Versify – serie

A National Book Award Finalist with five starred reviews and multiple awards!A New York Times Notable Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time * A Parade Best Young Adult Book of All Time * A Kirkus Best Book of the Century * Publishers Weekly Flying Start * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * ALA Booklist Editors' Choice of 2017 (Top of the List Winner) * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * BookPage Best YA Book of the YearAn evocative and powerful coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jason ReynoldsIn this stunning debut novel, Pushcart-nominated author Ibi Zoboi draws on her own experience as a young Haitian immigrant, infusing this lyrical exploration of America with magical realism and vodou culture.On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life.But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic. A smart, funny, gorgeous retelling starring all characters of color. Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all."Zoboi skillfully depicts the vicissitudes of teenage relationships, and Zuri’s outsize pride and poetic sensibility make her a sympathetic teenager in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA ReadingList")

A FINALIST FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDSIX STARRED REVIEWSA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionFrom award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.“Our new home with itsthick walls and locked doorswants me to stay trapped in my skin—but I am fury and flame.”Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.Finalist for the National Book Award What happens when the magic you inherit is a curse you can’t escape?Estranged Sisters: Genevieve’s mysterious skin condition and Marisol’s magical obligations are two sides of the same family secret. A new nanny is the only one who knows the truth that connects them.Soucouyant Magic: Based on Caribbean folklore, this is a world of fireball witches who shed their skin to fly through the Brooklyn night, seeking life force to survive.Dual POV: Told in alternating voices, this story follows Marisol as she fights her magical destiny and Genevieve as she discovers a dangerous power living under her own skin.Complex Mother-Daughter Story: Marisol is trapped by her mother’s traditions, while Genevieve yearns for the mother she never knew—not realizing they are the same woman.

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and artist Juanita Londoño, this lyrical celebration of the first day of school across every continent explores what going back to school looks like for children in countries around the world!How do children around the world spend their first day of school?Some eat warm akara for breakfast in Nigeria, while others unwrap lunches of kluski in Poland. In China, they practice intricate characters in special notebooks, and in Argentina, they learn each other's names in a sing-song memory game. No matter where in the world, every student has something new to look forward to on their first day!From Ethiopia to Germany to India to Brazil, this lyrical text introduces young readers to the breakfast-to-bedtime routines, cultures, and landscapes that connect people across all continents.

In this beautifully illustrated picture book, brother and sister duo Rakesh and Aashi discover the importance of forgiveness as they celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan, the summer holiday celebrating brothers and sisters, is days away, but Aashi and Rakesh, just can’t seem to get along! As the siblings prepare for the big day, can they work together to learn a lesson of forgiveness and the importance of family?A heartwarming story about caring for one’s siblings, perfect for fans of Love Comes First, Raashi’s Rakhis, and Lola Reads to Leo.

A little mermaid explores the magical feeling of playing and creating with fishy friends in Sounds Like Joy, a colorful underwater picture book and essential read-aloud from Yesenia Moises, illustrator of tennis Olympian Serena Williams’s The Adventures of Qai Qai!One day, Joy finds something unexpected on the ocean reef. When she shakes it, it makes a brand-new noise!Soon she and her aquatic animal friends are dancing to the beat and feeling amazing . . . until her “jingle-jangle” loses a few important pieces and stops making the special sound she loves.The little mermaid’s friends spring into action with some creative noisemaking to cheer her up! How can they use what they have under the sea to make the sound she’s missing?

In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape.In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them.This inspiring read-aloud includes stunning illustrations and a note from Nikki Giovanni about the importance of libraries in her own childhood.

WINNER OF THE PRINTZ AWARDA Harvey Award Nominee!An Indie Next List Selection!A Kirkus Reviews Best Book!A Publishers Weekly Best Book!A 2025 CBC Best Children's Book of the Year selection! “Angsty. Awkward. With a scrappy heart of gold, Brownstone is a must-read for anyone who’s ever felt totally out of place.” —Gabby Rivera, bestselling author of Juliet Takes a BreathAn exciting teen coming-of-age epic from author Samuel Teer and debut graphic novel artist Mar Julia, Brownstone is a vivid, sweeping, ultimately hopeful story about navigating your heritage even when you feel like you don’t quite fit in.Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.

YouTube Slime Queen Karina Garcia teams up with Kevin Panetta and Niki Smith for a fun, colorful adventure that follows three friends as they run their own slime shop business and the slimes who secretly come alive to help them. Bailey, Sophia, and Jayden run the BSJ slime shop but what the three slime makers don't know is that when they're not around, the slimes come to life! When the creators start shipping slimes off to who-knows-where, the slimes left at the shop start to worry that they're next. Even as Polly tries to convince her friends that everything is fine, Boris, a grumpy green slime, starts taking things into his own hands. Then slimes start disappearing and suddenly the shop is full of zombie slimes.With half the shop zombified and the other half scared silly, Polly has no choice but to go on a quest, along with her friends Max and Karma, to discover the truth about the slimes being shipped off and a way to save her friends before it's too late. Will they be able to turn everyone back into themselves? Or will the slime shop get shut down for good?

