*Ships in 7-10 business days*

In this lyrical picture book from two breakout picture book creators, a young Black child waits for—and worries about—her father while he’s away from home. A sensitive, poignant portrayal of a family’s worries, joys, and comforts, to sit alongside books by Jacqueline Woodson and Christian Robinson. Every night when Daddy gets home from work, Olivia gives him a big hug and knows that the evening will be full of love—and fun. Together, she, Daddy, and Momma will make a feast for dinner, clean up, dance to old-school tunes, and read stories. But every morning when Daddy goes to work, Olivia worries, worries, worries. Be safe, she and Momma tell him. But what if he isn’t? Sometimes other people aren’t, like the people Olivia sees on the news. Thud, thud, thud, goes Olivia’s heart. Thump, thump, thump, all through the long day, until she hears the jangle of Daddy’s keys announcing he’s home. Brittany J. Thurman’s poetic text deftly explores the day-to-day life of a young Black child and her family—their joys and their fears—with a rhythm and musicality perfect for reading aloud. Shamar Knight-Justice’s expressive artwork sings with color, texture, and warmth. Forever and Always respects the deep emotions of young readers while offering comfort and reassurance to any child waiting for a loved one to come home. For readers of Nigel and the Moon, The Year We Learned to Fly, and Saturday.

A floundering twenty-something, who’s sworn off romance finds herself roped into her meddling sister’s matchmaking business—in this sparkling debut rom-com that asks: can we protect ourselves while falling in love?

Kaia Harper may not have a plan for her life, but she knows what she won't be doing—falling for somebody's dusty son, promising forever. She'd rather spend the summer after college having disappointing one-night stands and watching crime show reruns. At least she won’t be caught off guard since she already knows how all those stories end.

But when her very pregnant and newly single sister calls for help, Kaia reroutes, stumbling back home to suburban Connecticut…and into the business plan of her sister's new matchmaking company. Kaia’s views on love remain as bleak as her career prospects, but if becoming the inaugural client can distract her from existential questions like "What am I even doing with my life?", Kaia can suffer through a few bad dates and call it a favor.

When Ro Jackson finds Kaia stalled on the side of the road, he isn’t put off by her attitude. His steady disposition is Kaia’s opposite and makes him exactly what she needs—a friend in town who can handle her just as she is. But as Ro talks Kaia through a summer of failed matches, she finds herself drawn to more than just his poetic outlook and friendship.

Kaia hadn’t seen this one coming, but as she and Ro grow closer, she’ll have to decide what’s more important: needing to know the end of every story, or jumping into the unknown.

Based on the award-winning Pinna original podcast, this third picture book in an exciting series of alphabet adventures takes preschooler Alfie and his babysitter Quentin down the neighborhood sidewalk on a fun Christmas outing.

Preschooler Alfie is ready for the most wonderful time of year, full of festive decorations, joyful caroling, and the sweet smell of gingerbread. But he still has one more thing to do before Christmas Day, and he wonders if he will make it in time . . . He hasn’t given his list to Santa! Will his awesome babysitter Quentin be able to help Alfie with his delivery?

Written by Brittany J. Thurman and illustrated by Derick Brooks, readers will join Quentin and Alfie as they stroll through the neighborhood decked out in holiday spirit and discover all the amazing things hidden in the word Christmas―from C is for Cookies to S is for Santa Claus―that really make this time of year extra special! C Is for Christmas is the perfect read if you’re looking for:

● Christmas and holiday gifts for kids 3 to 6 years old
● Diverse read-alouds for pre-K, kindergarten, first grade, and home-schooling curriculum
● Accessible stories with subtle literacy and learning elements

Read the entire Quentin and Alfie's ABC Adventures series:
● A Is for Alfie
● E Is for Easter Egg Hunt
● C Is for Christmas

*ships in 7-10 business days

In Singing Like Germans, Kira Thurman tells the sweeping story of Black musicians in German-speaking Europe over more than a century. 

Thurman brings to life the incredible musical interactions and transnational collaborations among people of African descent and white Germans and Austrians. Through this compelling history, she explores how people reinforced or challenged racial identities in the concert hall.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, audiences assumed the categories of Blackness and Germanness were mutually exclusive. Yet on attending a performance of German music by a Black musician, many listeners were surprised to discover that German identity is not a biological marker but something that could be learned, performed, and mastered. While Germans and Austrians located their national identity in music, championing composers such as Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms as national heroes, the performance of their works by Black musicians complicated the public's understanding of who had the right to play them. Audiences wavered between seeing these musicians as the rightful heirs of Austro-German musical culture and dangerous outsiders to it.

