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by Elizabeth Acevedo

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!

Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers–especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” –Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation

“An incredibly potent debut.” –Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award Finalist Ghost

“Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” –Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street

Find it in YA Fiction here.

by Bob Raczka

Who says words need to be concrete? This collection shapes poems in surprising and delightful ways.

Concrete poetry is a perennially popular poetic form because they are fun to look at. But by using the arrangement of the words on the page to convey the meaning of the poem, concrete or shape poems are also easy to write! From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes another clever collection that shows kids how to look at words and poetry in a whole new way.

Find it in Juvenile nonfiction here.

This white porcelain chamber pot dates to between 1945 and 1955 and was used by the Flowers family when the pot’s donor, Jeanne, was a child. The pot was made by a company called “Mildred” and has a green fleur de le stamped across its bottom, indicating that the pot may be French.

From the Jeanne Flowers Collection, 1997.18.03

by Susan Johnston Taylor

World War II completely disrupted life in the United States and throughout the world, and it was an empowering turning point in U.S. women’s history. Some women joined the armed forces as nurses and pilots. Some went to work outside the home in factories producing munitions, and building ships and airplanes. Some even became spies! But despite all these accomplishments, women were rarely given the recognition they deserved or the same benefits as their male counterparts. This book tells their story.

Women are sometimes called the silent protagonists of history. But since before the founding of our nation until now, women have organized, marched, and inspired. They forced change and created opportunity. With engaging text, fun facts, photography, infographics, and art, this new set of books examines how individual women of differing races and socioeconomic status took a stand, and how groups of women lived and fought throughout the history of this country. It looks at how they celebrated victories that included the right to vote, the right to serve their country, and the right to equal employment. The aim of this much-needed set of five books is to bring herstory to young readers!

Find it in Juvenile Non-Fiction here.

by Catherine Thimmesh

In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have invented ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better. Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie). What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities?

Features women inventors Ruth Wakefield, Mary Anderson, Stephanie Kwolek, Bette Nesmith Graham, Patsy O. Sherman, Ann Moore, Grace Murray Hopper, Margaret E. Knight, Jeanne Lee Crews, and Valerie L. Thomas, as well as young inventors ten-year-old Becky Schroeder and eleven-year-old Alexia Abernathy. Illustrated in vibrant collage by Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet.

Find it in Juvenile Nonfiction here.

52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers & Rebels

by Linda Skeers

The perfect introduction for learning about women throughout history who dared to do the extraordinary. Inspire our new generation of women to explore, discover, persist, succeed, and fight like a girl. A great gift for girls 9-12.

Women have been doing amazing, daring, and dangerous things for years, but they’re rarely mentioned in our history books as adventurers, daredevils, or rebels. This new compilation of brief biographies features women throughout history who have risked their lives for adventure—many of whom you may not know, but all of whom you’ll WANT to know, such as:

• Annie Edson Taylor, the first person who dared to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel
• Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman who dared to fly in space
• Helen Gibson, the first woman who dared to be a professional stunt person

And many more! If you and your child enjoyed She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton, Little Dreamers, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls or Girls Think of Everything, you will love reading Women Who Dared.

Find it in Children’s New here.