two kids who are also playing on the hospital server, to save her friend. But the road to recovery isn’t without its own dangers. The kids are swarmed by mobs seemingly generated by their fears and insecurities, and now Bianca must deal with the uncertainties that have been plaguing her: Is Lonnie really in the game? And can Bianca help him return to reality? Collect all of the official Minecraft books: Minecraft: The Island Minecraft: The Crash Minecraft: The Lost Journals Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress Minecraft: Guide to Exploration Minecraft: Guide to Creative Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End Minecraft: Guide to Redstone Minecraft: Mobestiary Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames Minecraft: Guide to Farming Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure Minecraft for Beginners

Deep beneath the waves, a great enemy awakens . . . Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne. To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends Dru, Bouki, and Malik must travel with mermaids across the ocean to fetch a powerful object for Mama D’Leau. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s adventures across the sea is the jumbie that waits for her back home. With action-packed storytelling and inventive twists on Caribbean and West African mythology and fairy tales, Rise of the Jumbies is a breathlessly exciting tale of courage and friendship. An NPR Best Book of 2017 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017

Mummies—dead bodies elaborately wrapped up—might rank pretty high on the scale of all things disgusting. But readers should be ready for an eye-opening read on some of ancient Egypt’s gross history, such as the dirty details of what really happens to bodies as they’re prepared for mummification, in this book. This gleefully gut-churning volume offers up some very vile medicinal practices, culinary delicacies, political and battle practices, and more. Readers will come away from this memorable read with a fresh perspective on the lives and customs of this famous (and now famously gross) ancient civilization.

This biography details Nelson Mandela''s life, beginning with his boyhood, education, and early involvement with the African National Congress, and continuing with his work to end apartheid and unify the people of South Africa.

During the 1800s, many settlers moved westward across North America to seek their fortunes as farmers, ranchers, and miners. In the Wild West, there were few towns and few people paid much attention to laws. Readers will take a trip through this thrilling period of American history as they join Louise and Nat for a tale of cowboys in a frontier town. They will find out how people lived, worked, and traveled in the Wild West, and much more.

Explores the life and literary career of "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer. Includes photographs, a chronology, a list of her works, and further reading sources.

Grace has always had wild red hair like no one else in her family and a birthmark on her shoulder that her mother told her was the mark of an angel. When Grace is sent from New York to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad, she looks through the family album and discovers a blurred photograph of a stranger with a birthmark -- her birthmark -- and Grace is full of questions. No one is able to identify the man in the photo, and Grace is left with no choice but to find out who he is and what he might mean to her. What Grace does not know is that her search will lead to a discovery about herself and her family that she never could have imagined. Tracey Baptiste''s first novel is a tender coming-of-age story set on the island of Trinidad. Angel''s Grace explores the meaning of identity and truth, and the unbreakable ties of a family bound by love.

Most communities and organizations require an organizer to be successful and create change. Being a Leader and Making Decisions tells the stories of great leaders--why they led, how they gained support and became leaders, and why people followed them. Through historical and modern examples, readers will learn about both positive and negative traits of leaders and find suggestions about how to take the lead in their own lives and communities.

Discusses different kinds of prejudice, explains how to combat them, and shares stories from young people who have successfully dealt with these issues.