Meet extraordinary women from the Bible―51 biographies for kids ages 8 to 12

Find inspiration in the faith and devotion of the women of the Bible! Discover the stories of women like Eve, Mary, Ruth, Sarah, and more in this empowering collection of 51 stories written just for kids. With each story, you'll discover how we are all made in the image of God, how God loves and values all women, and how each of these women can encourage you to connect with God in everything you do.

Fascinating stories―Explore the lives of amazing Biblical women, like Shiphrah and Puah, who followed God and did what was right, Isaiah's Wife, a chosen messenger for God, and Rebekah, who was shown God's mercy despite her mistakes.

Colorful portraits―Bring these important women to life with beautiful, full-color, illustrated portraits of each one.

Explore your faith―Each story includes a special quote from the Bible that relates to the story, discussion questions, and a spiritual reflection for you to think about.

A breakdown of the economic and social injustices facing Black people and other marginalized citizens, inspired by political activist Kimberly Jones's viral video "How Can We Win"

"So if I played four hundred rounds of Monopoly with you and I had to play and give you every dime that I made, and then for fifty years, every time that I played, if you didn't like what I did, you got to burn it like they did in Tulsa and like they did in Rosewood, how can you win? How can you win?"

When Kimberly Jones declared these words amid the protests spurred by the murder of George Floyd, she gave a history lesson that in just over six minutes captured the economic struggles of Black people in America. Within days the video had been viewed by millions of people around the world, riveted by Jones's damning--and stunningly succinct--analysis of the enduring disparities Black Americans face.

In How We Can Win, Jones delves into the impacts of systemic racism and reveals how her formative years in Chicago gave birth to a lifelong devotion to justice. Here, in a vital expansion of her declaration, she calls for Reconstruction 2.0, a multilayered plan to reclaim economic and social restitutions--those restitutions promised with emancipation but blocked, again and again, for more than 150 years. And, most of all, Jones delivers strategies for how we can effect change as citizens and allies while nurturing ourselves--the most valuable asset we have--in the fight against a system that is still rigged.

A beautifully written and often speculative story collection infused with Caribbean and African myths and cultures, exploring love, betrayal, motherhood, death, and home.

GROUNDED IN CONTEMPORARY LIFE AND INFUSED WITH TRADITIONS of Africa and the Caribbean, A Good Haunting: Stories spins myth, magic, and realism into heartrending tales of characters seeking love and connection. Death is the primary antagonist in each of these stories, sometimes appearing as death of self, other times as death of a loved one, and often as both.

In the title story, “A Good Haunting,” a widower in the midst of an unorthodox death ritual uses humor to deal with grief and guilt while coming to terms with unsavory details about his spouse’s sudden death. In “The Way of the Volt,” an eighteenth-century African queen is made immortal, sold into slavery, and left to face a series of impossible choices that force her to struggle with what it means to be human. In “The Sunset Toll,” members of the last community on earth disappear one by one until there are just three people left, trying to maintain hope even as they question the forces that keep them trapped on earth.

The characters wrestle with foes, agonize at crossroads, and face painful truths, all while grappling with grief, love, betrayal, motherhood, and ideas of home. Some triumph, some do not―but they all emerge irrevocably changed by their experiences.

How black gospel music crossed over, reshaped American popular music, and transformed the culture at large.

Gospel music is the soundtrack of black Christian history, a soulful expression of faith, endurance, and hope. From the mid-twentieth-century Golden Age of gospel―when artists like Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward helped make church music a national force―to today, gospel has evolved from images of energetic choirs belting and clapping in rhythm into a sound as innovative and pervasive as chart-topping pop.

Ethnomusicologist, minister, and gospel singer Charrise Barron calls 1993 to 2013 the Platinum Age of Gospel, when new artists and industry executives pushed gospel beyond the church and into a commercial, show-driven, crossover era. While traditional and early contemporary gospel arose from church life, Platinum Age gospel often emerged from outside it, stretching the boundaries of worship and religiosity and helping to reshape black churches―especially megachurches―and what it means to be a black Christian.

Crossover music and Christian entertainment transformed gospel and amplified shifts in black Pentecostalism. Gospel came to encompass far more sounds than most people imagine―from the diverse and collaborative worship of Israel Houghton to the “sexy for Jesus” flare of Mary Mary; from Fred Hammond and CeCe Winans’s soaring praise to Kirk Franklin’s hip hop and R&B fusions and Kim Burrell’s velvety rasp and runs. Bridging Christian and secular audiences, these pioneers and their producers redrew the boundaries of the genre. The Platinum Age of Gospel calls readers to reckon with what changed―and to examine and preserve gospel's soul.

