Sisi Aisha Johnson

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

The Gaither sisters return to Brooklyn, where they adapt to new feelings of independence while managing changes large and small, from Pa's new girlfriend to a very different Uncle Darnell's return from Vietnam.

Twelve-year-old Della Kelly of Maryville, North Carolina, tries to come to terms with her mother's mental illness while her father struggles to save the farm from a record-breaking drought.

"A biracial girl finally gets the chance to meet the African American side of her family"--

When Marisol sets out to create a sky for the class mural she discovers the blue missing from her paints. This story celebrates the creative process and what it means to be an artist. Includes an interview with author, Peter Reynolds.

A series of poems describes all the baffling changes at home and at school in twelve-year-old Joylin's transition from tomboy basketball player to not-quite-girly girl.

Recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, senior class president Keisha Montgomery finds herself attracted to a dangerous, older man.

"Things have changed in the Tibbs house, and Mya isn't happy about it. She's stuck in the middle between an exceptionally cute baby sister and an exceptionally smart older brother. And her tired parents seem to only notice the "exceptional" kids in the house. So when a class project lassoes Mya into starting her own school newspaper, she's sure this will earn her the star status she wants from her parents. But the same project also gives Mya's archenemy,...

Essence® bestselling author Daaimah S. Poole introduces readers to a young woman with a hot voice and superstar dreams…

Talented Kendra Michelle Thomas always dreamed of becoming a singing sensation. But when a broken childhood lands her and her siblings in foster care, there’s not much opportunity for making dreams come true. Before she knows it, Kendra’s twenty-five years old, a bartender, and trapped in a relationship going

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When a fourteen-year-old girl is the alleged victim of a terrible act of racial violence, the incident shocks and galvanizes her community, exacerbating the racial tension that has been simmering in this New Jersey town for decades.