Renée Watson

A tour-de-force collection of stories about the black experience, by award-winning, bestselling, and emerging African American YA authors. Black is...two sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.Black is…Jason Reynolds writing about three guys walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything.Black is…Nic Stone’s bougie debutante dating a boy her momma would never approve of.Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be black enough. Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, this is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America.

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson and quilt artist Sherry Shine comes a biography for children chronicling the life of an iconic and trailblazing actress who left an indelible mark on the world through her roles onscreen, from The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman to Sounder, Roots, and more.Cicely Tyson was born in New York City to parents originally from the Islands. No matter where she was, Cicely always carried light within her, a light that she let shine. After many years of discovering herself, Cicely finally found where her light could shine the brightest and touch others: in film.Spinning gorgeous verse, and weaving in the history of Black America, Watson beautifully introduces children to Cicely's world—the world that shaped a woman who went on to bring unparalleled grace to the stage and screen. Young readers will be inspired by Cicely Tyson's life and adult fans will marvel at this stunning keepsake.Perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month like favorites such as Nina, Ablaze with Color, and A Voice Named Aretha.

"# 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Ren e Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant novel in verse and vignettes. Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl's journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands."

New York Times bestselling creators Ren e Watson and Bea Jackson offer a picture book ode to a picture-perfect summer day, from sunrise to sunset.Summer is here No dark clouds in the sky, it's a perfect day for play. What joy will summer bring me today? Summer is finally here, and she's bringing the most perfect day From sunup to sundown, there's so much to do on this lovely summer day. With summer comes fresh fruit, sweet and tangy, jump ropes for leaping and dancing, and friends at the pool swimming and floating. Summer brings family cookouts under shady trees, gardens overflowing, and the familiar song of the ice-cream truck. This beautiful ode to all the season's sensations follows one girl's perfect day in an exploration of joy, family, friendship, sunshine, and wonder. Her stars shimmer like spilled glitter across the sky. I whisper a wish and say goodbye to the day.I wish summer would stay. Ren e Watson celebrates iconic childhood joys in this love letter to summer featuring bright, sun-drenched art from Bea Jackson.

Best Book of May 2024 by New York Post. Finalist for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature. From the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a soulful and lyrical novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood, faith, love, and ultimately what gets passed down from one generation to the next At 40, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life--between wine nights with her two best friends and her wedding just weeks away, she's happy in love and in friendship until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world. Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. Lena questions everything she's learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood, and through it all, she works tirelessly to bring the oft-forgotten Black history of Oregon to the masses, sidestepping her well-meaning co-workers that don't understand that their good intentions are often offensive and hurtful. Through Watson's poetic voice, skin & bones is a stirring exploration of who society makes space for and is ultimately a story of heartbreak and healing.

From bestselling, award-winning creators Renée Watson and Bryan Collier comes a stunningly crafted picture book chronicling the life of poet and activist Maya Angelou.This unforgettable picture book introduces young readers to the life and work of Maya Angelou, whose words have uplifted and inspired generations of readers. The author of the celebrated autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya was the first Black person and first woman to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration, and her influence echoes through culture and history. She was also the first Black woman to appear on the United States quarter.Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson uses Angelou’s beloved medium of poetry to lyrically chronicle her rich life in a deeply moving narrative. Vivid and striking collage art by Caldecott Honor recipient and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Bryan Collier completes this unforgettable portrait of one of the most important American artists in history.Maya’s momma was right.Maya was a preacher, a teacher.A Black girl whose voicechased away darkness, ushered in light.

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson comes a new YA novel - a love story about not only a romantic relationship but how a girl finds herself and falls in love with who she really is.'Reading a Renée Watson novel is like having an intimate conversation with a friend' Brandy Colbert'deftly crafted, big-hearted, beautiful, funny, honest, and inspiring' Nicola YoonWhen Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to attend an open mic night for her cousin-sister-friend Imani’s birthday, she finds herself falling in instant love with Tye Brown, the MC. He’s perfect, except . . .Tye is an activist and is spending the summer putting on events for the community when Nala would rather watch movies and try out the new seasonal flavors at the local creamery. In order to impress Tye, Nala tells a few tiny lies to have enough in common with him. As they spend more time together, sharing more of themselves, some of those lies get harder to keep up. As Nala falls deeper into keeping up her lies and into love, she’ll learn all the ways love is hard, and how self-love is revolutionary. In Love Is a Revolution, plus size girls are beautiful and get the attention of the hot guys, the popular girl clique is not shallow but has strong convictions and substance, and the ultimate love story is not only about romance but about how to show radical love to the people in your life, including to yourself.

