The celebrated author of Ezra Jack Keats Award winner Nell Plants a Tree and a Caldecott Honor artist come together for a poetic picture book introduction to Juneteenth and its origin.

Oh, how you would dance! How you would sing! How you would celebrate!

With lyrical text from Anne Wynter and radiant artwork from Jerome Pumphrey, this poetic picture book explains the history behind Juneteenth celebrations. So Many Years simultaneously acknowledges the history of slavery in the US as well as the astonishing Black resilience that has led to an enduring legacy of Black joy.

From Daniel Bernstrom, the acclaimed author of One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree, comes an entertaining and lyrical picture book about a young blind girl and her grandmother who experience the vibrant everyday music of their busy city.

Emmalene loves the sounds of her city—but Grandma Jean does not. She doesn’t consider it music. And she just doesn’t get it.

But when Emmalene encourages her to take a closer listen, Grandma Jean hears something beautiful. 

Song in the City is a rhythmic and lightly humorous tale that bridges the gap between generations of music and family while centering love, understanding, and joy.

Two cheerleaders find themselves inconveniently tumbling head over heels for each other in this satirical, sapphic teen rom-com that’s Bring It On meets She Drives Me Crazy.

Oak Haven High doesn’t have cheerleaders—it has queerleaders.

It’s a fun coincidence that every new varsity cheerleader since Davie Cathee took the squad by storm three years ago is—or soon comes out as—queer.

But when a rumor sparks that this season, newly minted captain Davie has been specifically recruiting queer members only, Davie is accused of “discrimination” against straight students. She’s given an ultimatum: recruit a straight athlete for the team or the funding for their competitive cheer season will take a major tumble.

Enter Kendall Hayes, the edgy, mysterious new girl. When Davie sees that Kendall has a boyfriend, she quickly convinces her to join the squad. Problem solved.

Until she finds out that Kendall’s actually bisexual…and newly single.

Now Kendall and Davie are faced with having to keep those details under wraps until nationals, which only gets more complicated when they start falling hard and fast for each other. Can Kendall go back in the closet long enough to save the squad? Or will Davie find the courage to love her new crush out loud, even if it might mean the end of the queerleaders?

Nova invents a robot named Cody to help her with her chores so she has more time to do science, but then Cody tries to take over her secret lab—and the world!

Science-loving Nova is back and ready to hit the lab! But cleaning her room and doing other tasks is taking up all her time. When she hears about a robot-building contest, she knows exactly what to do. She gets to work and invents the perfect robot, using coding from her AI assistant Comet, and programs Cody to do her chores so she can get back to her experiments. But Cody is a little too efficient. He quickly moves on from chores and starts helping Nova with her lab work. Before she knows it, he won’t listen to her and has completely taken over! What has she created? And can she stop him before it’s too late?

We're meeting to discuss Revive Me: Parts 1-3 by J.L Seegars!

BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

When: Tuesday, September 8 @ 7PM CST

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

How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you plan to attend! Support the Romance Book Club by purchasing a copy of the book from Kindred Stories below!

Revive Me Pt. 1

Revive Me Pt. 2

Revive Me Pt. 3

*This series is a Kindred bestseller, and we'll be discussing all three books in the series. Earlier this year, we discussed Restore Me, and now we're excited to continue with Chris and Mallory's story.

ABOUT THE REVIVE ME BOOKS

Revive Me Pt. 1

Revive Me Pt. 2

Revive Me Pt. 3

Mallory

Hope is a dangerous thing. It holds you close like a lover, whispering promises it never intends to keep, and just as soon as you relax into its arms, it lets you go. Sending you spinning into an abyss of nothingness. When I sent him away four years ago, he promised he would come back to me, and even as I asked him not to, I hoped that he would.

Hope. I tucked it deep inside of me, underneath the scars of our before, beside the dreams of our after. Hidden like contraband. Guarded like a treasure. Broken like every promise that ever fell from his lips and hit my ears. Eventually, I got tired of hoping, of waiting for him, and I plunged my hands inside my own heart, ripping past scar tissue and muscle, veins and arteries to root it out.

Hope. He conspired with it to make a fool of me, and when I freed myself from it, exorcised that pointless dream, I promised myself that no one would get the chance to do that to me again. Then, and only then, did he appear.

My promise, a spell that conjured him. My determination, a challenge. My heart, the only prize he hopes to win.