A man’s quest to resolve an inherited family trauma leads him to an enigmatic priory in a war-ravaged region, from which he’s not sure he will be able to flee.

HOPING TO MAKE SENSE OF HIS GRANDFATHER’S UNSPOKEN TRAUMA, Malachi journeys to return a family heirloom to the land of its origin. He finds himself in a seaside town surrounded by rumors of war. He visits the priory, a place of welcome that quickly draws him in―and also a place of duty that refuses to let him go.

The priory, its people, and its resident Angel have their own purpose in a far larger history of trauma and conflict. Malachi learns of ancient and modern atrocities and his grandfather’s helplessness in the face of both. Past echoes become present concerns as a new battle approaches. Malachi repeatedly tries and fails to leave the escalating danger.

This is not his land, nor is it his war. He did not inherit his grandfather’s vocation, nor take his grandfather’s vows. None of this is his fault, nor even his responsibility. And yet the Angel will not let him go until Their last judgment is complete.

Amid the current firestorm of interest in women’s basketball, Natasha Howard reveals the tremendous obstacles she overcame to become a three-time WNBA champion who continues to excel on the hardwood.

THE PAST THREE YEARS HAVE SEEN A WORLDWIDE EXPLOSION of interest in women’s basketball and the rise of young superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers. As the audience grows exponentially, the public is hungry to know more about some of the women who have ushered the sport into this bright spotlight, including elite and still-active veterans like Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Natasha Howard, Napheesa Collier, and others.

Before Natasha Howard was a three-time WNBA champion, before she was named Defensive Player of the Year, she was a thoughtful girl growing up in very difficult circumstances. Her mother faced challenges of her own while shepherding her four children between cities, and sometimes in and out of homeless shelters. 

Young Natasha’s life changed when her uncle Greg introduced her to basketball―with a bribe that included candy. Tash was instantly hooked. But what does a basketball player do when her school doesn't have a girls' team? She joins together with a friend to demand that they be allowed to try out for the boys' team. Which is what Tash did―and then became a starter.

In 2025 Natasha Howard was named MVP of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. She currently plays with the Minnesota Lynx and shows no signs of slowing down at the age of thirty-four. The Vision Through My Lens is her powerful story of building a life for herself through basketball. As a gay, Black woman, she used all her strength to forge forth, to triumph over an astonishing array of obstacles. Coauthored by Deyscha Smith, this memoir tells an unusually empowering tale of a strong girl becoming a stronger woman.

A call to courage and connection from prize-winning poet and champion for the arts and humanities Elizabeth Alexander.

“We send signals across vast distances, hoping to connect.” In luminous prose, Elizabeth Alexander embraces that hope, offering resources―life wisdom, historical perspective, poetry, and art―to embolden us to “reach beyond ourselves.” Her close readings of visionary poets, interwoven with extraordinary visual art, reveal how poetry and art can sustain us. Her stories of connection―as a daughter, wife, widow, and mother; as an aspiring dancer; on the dais at President Obama’s inauguration; in the hospital with her college-age son―deeply move us. She shines a light on our nation’s painful history of inequity, recounting in her Class Day speech to Yale students the thwarted dream destroyed in 1831 of a Black college in New Haven; she calls for a reckoning of centuries of injustice in historical memory and memorializing. She asks, What will we each do to make the dream of freedom, for everyone, real? Every page conveys her hope that we recognize the abundant resources we carry within: language, history, community, family, our bodies, our stories, love itself. Signals Across Vast Distances empowers us―in Alexander’s closing words―to lead with love.

12 color illustrations

Long before racial integration became the law of the land, Broadway showed Americans what it could look and sound like.

Shaped by Black musical traditions, European theatrical forms, and immigrant cultures, the Broadway musical emerged in the twentieth century as a visceral embodiment of the American melting pot. In Broadway in Black and White, conductor and historian John Mauceri―together with linguist and cultural commentator John H. McWhorter―presents a dazzling history of collaboration between Black and white artists in the American musical theater.

Moving from ragtime and operetta through Show Boat and Shuffle Along to The Lion King, Ragtime, and Hamilton, Mauceri reveals how Broadway’s social and political influence extends far beyond artistic achievements and commercial successes. Incisive, deeply personal interludes by McWhorter offer a parallel perspective on the American musical as a testament to cultural exchange.