Oh say, can’t you see, by the dawn’s early light, what strange fruit and fear this land has sown? In this psychologically haunting YA fiction anthology, ten talented writers explore the terror and anxiety that bleed into the Black psyche in America.From black market medical experiments to shapeshifting monsters, to doomsday cults and body snatchers each story casts an unnerving and thought-provoking light on the real-world horrors of our society that can disrupt a life—or end it.Ranging from speculative to contemporary, this collection of terror and resistance asks if we can finally see the thing that goes bump in the night, and how it walks freely in the light of day, too.

Olive thinks in words. Mattie thinks in pictures. Can they find a way to speak the same language?“Thoughtfully exploring learning disabilities, divorce, crushes, and the struggle to fit in, this inviting, cleverly constructed story with richly multifaceted characters poignantly captures the difficulties and joys of sisterhood.” – BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW“A feast for lovers of words and comics alike that tackles real-life challenges." – KIRKUS REVIEWSBeautifully told in words and comic panels, Mattie and Olive’s story will stay with you.Olive collects words. Rare words, common words, fancy words, funny words. She expresses herself by writing poetry, making crossword puzzles, and creating dictionary definitions for what she refers to as "neologisms."Her sister, Mattie, could not be more different. Mattie struggles with words and so instead prefers pictures, expressing herself through cartoons and sketches.Despite their differences, the two girls are inseparable. Or at least, they were. After their dad moves away and Olive develops her first crush, the sisters’ dynamic changes. Olive wants to spend more time with people who aren't related to her, but Mattie doesn't want anything to change. When their dad starts acting suspiciously and Mattie’s grades begin to fall, the sisters’ relationship fractures. Olive and Mattie must discover that love isn’t always how we envision it.Aimee Lucido’s latest novel in verse is a heartfelt and inventive story of what happens when the people we love change—and we do, too.Perfect for fans of:Verse novels with voice and heartGraphic hybrids with emotion and humorStories about sisters, divorce, and changing familiesWordplay, poetry, and made-up definitionsNeurodiverse representationFans of Click, Sisters, and El Deafo“Poetry, word play, and comics intertwine in surprising ways throughout this moving story of family and friendship.” – Terri Libenson, New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Emmie and Positively Izzy“This book will expand your heart as much as it will your vocabulary. It’s a beautiful reminder that family comes in all form(at)s. Simply stupendous!” – Kate O'Shaughnessy, Newbery Honor Award-winning author of The Wrong Way Home“A masterclass in the verse-novel, as well as a joyride for logophiles young and old.” – Lindsay Lackey, author of the award-winning All the Impossible Things

It's tradition to try to take the groom's shoes at many South Asian weddings—but as the youngest, Lulu will have to prove she can be as smart and capable as her cousins if she wants to win this game!It's wedding day, and Lulu is finally old enough to have a plan of her own for winning the prize during joota chupai! In Lulu’s family, kids on the bride’s side of the family play a game: Take the groom’s shoes and hold on to them until he gives them a prize.The only problem? Her older cousins have their own plan for the heist—and it doesn’t include her!Lulu tries again and again to get in on the fun, but she always seems to be one step behind. Can she hold on to her confidence and determination long enough to keep at it, even when it means thinking outside the box?

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell, with art by Eisner-nominated illustrator Nicole Miles, The Antiracist Kid is the essential illustrated guide to antiracism for empowering the young readers in your life!What is racism? What is antiracism? Why are both important to learn about? In this book, complex topics like systemic racism and the antiracist tools to fight it are made easily accessible to young readers, making it a valuable tool for social emotional learning.In three sections, this must-have guide explains:Identity: What it is and how it applies to youJustice: What it is, what racism has to do with it, and how to address injusticeActivism: A how-to with resources to be the best antiracist kid you can beThis book helps start difficult conversations and teaches young children the words, language, and methods to recognize racism and injustice—and what to do when they encounter it at home, at school, and in the media they watch, play, and read.

“A love letter to Harlem and hope. I Rise is smart and funny and full of heart.*”Fourteen-year-old Ayo who has to decide whether to take on her mother’s activist role when her mom is shot by police. As she tries to find answers, Ayo looks to the wisdom of her ancestors and her Harlem community for guidance.Ayo's mother founded the biggest civil rights movement to hit New York City in decades. It’s called ‘See Us’ and it tackles police brutality and racial profiling in Harlem. Ayo has spent her entire life being an activist and now, she wants out. She wants to get her first real kiss, have a boyfriend, and just be a normal teen.When her mom is put into a coma after a riot breaks out between protesters and police, protestors want Ayo to become the face of See Us and fight for justice for her mother who can no longer fight for herself. While she deals with her grief and anger, Ayo must also discover if she has the strength to take over where her mother left off.This impactful and unforgettable novel takes on the important issues of inequality, systemic racism, police violence, and social justice.*Kwame Alexander, New York Times bestselling author