Thurman explores the tension between the supposedly transcendental powers of classical music and the global conversations that developed about who could perform it. An interdisciplinary and transatlantic history, Singing Like Germans suggests that listening to music is not a passive experience, but an active process where racial and gendered categories are constantly made and unmade.

The spiritual advisor to civil rights legends reminds us what faith demands in times that call for action and integrity.

People may be more divided than ever. But Howard Thurman says God can still transcend every barrier and heal every wound. Family feuds, church splits, racial tensions, political polarization, systemic injustice, and international conflicts can all be overcome if we keep turning to God.

Thurman’s message is rooted in his belief that true spirituality will transcend individualism and alleviate injustice and suffering. As spiritual advisor to civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and James Farmer, Thurman made the connection between faith and action.

In these selections from his many books, Thurman reflects on the power of silence, contemplative prayer, the need for community, and the call to “live in the world as it is and still believe in the possibility of redemption.” Whether you are new to his writings or have long admired his work, this little book offers a fresh approach to Thurman’s spiritual vision of reconciliation, justice, and a hope grounded in the transformative work of love in the world.

*ships in 7-10 business days

From the acclaimed author of SLAY and The Cost of Knowing comes an action-driven, high-octane novel about a group of working-class teens in Seattle who join a dangerous scavenger hunt with a prize that can save their families and community.

Influence is power. Power creates change. And change is exactly what Team Jericho needs.

Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han are the four cornerstones of Team Jericho, the best scavenger hunting team in all of Seattle. Each has their own specialty: Jax, the puzzler; Yas, the parkourist; Spider, the hacker; and Han, the cartographer. But now with an oil refinery being built right in their backyard, each also has their own problems. Their families are at risk of losing their jobs, their communities, and their homes.

So when The Order, a mysterious vigilante organization, hijacks the scavenger hunting forum and concocts a puzzle of its own, promising a reward of influence, Team Jericho sees it as the chance of a lifetime. If they win this game, they could change their families’ fates and save the city they love so much. But with an opposing team hot on their heels, it’s going to take more than street smarts to outwit their rivals.

Join us for a montly children's storytime at Kindred Stories. Each Story time will celebrate a special book and be read by a wondertful community mementer. IT also includes a story time. 

Featured Book: Daisy Helps With The Dress 

Featured Reader: Antonia Adams 

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, September 26 @ 11 AM CST 

Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St. Houston, TX 77004)

How: 

• RSVP ONLY to reserve your spot and let us know you are coming.

ABOUT DAISY HELPS WITH THE DRESS 

When Daisy tries to help with her cousin’s wedding, her misguided assists almost ruin the big day, until she finds a way to pull the dress—and her family—together in this charming picture book by award-winning author Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.

Daisy loves helping her family and she knows the best kind of helpers never wait to be asked. That’s why she doesn’t ask before adding finishing touches to her family’s special reused, re-tried, remixed things, like a leftover broccoli topping for Auntie Fontie’s cakes or a good bath for Nana DJ’s “back-in-the-day, rusty, dusty” vintage albums—much to their chagrin.

But what Daisy wants most is to help give her cousin Simone’s recycled wedding dress a little razzle dazzle. She knows just what the vintage dress needs: a little glitter here, a few stickers there to give the dress some flair.

But Daisy’s cousin Simone and the rest of the family are not so happy with her decorations. Can Daisy make things right and help find Simone a new re-lived, re-loved wedding dress?

Order copies of Fly by Brittany Thurman here!

Grab your little ones and join us for a fun author chat as we reminiscence on a favorite Black girl magic pastime - double dutch!  In Fly, Africa decides to compete in a Double Dutch competition despite never having jumped in one before, she'll have to learn the winning moves, but it's the birthmark in the shape of her name that tells her she's always been a winner.

 EVENT DEETS:

When: Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30 pm CST

Where: Virtual via Crowdcast.

How:  Register on this page or head over to register on Crowdcast directly using this link.  If you register using our website (with or without purchasing the book) and not Crowdcast, you will register a Crowdcast watch link at least 24 hours before the start of the event.