Mauceri and McWhorter illustrate that the Broadway musical both reflected and accelerated the nation’s continued strides toward racial equality. Politically active works confronted prejudice and invited audiences to imagine a more just society. Equally potent was the visible fact of Black and white artists writing, creating, and performing together, when segregation still shaped much of American life.

Together, Mauceri and McWhorter celebrate the American musical as an art form belonging to all of us. Though this history contains prejudice, exclusion, compromise, and contradiction, it is also a history of extraordinary progress. Broadway in Black and White lovingly presents Broadway as a metaphor for America in all its complexity―fragmented and imperfect, yet eminently capable of becoming greater than the sum of its parts.

30 photos

A passionate and illuminating account of soul, the hard-won wisdom shepherded by Black people throughout generations

How did enslaved Africans turn America’s infamous failure into the greatest moral occasion of modern Western life? In this book, Christopher Freeburg answers that question with one word: soul. It was soul, Freeburg believes, which drove Black individuals and communities, grappling with horrific strife, to reimagine American life and equality in earnest.

Black cultural life contains a central and significant theme―a soul, or form of life―expressed in a variety of musical, religious, and political forms. Through the work and words of figures ranging from the poet Phillis Wheatley to President Barack Obama and musician Nina Simone to disco owner Jewel Thais-Williams, Freeburg shows how Black communities leaned time and again on soul and its four pillars: resonance, revelation, resilience, and transcendence. It is soul, what Freeburg calls a beautiful transaction between individual and community across time and place, that has allowed Black people over generations to transform feelings of defeat and alienation into moral courage and shared belonging.

Mischievous brothers Link and Hud are back for a Halloween-themed entry in the hilarious series from real-life brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey.

It’s October. Halloween is almost here, and brothers Lincoln and Hudson Dupré are excited about their first time trick-or-treating without their parents. But odd and spooky things start happening on their cul-de-sac―things they get blamed for. Link and Hud must face down zombies, a suspected werewolf, and a (definitely) haunted house to find the real culprit and save Halloween.

The latest entry in the hybrid graphic novel series Book Riot says is “full of Black boy joy, brother love, and silliness” brings more chaos, more laughs, and more adventures as Link and Hud use their imagination to get in (and out) of all kinds of trouble. Drawn from the imaginations and experiences of brothers and cocreators Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey, Link + Hud illuminates a world of adventure made possible with a partner in crime by your side.

illustrations throughout

A kaleidoscopic history of the Studio Museum in Harlem told through oral histories, essays, and a trove of archival imagery

Founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists, and philanthropists, the Studio Museum in Harlem is internationally known for its catalytic role in promoting the work of artists of African descent. The Museum has a unique history but until now, there has not been a publication that positions its founding and tells its story.

Bringing together oral histories from the Museum’s founding figures; essays by leading scholars, curators, and artists; and a trove of archival material, this dynamic volume offers the first comprehensive history of the Studio Museum. In-depth essays anchor thematic sections examining the Museum’s founding, its collecting practices and exhibitions, and community engagement. Shorter texts and monologues drawn from interviews with foundational figures immerse the reader in specific events, exhibitions, and moments in the landmark institution’s history. At the book’s center is an expansive visual archive offering a timeline in ephemera and photographs, many of them published here for the first time. This richly illustrated volume will serve as the definitive resource on the history and legacy of the place “Where Black Art Lives.”

Distributed for the Studio Museum in Harlem

The first biography of a controversial, iconoclastic architect of Black Studies, from a leading scholar of the Black intellectual tradition

In the 1960s and 1970s, Harold Cruse (1916–2005) was one of the most prominent Black intellectuals in the world, mentioned in the same breath as James Baldwin, Frantz Fanon, and Malcolm X. Today, Cruse is nearly forgotten. In this biography, Vincent W. Lloyd reclaims the story of an influential contrarian, a man who was beloved, feared, hated, reviled, praised.

Cruse grew up poor in Virginia and Harlem, worked as a critic and organizer, and then spent years making his living through manual labor while writing The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (1967). The book electrified Black America, and the activist who never finished high school became a tenured college professor, a founder of the field of Black Studies, and a mentor to countless student activists. By the 1980s, however, Cruse’s distaste for integration, liberal pluralism, and multiculturalism meant that his influential work was fading from view.

Drawing on Cruse’s letters and unpublished writings, along with scores of interviews, Lloyd offers a fast-paced narrative of an extraordinary life―and a new perspective on Black justice struggles. Ultimately, this is the story of a singular man: passionate, brilliant, strange, and visionary.

