Products

By: Alex Gino (Author), 2022, Paperback

From the award-winning author of Melissa, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend.

Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.

But now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that... understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.

As they did in their groundbreaking novel Melissa, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world . . . and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.

By: Marcus Bridgewater (Author), Reggie Brown (Illustrator), 2025, Hardcover

Marcus Bridgewater, also known as the social media sensation Garden Marcus, shows kids the lessons he learned in his grandma's garden when he was growing up.

Grandma's favorite place is her garden. It seems like she could stay there forever! Marcus wants to know why--so they set about exploring it together. From shells protecting seeds (like Marcus's helmet protects his head!) to a small seed eventually growing into something big (also just like Marcus!), there are so many amazing connections to be made in this wonderful place. Day after day, Marcus delights in realizing how much he has in common with the plants--he drinks water every day, too, and he gets haircuts just like the plants get pruned. As his grandma says, there's a whole world to explore in a garden, and Marcus likes thinking about it as a playground for all the snails, birds, bugs, and worms. And one of its many beauties is the bounty they are rewarded with after all the love and care they pour into it!

Seven years before Brown v. Board of Education, the Mendez family fought to end segregation in California schools. Discover their incredible story in Separate Is Never Equal, a picture book from award-winning creator Duncan Tonatiuh.

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner * A Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book * A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

STARRED REVIEW *“Masterfully combines text and folk-inspired art to add an important piece to the mosaic of U.S. civil rights history.” ―Kirkus Reviews

When her family moved to the town of Westminster, California, young Sylvia Mendez was excited about enrolling in her neighborhood school. But she and her brothers were turned away and told they had to attend the Mexican school instead. Sylvia could not understand why—she was an American citizen who spoke perfect English. Why were the children of Mexican families forced to attend a separate school?

Unable to get a satisfactory answer from the school board, the Mendez family decided to take matters into its own hands and organized a lawsuit. In the end, the Mendez family’s efforts helped bring an end to segregated schooling in California in 1947, seven years before the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation in schools across America.

Author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh writes in his notes, “My hope is that this book will help children and young people learn about this important yet little known event in American history. I also hope that they will see themselves reflected in Sylvia’s story and realize that their voices are valuable.”

Using his signature illustration style and incorporating his interviews with Sylvia Mendez, as well as information from court files and news accounts, Tonatiuh tells the inspiring story of the Mendez family’s fight for justice and equality, a fight that is as relevant today as it was 75 years ago.

By: Caroline Huntoon (Author), 2024, Paperback

A heartwarming debut from author Caroline Huntoon about a young figure skater discovering who they are on and off the ice.

Life isn’t easy on twelve-year-old Mars. As if seventh grade isn’t hard enough, Mars is also grappling with the recent death of their father and a realization they never got to share with him: they’re nonbinary. But with their skates laced up and the ice under their feet, all of those struggles melt away. When Mars’ triple toe loop draws the attention of a high school hot shot, he dares them to skate as a boy so the two can compete head-to-head. Unable to back down from a challenge, Mars accepts. But as competition draws near, the struggles of life off the rink start to complicate their performance in the rink, and Mars begins to second guess if there’s a place for them on the ice at all.

Skating on Mars is a tender examination of grief and a hopeful middle grade tale of self-discovery.

"This timely, triumphant novel about figure skating, identity, loss, and love will move and entertain readers―and it might just inspire them to find their own ways to change the world. " ―Laurie Morrison, author of Up for Air and Coming Up Short

From acclaimed author Phil Stamper (The Gravity of Us and As Far as You’ll Take Me) comes a poignant coming-of-age, contemporary middle grade debut novel about finding your place, using your voice, and the true meaning of pride. Perfect for fans of Rick by Alex Gino and The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy.

Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio.

When Jake’s dad hangs a comically large pride flag in their front yard in an overblown show of love, the mayor begins to receive complaints. A few people are even concerned the flag will lead to something truly outlandish: a pride parade.

Except Jake doesn’t think that’s a ridiculous idea. Why can’t they hold a pride festival in Barton Springs? The problem is, Jake knows he’ll have to get approval from the town council, and the mayor won’t be on his side. And as Jake and his friends try to find a way to bring Pride to Barton Springs, it seems suspicious that the mayor’s son, Brett, suddenly wants to spend time with Jake.

But someone that cute couldn’t possibly be in league with his mayoral mother, could he?

* An ALA Rainbow List Pick
* A 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist for Best Middle Grade and Children’s Book
* A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022
* A Maine Student Book Award 2023-2024 Reading List Nominee

By: Kathryn Rae Zeigler (Author), Todd William Zeigler (Editor), Mimi Beane Zeigler (Illustrator), 2024, Paperback, Children's Book

Meet Solomon Sparks, our second friend in The Spectrum Series; books full of love featuring characters who celebrate the gifts, challenges and achievements of children with autism. 

Solomon loves dinosaurs, chicken nuggets, and the number three. He has a support animal named Beau. Solomon has autism and he is very lucky. Through his adventures, Solomon shows his family and friends just how big and beautiful his world truly is. 

Sharing Solomon's stories, and the stories of people in his neighborhood, can help start conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Visit www.thespectrumseriesbooks.com for more adventures with Solomon and his neighborhood of friends

Upon her daughter's diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2018, Kathryn was inspired to create Tiffany Epiphany and eventually The Spectrum Series. Liza's sister Mimi lovingly illustrates the series in vivid color and expressive lines much like her little sister's sketches. 

