Words. Selig collects them, ones that stir his heart (Mama!) and ones that make him laugh (giggle). But what to do with so many luscious words? After helping a poet find the perfect words for his poem (lozenge, lemon, and licorice), he figures it out: His purpose is to spread the word to others. And so he begins to sprinkle, disburse, and broadcast them to people in need....

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For one magical night, Luisa wants to make her single mother's worries disappear.

Every day after school Luisa goes to Walter's World of Beauty to watch her mama work-- cutting, coloring, and curling customer's hair, transforming them into the images of their dreams. Mama works hard and hardly ever smiles, but when she does, she is the prettiest flower in all the World. At the end of each day, she puts her tip money in a special envelopes for Luisa-- the envelope marked "college." She wants to give her daughter the world-- but Luisa has plans of her own. It's Mama's birthday and, for one night, she wants to make Mama smile... the way she smiles in an old photograph of her dancing at a place called Roseland. So Luisa transforms Walter's World of Beauty into Roseland, by decorating it with roses and collages of Mama's customers, who are also in on Luisa's secret. And it isn't long before everyone is happily dancing, especially Mama, who is the happiest of all....

Elijah Earl is used to keeping to himself. But he's not the only quiet one—Alishah hides behind her head scarf, Jacob twitches out of sight, Luis hides behind a book, and Pam Pam is the shyest of them all. It is not until the school janitor they call Doo-Wop Pop steps in that things begin to change for these shy students. Doo-Wop Pop, who was once an a cappella star, helps them form an unlikely doo-wop group, teaching them to be-boppa bold, be-boppa brave, and come-a, come-a, come-a outta the cave. By making music together, Elijah and the others form lasting friendships and discover talents they didn't even know they had!

This uplifting tale with vibrant artwork from Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator Bryan Collier can't be-boppa beat!

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"Reading is freedom," Hannah's mother has always told her. "The thoughts in books are powerful strong, stronger even than chains," her father has said. One sharp knock at midnight, then a double thump. Impulsive, imaginative Amanda loves to read and playact, but this noise is real. Outside, her father is unloading a wagon. Out of the sacks come a man, a woman holding a sleeping baby, and Hannah, a tall, thin girl about Amanda's age--runaway slaves! Suddenly Amanda's life is full of danger. Her house, she discovers that night, is a stop on the Underground Railroad. But she also discovers a rare friend in Hannah. Courageous and determined, Hannah longs to be free in every way she can, including the freedom that comes with literacy. And headstrong Amanda is willing to risk everything to help her. Set a decade before the Civil War, this moving story crackles with suspense and says as much about the power of words as it does about the power of friendship....

write what she knows,"" young Eva takes the literary advice of her neighbors while adding a few embellishments that make her neighborhood seem much more exciting than she realized....

write what she knows,"" young Eva takes the literary advice of her neighbors while adding a few embellishments that make her neighborhood seem much more exciting than she realized....