An illuminating portrait of five Black woman artists and the New York nightclub that helped inspire the civil rights movement.

Before they became household names, Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry, Abbey Lincoln, Miriam Makeba, and Nina Simone needed a place to practice and perform. That place was the Village Gate, a New York City nightclub that became a downtown hotspot for Black art, culture, music, and politics. Freedom’s Gate depicts the deepening political convictions and groundbreaking artistry of women of the Gate as they developed as entertainers, activists, and intellectuals in the spotlight of art and revolution. From Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun to Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” and Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach’s We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, Soyica Diggs Colbert brings to life the culture and performances that were the soundtrack to Black freedom struggles in the 1950s and early 1960s. With supporting roles from stars and activists such as Harry Belafonte, Stokely Carmichael, and Sidney Poitier, Freedom’s Gate is a vibrant history of a little-known chapter of the civil rights movement that gave voice and soul to the call for liberation.

20 photographs

An exploration of sisterhood, creativity, and community inspired by the artist Alma Thomas’s life and work, from the award-winning poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs
 
Alma Thomas (1891–1978) was an influential figure in twentieth-century modern art, best known for her bright, mosaiclike abstract paintings. Although some critics have seen Thomas’s emphasis on beauty, color, and abstract art as a way to divorce her work from her life as a Black woman, Alexis Pauline Gumbs reveals how Thomas’s art was, in fact, deeply rooted in the Black community in which she lived. Black, in other words, was one of Thomas’s primary colors.
 
Gumbs sheds light on Thomas’s experience as a junior high school teacher in the still-segregated schools of Washington, D.C., where Thomas—as educator, mentor, and advocate—established community art programs for Black schoolchildren and galleries to showcase Black artists’ work. In this volume of poems and prose, Gumbs becomes a student of Thomas, allowing the wonder in Thomas’s work to open her to wonder about her own creativity, sistering, daughtering, and practice of communal transformation.

The definitive insiders' look at the Jacksons' lives and careers, celebrating 50 years of one of history's most remarkable acts of all time.

The official volume dedicated to the Royal Family of Pop, The Jacksons: Legacy offers unparalleled access to the legend that is the Jacksons. Four specially commissioned chapters deftly weave twelve days of exclusive interviews with the brothers and contributions from key players throughout their careers.

The story takes root at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana, tracing the boys' journey from early childhood to their transformative tenure at Motown as the Jackson 5. This account maneuvers through their radical move to Epic as The Jacksons, the blossoming of their solo careers, the dizzying successes of the Victory tour, and their legacy as it stands today.

Through unprecedented access to the family archives and the personal collections of Jackie, Marlon, and Tito Jackson, the book offers an exhaustive array of never-before-seen imagery, rarities, and personal artifacts. Readers are invited to explore intensely personal family snapshots, shots of the first guitars the brothers ever held, and photographer Harrison Funk’s exclusive coverage of their professional lives. The collection also captures the singular energy of Michael Jackson on tour during the releases of Off the Wall (1979) and the 1982 phenomenon, Thriller―the bestselling album of all time. More than anything, it underscores the unprecedented cultural reach of the family through vintage magazine spreads and eclectic memorabilia, including official merchandise and even original Jacksons-branded cereal boxes complete with their 7" record premiums.

Originally published to commemorate their 50th anniversary, The Jacksons: Legacy remains the definitive behind-the-scenes record of one of the greatest acts of all time.

1,000 color illustrations

An innovative work that explores the relationship between the Black church, the Hammond organ, and the musicians that bring it to life.

The Hammond organ has long distinguished the Black church. Masters of the instrument, often Blackqueer men, invented and advanced gospel music, pioneered new modes of worship, and helped define Black life in the twentieth century. But when AIDS crisis struck, churches vociferously rejected all forms of queerness, even as musicians grew ill and hushed rumors spread. Drawing on years of experience as a preacher, choir director, and organist, award-winning visual artist and scholar Ashon Crawley combines personal history and cultural analysis to tell an urgent story about how AIDS fundamentally changed gospel music and the sound of the church. Profiling foundational figures in the church and Black life, such as Zora Neale Hurston and Rev. Clarence Cobbs of Chicago’s First Church of Deliverance, as well as the inventor of the organ, Laurens Hammond, Crawley’s lyrical work offers a captivating new portrait of the Black church as a site of refuge and rejection for Blackqueer genius.