We hope you can join us!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Africa decides to compete in a Double Dutch competition despite never having jumped in one before, she'll have to learn the winning moves, but it's the birthmark in the shape of her name that tells her she's always been a winner.

Africa doesn't hesitate to train for a competition. She asks for help from her female friends who give her all sorts of useful advice and train with her. This book is perfect for anyone looking to surround young readers with stories of confident and successful African American girls.

Africa is inspired by the memory of her grandmother's achievements to help her on her own quest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brittany Thurman is the author of Fly from Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. As a former children’s library specialist and museum educator, Brittany is dedicated to ensuring children's literature truthfully reflects the world in which we live. Brittany is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where she studied Dramatic Writing, and Kingston University (London, England) where she studied theater. Her plays have been produced in Aspen, Colorado and on New York City's Theater Row.

Her forthcoming title includes FEARLESS: BOULEVARD OF DREAMS, by Mandy Gonzalez, co-written by Brittany J. Thurman, FOREVER AND ALWAYS, illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justice (Winter, 2024; Greenwillow/Harpercollins) and THE FIRST LIBRARY: THE STORY OF THE FIRST LIBRARY BY AND FOR BLACK AMERICA (2024, Clarion/HarperCollins).

ABOUT THE MODERATOR:

Joy Sewing has always had a way with words and becoming a journalist was a childhood dream. In August 2020, she was named Houston Chronicle’s Lifestyle and Culture Columnist and previously was the fashion and beauty editor. She has worked at the Kansas City Star, New York Post and has written regularly for Money, People, Vibe, Shape, Time, Town & Country, and other magazines. She has interviewed hundreds of famous faces, from Oscar de la Renta to Houston’s own Beyoncé Knowles.

A groundbreaking, yet controversial novel of the Harlem Renaissance about a young, dark-skinned Black woman reckoning with colourism as she navigates 1920s Harlem, reissued and repackaged for the Herald Classics line.

Emma Lou Morgan's dark complexion is a source of sorrow and humiliation not only to herself, but also to her lighter-skinned family members and the white community of her hometown, Boise, Idaho. Hoping to find a safe haven, Emma travels to New York's Harlem, the Black Mecca of the 1920s. Wallace Thurman brings to life this legendary time and place in rich detail, describing Emma's visits to nightclubs, dance halls, and house-rent parties, her sex life and catastrophic love affairs, her dreams and her disillusions and the momentous decision she makes to survive.

A lost classic of Black American literature, The Blacker the Berry is a compelling portrait of the destructive depth of intra-racial bias in the Black community.

Two hearts. One reckless bet. The love story that changed everything.

It started with a bet: make Shay all in love with him. For Landon, a boy who didn’t believe in love, it seemed like an easy win. But Shay wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. When she overheard the bet, she flipped the script, wagering that she could make Landon fall for her instead.

What began as a reckless game quickly turned into something neither of them expected. Shay’s fire and heart broke through Landon’s darkness, and he made her crave a love she didn’t think she needed. But when the game spiraled out of control, it left them both shattered.

Years later, Landon is a Hollywood star, haunted by the girl who once captured his heart, and Shay has rebuilt her life. When their paths cross again and old wounds resurface, will they rewrite their story, or were they always destined to fall apart?

Landon & Shay is a raw, emotional journey of first love, second chances, and the scars that never truly fade.

A beautiful story about a single mother who must take her daughter to work with her at the diner on Saturdays. To make it fun, the two spin imaginative stories--and they are the stars! A Chair for My Mother meets Last Stop on Market Street in this touching picture book about working parents.

The lazy sun peeks out from the clouds as Mama and her daughter wait for their cross-town bus. Saturdays aren’t for sleeping in. Saturdays are for the egg crackin’, pancake flippin’, orange juicin’ brunch shift. A shift Mama can’t afford to miss. To pass the time, Mama and her daughter tell stories-- first, they're brave knights escaping a dragon as they hop on the bus. Later, as they do the dishes, they're digging for gold during the gold rush!

Sometimes, though, the girl imagines herself with the families in Mama's section-- cheersing with hot cocoa before they head to the park. Sometimes she wishes she had someone else's Saturday.

Here is an ode to working parents everywhere, and an ode to the magic of childhood and the power of a parent’s love.