How To Write A Poem by Alexander Kwame and Deanna Nikaido

In this evocative and playful companion to their New York Times-bestselling picture book How to Read a Book, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander teams up with poet Deanna Nikaido and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet to celebrate the magic of discovering your very own poetry in the world around you. Readers are invited to pay attention, and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. Playful text and dynamic, inventive artwork are paired together to encourage readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them; poems just waiting to be written down.

Rain Rising by Courtne Comrie

Thirteen-year-old Rain Washington wrangles with intrusive thoughts that leave her feeling worthless and unlikable, inferior to her classmates with their lighter skin, thinner bodies, and shinier hair. Her one spot of sunshine is her supportive older brother, Xander. When Xander is attacked at a frat party at his college, Rain and her family discover that healing is progress, not perfection, as they strive to replace their sorrow with things they love. Rain Rising is a hopeful text replaying powerful statements about the importance of honest dialogue and normalizing therapy by picturing a healthy outlet for youth to normalize exchanges about mental wellness.

That Self Same Metal by Brittany N Williams

That Self Same Metal is a stunning YA fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Justina Ireland, about a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London. Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare's acting company, The King's Men. Joan's skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal — an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually that doesn't involve much, except noting the faint glow around a Fae's body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel Lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds. Swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare's London, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story and a heroine unlike any other.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

A young Native girl's hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe's reservation leads her to delve into the myths and stories of her people — all while being haunted herself — in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut. Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder for the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino... and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step — an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that's intent on devouring her whole. With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the "rez," desperately searching for the key she's sure lies in the legends of her tribe's past. When Anna's own little sister also disappears, she'll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation — both ancient and new — are strong, and sometimes, it's the stories that never get told that are the most important. Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples From Destruction by Lynne Olson

This is an extraordinary story of the intrepid French archaeologist who led the international effort to save ancient Egyptian temples from the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam, from the New York Times bestselling author of Madame Fourcade's Secret War.