69 illustrations

A groundbreaking analysis of Frederick Douglass as constitutional theorist, showing how his vision, which prefigured today’s originalism, melded history and natural rights to address the evil of slavery.

In his celebrated address “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass denounced America’s hypocritical celebration of freedom. But he did not blame the nation’s founding document for enabling the evil of slavery. Rather, he proclaimed that “interpreted as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a Glorious Liberty Document.”

This was no mere rhetorical flourish. Examining Douglass not just as an activist but as a legal and political theorist, Until the Last Yoke Is Broken reveals that his abolitionism was guided by rigorous constitutional interpretation. Reconstructing Douglass’s method from his speeches and writings, Bradley Rebeiro shows that his approach both anticipated and challenged aspects of contemporary originalism. Like today’s originalists, Douglass saw historical meaning as central to constitutional analysis. But unlike today’s originalism, Douglass’s goes beyond simply asking how the Constitution was understood at its ratification. Instead, Douglass insisted that whenever a constitutional provision is ambiguous, the interpreter must adopt whatever meaning best agrees with the natural rights affirmed in the Declaration of Independence.

Rebeiro also shows how Douglass balanced this constitutional vision with pragmatism during Reconstruction. When political tensions pitted the fate of black suffrage against women’s suffrage, Douglass set aside the theoretically pure for the politically possible; as soon as black suffrage was secured, he returned to advocating for universal voting rights. “It was mine to stand for the freedom of people of all colors,” Douglass wrote near the end of his life, “until in our land the last yoke was broken and the last bondsman was set free.”

A whirling exploration of how Megan Thee Stallion inspires Black women and femmes like the late Monica Roberts, framed by the storm-making work of both.

While rap megastar Megan Thee Stallion needs no introduction, fewer will be familiar with Monica Roberts, a Houston journalist, community historian, and trans activist with the popular blog TransGriot. Though the two women never met, their work has inspired Black LGBTQ+ activists to love, resist violence, speak truth to power, and dance like life depends on it. With a written energy that’s infectious, Omise’eke Tinsley highlights just how intertwined these artists are.

An incisive look at the impactful sisterhood between Black women and femmes, Bringing Wreck is a book of empowerment. From Megan’s first performance on Saturday Night Live calling to “Protect Black Women,” to Roberts’s use of Hurricane Hanna to poke fun at Donald Trump’s border wall, Tinsley digs into the world-changing power of disruption and joyful expression in the face of racial injustice, anti-trans and queer violence, mental health crises, and community disparities. Reveling in both women’s love of Houston, calling-out of gendered violence, penchant for political humor, and staunch mental health advocacy, Bringing Wreck is an ode to the Bayou City, Black music, and the difference that one woman’s voice can make when we listen carefully.

An oral history with the women of Parliament-Funkadelic, from forming the band to landing the mothership.

Parliament-Funkadelic is perhaps the greatest funk band ever assembled. Yet at the time of the group’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, none of the women who helped create the sound and performed in P-Funk were invited to the ceremony and their contributions have been largely overlooked.

Mothership Connected tells the story of Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Debbie Wright, and Shirley Hayden, all of whom were instrumental in making Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as the spin-off groups Parlet and the Brides of Funkenstein, into the legends they are today. Assembled by Seth Neblett, son of the “Queen of Funk” Mallia Franklin, and filled with the voices of funk icons like George Clinton, Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, and the women themselves, this oral history makes clear why these “architects” at the “core” of P-Funk were both essential—and erased. From Franklin introducing Bootsy Collins to Clinton, to the Brides’ top-10 hit “Disco to Go,” to the drugs that helped destroy the group, this book reveals the hidden lives and uncomfortable truths of life in P-Funk. More than sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Mothership Connected is about Black women navigating a tumultuous era and industry to become musical pioneers. Now, after decades in the shadows, these genre-defining women are finally telling their story.

A literary collection honoring and memorializing Selena, the Queen of Tejano.

Thirty years after her death, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez remains a cherished figure of Mexican American popular culture, her music and celebrity resounding across the decades. This unique collection of creative and scholarly works traces Selena’s lasting impact as an entertainer and focal point of community and identity.

Assembling essays, memoir, short stories, and poems, The Selena Reader memorializes a beloved singer while also exploring the politics and personal meaning of what we remember. Selena’s devoted admirers tell us what they took from her lyrics and stage presence, the official and fan tributes, and the media and products she inspired. In one essay, Tejana coming-of-age is sharply refracted through the prism of Selena’s art and social status. Another piece considers how Selena’s body and distinctive clothing have shaped the author’s sense of queer self. Honey Avila (aka Honey Andrews), the renowned Selena impersonator, shares vivid recollections of her hero. A father and daughter describe how their conversations about Selena changed their relationship and contributed to Chicana feminist consciousness in their lives. All told, this anthology amplifies the gratitude of generations who have loved, and learned from, Selena.