Christopher

Life without Mallory Kent has taught me that time doesn’t heal wounds. It turns them into scars. Jagged tissue that grows around your pain, covering it with raised skin that will never again be smooth to the touch. My first scar formed when I was just a child. Too young to fully understand what my mother’s loss would mean for my life but old enough to remember the echo of the pain inside my empty chest. It was a unique agony. One I never expected to feel again.

But that was before I loved her. Before I let things that had nothing to do with us cost me everything.

It’s been four years since I decided to honor her request to stay away. To move on with my life and give her a chance to move on with hers. And she might not agree, but it was more than enough time for us to try and do the impossible. The only thing our time apart has done is remind me that wherever she is, is where I’m supposed to be.

Now I just have to make her believe it.

The first in a series that introduces three major dance families: ballet, hip-hop, and jazz, from a world-renowned early childhood educator and performer.

This first introduction to classical dance begins with a simple explanation of what defines a classical dancer. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of different classical dances, from ballet to synchronized swimming to Kabuki; the ways dancers move; and who they move with.

This encouraging dance series will inspire young children to dance in their home or in their community, in socks or ballet shoes, and alone or with others.

*ships in 7-10 business days*

It's Carnival season in Trinidad and Tobago! Come join the stubby antlered boy as he explores and frolics and befriends animals and mythical creatures alike. Young readers will be taken on a magical adventure to save Carnival season for everyone!

Caribbean culture is rarely represented in children's literature, and that's why The Carnival Prince is such a delight for children in and of that part of the world.

But the benefits of multi-cultural learning extend to all children.

The Carnival Prince delivers on that learning with a story of adventure told through vibrant and detailed illustrations. Children will relate to the awkward and curious main character in this page-turning tale full of fantastical characters.

The book also includes authentic island dialect for a unique language learning experience. A glossary at the end adds even more value for the reader and offers a way for parents, teachers, and caregivers to engage with children further on the topic of Caribbean culture.

A Caribbean story told by a Caribbean-born author/illustrator is as authentic as it comes.

Daniel J. O'Brien is a Trinidadian-born author and illustrator currently residing in New York with his partner and his loyal dog, Obbie. He holds a BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts. Daniel continually fuels his passion for illustration with that and his love of everything folklore, nature, and science. He uses his honed ability to bring forth exuberant and whimsical illustrations full of life and vibrant color. Daniel has written and illustrated two children's books. Daniel's books are held especially near and dear to his heart as representations of his Caribbean heritage.

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?

An interactive re-imagining of a 1990s classic!

With tabs to pull and slide, this fun book invites preschoolers to launch, fly, and land their own space shuttle on a mission to space. Jo Lodge has given new life to this classic picture book, by simplifying the story and introducing paper engineering. Toddlers will love to launch the big silver spaceship into space!

In The Last Mirror on the Left, the second Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles—now in paperback—Otto and Sheed must embark on their most dangerous journey yet, bringing a fugitive to justice in a world that mirrors their own but has its own rules to play by.

Unlike the majority of Logan County's residents, Missus Nedraw of the Rorrim Mirror Emporium remembers the time freeze from The Last Last-Day-of-Summer—and how Otto and Sheed took her mirrors without permission in order to fix their mess.

Usually that’s an unforgivable offense, punishable by a million-year sentence. However, she’s willing to overlook the cousins’ misdeeds if they help her with a problem of her own. One of her worst prisoners has escaped, and only the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County can help bring the fugitive to justice!

And don't miss the Legendary Alston Boys in their next adventure: The Last Chance for Logan County!

A humorous guide to living on the Moon by astrophysicist Joalda Morancy, timed to coincide with the NASA Artemis Moon missions

An illustrated guide to lunar survival for kids from astrophysicist Joalda Morancy, timed to coincide with the NASA Artemis Moon missions.

Humans are heading back to the Moon. But once we get there, how on the Moon will we stay alive? In this practical guide, future astronauts will learn how to dodge meteorites, shield themselves from dangerous radiation, and grow the food they’ll need to survive life away from our home planet.

As well as practical tips, Morancy lifts a lid on some of the coolest developments in lunar science—including the possibility of building underground cities in lava tubes and the giant catapult that could be used to get stuff back to Earth.

Like Andy Weir’s The Martian everything in this space book is based on real, groundbreaking science. And no one is better placed to write it: when they’re not writing kids’ books, Joalda Morancy is building the lunar lander the Artemis missions will use to take astronauts—including the first woman and first person of color —to the surface!

Hilarious illustrations by award-winning artist Aaron Cushley, including graphic novel elements, convey the wonder and excitement of future space travel and give this book a key point of difference from other solar system books.

Don’t leave Earth without it!