Kathryn and her husband Todd, editor and co-publisher, live in the Orlando, FL with their four amazing kids. Their family is excited for more children and families to see themselves represented and celebrated on the pages of these books, games, and resources.

Discover what it means to become a US citizen and how the process unfolds in this illuminating picture book about immigration and naturalization.

What does US citizenship look like? Some of us are citizens by birth. Some of us are born beyond the United States and gain citizenship through immigration and naturalization. With lyrical prose and luminous mixed-media artwork, this nonfiction book outlines the process by which some of us—spanning every age and background—travel to the United States to live, work, study, and contribute to the fabric of our new communities. After years, without relinquishing who we are or where we came from, if we are fortunate, we can choose to become naturalized citizens. We can become American.

This insightful story honors the many different paths to citizenship and celebrates all people who enrich our country by striving to participate in our democracy. This book belongs with classrooms and parents who love: Grace for President, Areli Is a Dreamer, and What Can A Citizen Do?

May/June Kids' Indie Next List 2025

By: Marianne Celano PhD (Author), Marietta Collins PhD (Author), Ann Hazzard PhD (Author), Jennifer Zivoin (Illustrator), 2018, Hardcover

A Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company Original World Premiere Production
A NEW YORK TIMES and #1 INDIEBOUND BEST SELLER
American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom's Top 10 Most Challenged Books 
A Little Free Library Action Book Club Selection
National Parenting Product Award Winner (NAPPA)

Emma and Josh heard that something happened in their town. A Black man was shot by the police.

"Why did the police shoot that man?"

"Can police go to jail?"

Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.

Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues. Free, downloadable educator materials (including discussion questions) are available at www.apa.org.

From the Note to Parents and Caregivers:

There are many benefits of beginning to discuss racial bias and injustice with young children of all races and ethnicities:

• Research has shown that children even as young as three years of age notice and comment on differences in skin color.
• Humans of all ages tend to ascribe positive qualities to the group that they belong to and negative qualities to other groups.
• Despite some parents’ attempts to protect their children from frightening media content, children often become aware of incidents of community violence, including police shootings.
• Parents who don’t proactively talk about racial issues with their children are inadvertently teaching their children that race is a taboo topic. Parents who want to raise children to accept individuals from diverse cultures need to counter negative attitudes that their children develop from exposure to the negative racial stereotypes that persist in our society.

Order the companion books, Something Happened in Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence and Something Happened to My Dad: A Story About Immigration and Family Separation.

By: Ami Polonsky (Author), 2022, Paperback

From the author of the critically acclaimed Gracefully Grayson comes a thoughtful and sensitive middle-grade novel about non-binary identity and first love, Ami Polonsky's Spin with Me .

In this elegant dual narrative, Essie is a thirteen-year-old girl feeling glum about starting a new school after her professor dad takes a temporary teaching position in a different town. She has 110 days here and can't wait for them to end. Then she meets Ollie: delicate, blue eyes, short hair, easy smile. At first, Essie thinks she has a typical crush on a beautiful boy. But as her crush blossoms, she soon realizes that Ollie is not a boy or a girl, but gender non-binary.

Meanwhile, Ollie is experiencing a crush of their own . . . on Essie. As Ollie struggles to balance their passion for queer advocacy with their other interests, they slowly find themselves falling for a girl whose stay is about to come to an end. Can the two unwind their merry-go-round of feelings before it's too late?

By: Sonya Cherry-Paul (Adapter), Jason Reynolds (Author), Ibram X. Kendi (Author), Rachelle Baker (Illustrator), 2021, Paperback

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

This chapter book edition of the groundbreaking #1 bestseller by luminaries Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds is an essential introduction to the history of racism and antiracism in America
 
RACE. Uh-oh. The R-word. 
But actually talking about race is one of the most important things to learn how to do.

Adapted from the award-winning, bestselling Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they’ll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives. 
 
Ibram X. Kendi’s research, Jason Reynolds’s and Sonja Cherry-Paul’s writing, and Rachelle Baker’s art come together in this vital read, enhanced with a glossary, timeline, and more.

A heartwarming story about a girl, her two dads, and the true meaning of family. 

Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two daddies to do? It's not that she doesn't have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn't have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.

MODERN DIVERSE FAMILIES: This sweet, sensitive story teaches children that while every family is different, every family is full of love.

HIGHLY ACCLAIMED BOOK: Stella Brings the Family has garnered praise from a wide range of publications, including Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, The New York Times, and more. The book has also earned numerous honors from organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association, and the Chicago Public Library, which selected Stella Brings the Family as a Best Picture Book of 2015.

RAVE REVIEWS: With hundreds of five-star ratings, readers love this book. One reviewer calls it “a sweet and clever book” and another one notes that “we need more books like this.”

Perfect for:

* Parents, teachers, and librarians seeking a diverse book for children that celebrates non-traditional families
* Mother’s Day reading in class or at bedtime with preschoolers, toddlers, and young elementary students
* Gift givers shopping for inclusive children’s books for baby showers, birthdays, or holidays

By Rob Sanders, 2019 Hardback

In the early-morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by police in New York City. Though it had been raided before because it served LGBTQ+ patrons, this night, members of the LGBTQ+ community in and around the Stonewall Inn—began six days of protest to demand their equal rights as citizens of the United States. Narrated by the Stonewall Inn itself and written by Rob Sanders, author of the acclaimed Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, with dynamic illustrations by Jamey Christoph. (This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)