Why do some fights for justice hit a wall while others succeed? What does it take to win social change, especially now? It comes down to understanding one thing: the difference between presence and power.

Failing to do so is one way we got into this mess, but understanding how power really works is a big part of how we get out of it.

Rashad Robinson would know. A social change strategist, he’s spent more than twenty years at the highest levels of leadership in two of the most significant social movements of our time: the fight for LGBTQ rights and the fight for racial justice. He’s taken on tech giants and the criminal justice system, politicians in Washington and corporate executives in Hollywood. He’s been on the front lines of protest and in the back rooms of negotiation.

Robinson argues that achieving presence—the visibility of marches, media fads, and making issues popular—is not the same as gaining the leverage required to change the rules for how society works or change the decisions that politicians, corporate executives, and other people in authority make.

This book offers a set of essential lessons about power for anyone who wants to understand it, gain it, and use it to win the progress we all deserve—and to defeat the forces trying to take our freedoms away. Robinson provides the tools needed to help everyday people build real leverage in systems designed to prevent them from doing so.

As someone who helped shape the resistance after the 2016 election, and continues to help leaders at every level find innovative ways to fight back and win progress today, Robinson offers a hopeful, practical guide to achieving positive impact in the most challenging times.

A young Black man feels called irresistably to farmland he's never seen, where a fateful feud simmers between a pastor and his protégé. A thunderous instant classic, this novel reimagines David and Goliath as the story of one unforgettable family, living in the era of the Great Migration and in the heart of the American South.

"PLEASE READ THIS MASTERPIECE." —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

In 1910, at the tender age of fourteen, David Jeremiah Lightfoot inherits his father’s farm in Mississippi: a barren, cursed plot of land once known as Goliath. David has never lived outside Chicago, but he is determined to claim and farm the land more effectively than his father ever could. Once there, David confronts both literal and figurative giants. And soon a high-stakes struggle with the burden of his ancestors’ legacy will intertwine his fate with that of his family, the land, and the surrounding community.

Narrating this saga is David’s youngest son, Little Bit, a uniquely sensitive storyteller with immense love for his parents, his grandfather Big Man, his uncle Jonathan, his cousin, and his brothers and sister. Little Bit charts the dramatic twists and turns of his father's rise to a precarious pinnacle of wealth and power, studded as it was with quiet moments of sweetness, joy, and transcendent beauty.

At once a profound, heartfelt story about one tight-knit family and an elegant, propulsive tragedy, Goliath weaves together themes of destiny and redemption. It is a revelatory meditation on the deep, troubled ties between Black Americans and the very ground on which past generations toiled and lived.

Fans of Amelia Bedelia and Dory Fantasmagory will laugh themselves silly at Venus Washington’s misunderstanding about her grandma’s secret recipe in this first book in a hilarious new chapter book series!

Venus Washington isn’t sure why her parents named her that, since she was born on Earth and she’s never been to Washington. One thing she does know: her favorite food is cotton candy. But after that, it’s definitely lasagna. Yummy, gooey, cheesy lasagna.

Grandma makes the best lasagna. Venus wants to know her super delicious recipe—until Grandpa lets it slip that the secret ingredient may be toes. Yuck! With the help of BFF Summer, WEF (Worst Enemy Forever) Winter, and super-smart pet Hamsterburger, Venus sets out to save her family from the worst secret ingredient ever!

“This story of hope, survival, and superpowers will enchant and enlighten readers.” —The American Library Association's Graphic Novels & Comics Roundtable

After being separated from his mother at the US border, a young Guatemalan immigrant must learn to harness emerging superhuman abilities while being hunted by the Federal Government.

JULIO ANTA and ANNA WIESZCZYK debut with a deeply grounded, and heartfelt graphic novel that explores the real world implications of a migrant with extraordinary powers.

Collects HOME #1-5

Former Vegas showgirl Martha Chainey is a statuesque WOC with a penchant for martial arts. Done with the spotlight and the forty-pound headdresses, Martha's foregone the usual path of winding up arm candy and has taken up a career as a courier of off-the-books money. Cold, hard cash.