2018 Newbery Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner: a beautiful, powerful coming of age story'Important and deeply moving' JOHN GREEN'Timely and timeless' JACQUELINE WOODSONJade is a girl striving for success in a world that seems like it's trying to break her. She knows she needs to take every opportunity that comes her way. And she has: every day Jade rides the bus away from her friends to a private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities Jade could do without, like the mentor programme for 'at-risk' girls. Just because her mentor is black doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. Why is Jade always seen as someone to fix? But with a college scholarship promised at the end of it, how can Jade say no? Jade feels like her life is made up of hundreds of conflicting pieces. Will it ever fit together? Will she ever find her place in the world? More than anything, Jade just wants the opportunity to be real, to make a difference. NPR’s Best Books of 2017A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the YearChicago Public Library’s Best Books of 2017A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017Kirkus Reviews’ Best Teen Books of 20172018 Josette Frank Award Winner

Winner of the Newbery Medal 2026 New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal winner Renée Watson explores friendship, loss and life with grief in this poignant novel told in verse and vignettes. Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. Even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life – and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl's journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

New York Times bestselling author Renée Watson writes about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender in this semi-autobiographical collection of poems with full color art throughout by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes. Using a mixture of poetic forms from haiku and tanka to prose poems and free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power. This is both a gift and a tool for anyone who reads it. Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a shared sense of anger, celebration, and sisterhood.

Best Book of May 2024 by New York Post. Finalist for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature. A plus-size single mother struggles to fit into spaces not made for her in this soulful, lyrical novel that explores what ultimately gets passed down from one generation to the next With her wedding weeks away, Lena Baker feels excited for the next chapter. She's built a steady life in Portland, and between wine nights with her two best friends, a loving relationship, and a rewarding job, she's happy--until a devastating confession from her fianc on their wedding day shakes her world. Unmoored and grieving, Lena questions everything she thought she knew about love, friendship, and motherhood. In this stirring exploration of who society makes room for, one mother resolves to teach her daughter self-love even as she herself struggles with it--and learns how to shine her bold, brilliant light in a world that wants to dim it. "An exquisite love letter to Black women." --Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies "Ren e Watson's writing is divine." --Kwame Alexander, author of Why Fathers Cry at Night

# 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Ren e Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant novel in verse and vignettes. Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl's journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender. Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power.

Cuando una estudiante es asignada el trabajo de completar un rbol familiar y solo puede contar tres generaciones atr s, Abuela junta a toda la familia, y la estudiante aprende que hace 400 a os, en 1619, sus antepasados fueron robados y tra dos a los Estados Unidos por esclavizadores europeos. Pero antes de eso, ellos ten an un hogar, una tierra, un idioma. La estudiante aprende c mo la gente que dice haber nacido sobre el agua sobrevivi .C mo sembraron sue os y esperanza.C mo aprendieron nuevas palabras para amor para amigo para familia para alegr a para crecer para hogar. Con verso l rico escrito por la periodista ganadora del Premio Pulitzer Nikole Hannah-Jones y Ren e Watson, autora ganadora de un Premio de Honor Newbery, e ilustraciones extraordinarias de Nikkolas Smith, al narrar las consecuencias de la esclavitud y la historia de la resistencia Negra en los Estados Unidos, este libro para ni os del Proyecto 1619 sirve como una gu a para que lectores de todas las edades puedan reflexionar sobre el origen de la identidad americana. Bestseller #1 del New York Times

Dream big and grow up boldly Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ren e Watson continues her bestselling young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine. Middle school is just around the corner for Ryan Hart, which means it's time to start thinking about the future-and not just how to prank her brother, Ray During Black History Month, Ryan learns more about her ancestors and local Black pioneers, and their hopes for the future, for her generation. She wonders who she wants to be and what kind of person her family hopes she becomes. Drawing on the ambitions of those who came before her and her own goals, Ryan is determined to turn her dreams into reality. Grow and shine and share with Ryan Hart in this series that brings ever more humor, more love, and more fun. Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year

Share your joy wherever you go Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Ren e Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine. Ryan Hart is caught in the middle. She has an older brother and a new baby sister, and she's in a friendship tug-of-war with two friends who both want to be her best best friend. How can Ryan think about being kind to a classmate who is relentless with his teasing? Or be her signature sunny self when her brother, Ray, pulls the ultimate prank? But even when it seems like nothing is going her way, Ryan still looks for a way to see the bright side of things, refusing to let anything steal her joy, and finding ways to share it with everyone she meets. Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine: A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year

Grow and shine and share with Ryan Hart Discover the charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine, from Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ren e Watson, in this charming box set. Ryan Hart can be and do anything. Her name means "king" and she's determined to keep growing into the name her parents gave her. She is all about trying to see the best in people, to be a good daughter, sister, and friend. But as Ryan enters the fifth grade, it feels like everything is changing. She must learn how to cope with all the changes, like a new (old) house, new friends, new dreams, and even a new family member Even when it seems like nothing goes her way, Ryan still looks on the bright side and refuses to let anything curb her growth or steal her joy. This box set includes paperback editions of the first three Ryan Hart books: Ways to Make Sunshine, Ways to Grow Love, and Ways to Share Joy. Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A WORLD Magazine Bet Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Ren e Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine. Ryan Hart is caught in the middle. She has an older brother and a new baby sister, and she's in a friendship tug-of-war with two friends who both want to be her best best friend. How can Ryan think about being kind to a classmate who is relentless with his teasing? Or be her signature sunny self when her brother, Ray, pulls the ultimate prank? But even when it seems like nothing is going her way, Ryan still looks for a way to see the bright side of things, refusing to let anything steal her joy, and finding ways to share it with everyone she meets. Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine: A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Book of the Year