When a former colleague (with a more legit line of work) asks her to discreetly recover 10 million dollars in stolen funds, of course Martha's on the case. The mission takes her all over California and through more than a few mooks...but will her head-slamming sleuth skills be enough to recover the cash?

Cold Hard Cash brings one of crime writer Gary Phillips' heroines, Martha Chainey, from novels to comics, with the creative team of Gary Phillips, Adriana Melo, John Kalisz, and Tom Napolitano. Collects issues #1-5 of Cold Hard Cash, originally released digitally by Comixology Originals, in print from ABLAZE for the first time.

LONGLISTED FOR THE SWANSEA UNIVERSITY DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE

WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION

“This is a deeply impressive book, and I think an important one. Its intensity, its narrative attack, the fascinations of its era and setting, make it impossible to tear the attention away. Energy and inventiveness distinguish every page.” — Hilary Mantel

From an unforgettable new voice in Caribbean literature, a sweeping story of two families colliding in 1940s Trinidad—and a chilling mystery that shows how interconnected their lives truly are 

Trinidad in the 1940s, nearing the end of American occupation and British colonialism. On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognizable to those who reside in the farm’s shadow. Down below is the Barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops—Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, all three born of the barracks. Theirs are hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty, devotion to faith, and a battle against nature and a social structure designed to keep them where they are.

But when Dalton goes missing and Marlee’s safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as a watchman. As the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds, the lives of the wealthy couple and those who live in the barracks below become insidiously entwined, their community changed forever and in shocking ways.

A searing and singular novel of religion, class, family, and historical violence, and rooted in Trinidad’s wild pastoral landscape and inspired by oral storytelling traditions, Hungry Ghosts is deeply resonant of its time and place while evoking the roots and ripple effects of generational trauma and linked histories; the lingering resentments, sacrifices, and longings that alter destinies; and the consequences of powerlessness. Lyrically told and rendered with harrowing beauty, Hungry Ghosts is a stunning piece of storytelling and an affecting mystery, from a blazingly talented writer.

Percival Everett meets Sinners in this gripping, haunting novel of history, rebellion, and the unpredictable nature of truth

When antiquarian Malcolm Washington is sent to a decaying plantation home on Johns Island, South Carolina, his mission is simple: authenticate and acquire a shackle rumored to have been used on Denmark Vesey, the legendary leader of a thwarted slave rebellion. But the task proves far more complicated than Malcolm could have imagined. The shackle’s owner, the enigmatic Mrs. Manigault—the last white woman on the island—is having second thoughts about selling her inheritance.

What begins as a professional assessment quickly spirals into a tense battle of wits, as Mrs. Manigault insists on telling the “story” behind the shackle, one she was told as a child, which grows more fantastical at every turn. Each part of the tale is both a weapon and a test, crafted to manipulate, conceal, and ultimately reveal the buried truths of the past. Trapped between Mrs. Manigault’s manipulative storytelling and his own complicated motivations, Malcolm must come face-to-face with his own past.

Sweeping, suspenseful, and acidly funny, The Inheritance blends contemporary Southern Gothic and literary mystery to delve into the heart of America’s unresolved past, where the search for the truth uncovers secrets both liberating and terrifying.

An urgent and clear-eyed look at the battles over reproductive control and women’s work in our tipping-point moment—and how to forge a path forward.

Reliable birth control has enabled the rising percentage of planned births over the past 35 years,allowing women to enter the paid workforce and civic life in significant numbers for the first time in recorded history. While many Americans embrace these changes, those who see themselves as benefiting from the old hierarchies resist this progress with divisive rhetoric.

In The Real Domestic Product, fertility researcher Elizabeth Gregory argues that our battles over abortion and LGBTQ bans, pronatalism, and DEI are economic at base—that conservatives seek to push women out of civic life through forced childbearing. Their goal? To maintain their discount on domestic labor (getting the work of childrearing done for “free”) and a steady supply of low-wage workers (desperate parents who must take any job to feed the baby).

By connecting the dots among shifting fertility patterns, economics, climate change, equitable work, expanding longevity, and the rising status of formerly excluded groups, Gregory counters reactionary narratives. She demonstrates that a caring democracy and an end to systemic poverty can engender critical advantages for our economy and for our fragile planet.

Never more urgently needed, The Real Domestic Product envisions the way forward to an economy of care for our planet and its people.

The first major work of Yoruba mythology, retelling hundreds of traditional tales of the Orisa, Yoruba Heroes, and Ijapa from West Africa, Cuba, and Brazil.

Yoruba mythology is sacred to the religion and culture of the Yoruba people. A primarily oral tradition, its stories revolve around Olodumare, the Supreme Being, and a vast number of divinities or orisa, who govern all aspects of human life and nature.

Yoruba Mythology is, to date, the most comprehensive published collection of more than 300 myths of this ancient, profound, and beautiful storytelling tradition. Authors Ayodeji Ogunnaike and Oludamini Ogunnaike are uniquely qualified to impart these stories, having spent decades learning, collecting, and studying them. Many are remembered from their own childhood, while many more are the result of yearslong research and encounters with practitioners and elders in and from Nigeria, Cuba, and Brazil.

Alongside the myths of the orisa, the Ogunnaikes also include dozens of mythos of more cultural significant, such as the founding of Yoruba kingdoms, stories of heroes and other powerful beings, and classic fables. The final section is dedicated to the beloved Ijapa, the Yoruba trickster tortoise whose cunning and greed always land him trouble, but whose stories impart valuable lessons about honesty, perseverance, and character.

The book is made complete with stunning art by Data Oruwari, whose work brings the myths and characters to life in a manner that evokes traditional depictions of the orisa in West Africa and the diaspora.

A gift to both those familiar with Yoruba culture and religion and those who are encountering them for the first time, Yoruba Mythology is an important and long-awaited contribution to the mythological canon.

"A book that encourages deeper relationships between dads and their kids. The book is an excellent choice for storytime and an emotional conversation starter." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A heartfelt celebration of the bond between father and child. In You Are My Favorite Story, award-winning authors Shani M. King and N. Jeremi Duru captures the wonder, joy, and tenderness of fatherhood. From bedtime whispers to after-school reunions, this moving picture book, vividly illustrated by John Jay Cabuay, gives voice to the everyday emotions that define fatherhood; love, pride, fear, and hope. More than just a story, it serves as a conversation starter, helping fathers put words to their feelings and inviting children to share their own. With lyrical, reassuring prose, it reminds families to cherish the small moments and strengthens the bonds that last a lifetime.

Take back your sleep during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond with this evidence-based guide from a co-founder of Canada’s premier clinic for women’s health—founded by women, for women.

Is it any wonder you can’t sleep? You’re juggling work, family, aging parents, endless responsibilities, and the invisible mental load so many women carry. Then midlife hits, and sleep—the very thing you need most—starts to unravel. You wake up overheated, anxious, aching, or restless, staring at the clock at 3 a.m., wondering what happened to the woman who used to sleep just fine. If this sounds familiar, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. This groundbreaking guide from respirologist and sleep medicine physician Dr. Woganee Filate cuts through generic sleep advice to address what’s really happening in your body during perimenopause and menopause. You’ll discover why conventional sleep wisdom falls short for women in midlife, and learn practical, science-backed strategies designed specifically for your changing hormones and life stage. Inside, you’ll find:

* Evidence-based techniques to manage night sweats and hot flashes
* Valuable analysis of overlooked sleep disorders that commonly emerge in midlife
* Tools to quiet racing thoughts and ease the mental load keeping you awake
* Sleep routines that fit your demanding schedule
* Real solutions for the unique challenges facing midlife women

Written by an expert who understands the intersection of women’s health, hormones, and sleep science, this isn’t just another sleep book—it’s your personalized audit for reclaiming the restorative rest you deserve. Your best years are ahead of you. And they start with a good night’s sleep.

A new English translation of an existential tale of obsession by Indonesia’s celebrated writer of absurdist realism

A Penguin Classic

In Bloomington, Indiana, Fanton Drummond’s life changes when he encounters Olenka Danton in an elevator. Infatuated at first sight, Fanton begins to see Olenka everywhere, from bus stops and parks to the imagined settings of his mind’s eye. Soon they begin an affair, and Fanton steps deeper into Olenka’s mysterious world. But one day, Olenka vanishes. Fanton’s subsequent search for Olenka becomes an existential journey filled with tragicomic twists and introspective musings on the meaning of life, all through which Fanton realizes that he knows little about Olenka, and even less about himself.

With prose characteristic of Albert Camus by way of David Lynch, Budi Darma foregrounds the absurd monotony of everyday life—and the meaninglessness it masks. Newly translated into English by PEN Translation Prize winner Tiffany Tsao, the novel, layered with literary and visual references, blurs realism and absurdism, fact and fiction, tragic and comic, to probe the human condition and pinpoint our common plight.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.