Holiday Gift Guide: Kidlit Edition

Good books make great gifts, but with so many children's titles available, which should you pick? Whether your favorite young readers are adventure seekers, into the arts, activism, or history, there is a great book waiting for them. Here are suggestions from Just Us Books' collection. 

Action

Sights I Love to See

Places I Love to Go

I Told You I Could Play

Kid Caramel: Case of the Missing Ankh

Marvelous Martin
12 Brown Boys

Activism 

The Talk

Recognize 

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders

Arts
Willimena Rules: 9 Steps to the Best, Worst, Greatest Holiday Ever!
Continuum

Friendship & Family

I'm a Big Sister Now

Courtney's Birthday Party

It's Church Going Time

Jamal's Busy Day
Path to My African Eyes

We Could Be Brothers

History

Papa's Free Day Party

Kwame Nkrumah's Midnight Speech for Independence 

Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South

Book of Black Heroes From A to Z

Reflections of a Black Cowboy

Sink or Swim

Looking for other selections? Browse and buy at JustUsBooks.com

Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence Wins Africana Book Award

We were honored to celebrate with Useni Eugene Perkins and Laura Freeman as they accepted the 2022 Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) Best Book for Young Children distinction for their picture book Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence this weekend in DC. 

The Children’s Africana Book Awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and adult books on Africa published in the U.S. Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication of and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa.

The two-day celebration included an awards presentation on Friday, Nov. 4 and a festival at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art on Saturday, Nov. 5, featuring book signings, drumming, writing workshops and a panel with this year’s CABA winners, who discussed their creative process, research and collaboration in creating their award-winning books.

Thank you to CABA for this honor and to Useni and Laura for collaborating with Just Us Books to create this important title!

CABA Author Illustrator panel (pictured from left) Useni Eugene Perkins, Laura Freeman, Safia Elhilo, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, & Brenda Randolph interviewed by Brenda Randolph, chair of CABA and founder of Africa Access. Not pictured: Vanessa Oyugi.

Bringing a bit of Ghana to the DMV. Useni Eugene Perkins and Laura Freeman, creators of Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence, visit Friendship Charter School in DC before the awards event. Special thanks to Open Book for getting our book into students hands!

Just Us Books Founders Wade and Cheryl Hudson Receive 2022 Carle Honors Award for Mentorship

Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, founders of leading independent children's publisher Just Us Books, were recognized for their many contributions to children's literature with a 2022 Carle Honors award from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The award was presented at the Carle Honors Benefit Gala and Art Auction on Thursday, September 29, 2022.at Guastavino’s in New York City.

2022 Carle Honors mentor awardees Wade and Cheryl Hudson
photo: Stephan Hudson

Now in its 16th year, the annual gala and fundraiser celebrates individuals and organizations whose creative vision and long-term dedication have had a profound effect on picture books and the vital role they play in arts appreciation and early literacy. 

Wade and Cheryl were honored for their contributions as mentors -- reflected in their more than three decades of work as authors, publishers, and leading advocates for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the children’s book industry. 

Fellow honorees were Faith Ringgold (artist award); Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (angel award); and Ajia (bridge award).

A replay of the event is available here.

Wade and Cheryl Hudson are interviewed about their award

photo: Stephan Hudson

2022 Carle Honors awardees
photo: Stephan Hudson

Artist and the Hudsons' longtime friend George Ford stands with the print he donated for the auction
photo: Stephan Hudson

Just Us Books Founders Share "How they Book"

How Do You Book? That’s the theme for Children’s Book Week, which celebrates kidlit and a love for reading. This theme asks us to think about:

- What we read

- Where we read

- How we read

To celebrate, we asked authors and Just Us Books founders Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, to answer these questions. You also get a peak at what's on their reading list right now.

How Do You Book, Wade Hudson?

📚 What I Read I have an eclectic taste. As a children's and young adult author and publisher I read as many books for young readers as possible. I am also concerned about political issues and read books that cover them as well. I also read books that focus on history, particularly, Black history as well as good novels. 📚 Where I Read I usually read at home, mostly in the evening, unless I am doing research for a manuscript I am writing. That reading becomes a priority and I usually schedule it just as I schedule my writing. 📚 How I Read When reading for enjoyment and engagement, I prefer a relaxed environment with coffee and drinks and snacks readily available.

How Do You Book, Cheryl Willis Hudson?

What I Read

I read lots of children's books. Picture books are my favorites, but I enjoy nonfiction, biographies, and fiction by adult writers as well. I enjoy graphic novels, too.

Where I Read

I read at any time of the day, but mostly in the afternoon. Since I spend a large part of my day working at my computer and reading articles on my phone, I've recently started to listen to audio books in the evenings and before I go to bed. Audio books bring more variety and entertainment value and the voices add dramatic effects to the process of reading.

How I Read

I read for information, research purposes and for pleasure. Most of the time there is music playing in the background. When I was much younger, I needed to read in a very quiet place without distractions like the radio or TV, and I could never read in a moving car or train or plane. Now I can and do enjoy reading almost anywhere!

Tell us - How do YOU book?

Kwame Nkrumah's Midnight Speech for Independence Wins 2022 Africana Children's Book Award

On the eve of Ghana’s Independence Day, we’re excited to announce that Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence by Useni Eugene Perkins and Laura Freeman was named winner of the 2022 Children’s Africana Book Award - best book for young children. 

The awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S. 

Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa. We’re thrilled this beautiful collaboration between Useni and Laura earned this distinction. 

Learn more about the book and buy it here.

Celebrating Black KidLit Creators

 We're celebrating Black history and sharing our stories all year long, right? Right. So we curated a list of 50 Black kidlit creators who should be on your radar and your bookshelf.

Click the image below for a video highlighting the authors and illustrators listed.

(Listed in the order they are pictured in the video)

George Ford, illustrator (Bright Eyes, Brown Skin)

Jacqueline Woodson, author (The Year We Learned to Fly)

Floyd Cooper, author-illustrator (Max and the Tag-Along Moon)

Wade Hudson, author (Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South)

Rita Williams-Garcia, author (A Sitting in St. James)

Pat Cummings, author-illustrator (Trace)

Cheryl Willis Hudson, author (Recognize! An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life)

Eric Velasquez, author-illustrator (Octopus Stew)

Renee Watson, author (She Persisted: Oprah Winfrey)

Jason Reynolds, author (Stuntboy in the Meantime)

Laura Freeman, illustrator (Kwame Nkrumah and the Midnight Speech for Independence)

Javaka Steptoe, illustrator (Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat))

Nikki Grimes, author (Kamala Harris: Rooted In Justice)

Kwame Alexander, author (The Undefeated)

Sharon M. Draper, author (Out of My Heart)

James Ransome, illustrator (Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams)

Joyce Hansen, author (African Princess)

Derrick Barnes, author (I Am Every Good Thing)

Kelly Starling Lyons, author (Sing A Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations)

Vanessa Brantley Newton, author-illustrator (Just Like Me)

Walter Dean Myers, author (Monster)

Ibi Zoboi, author (The People Remember)

Sharon Flake, author (The Life I’m In)

Jerry Pinkney, illustrator (The Little Mermaid)

Virginia Hamilton, author (Her Story: African American Folktales, Fairies and True Tales)

Kwame Mbalia, author (Tristan Strong Destroys the World

Diane Lewis Patrick, author (Mekena: See Me, Hear Me, Know Me)

Frank Morrison, illustrator (R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul)

Marilyn Nelson, author (Papa’s Free Day Party)

Tony Media, author (Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy)

Tracey Baptiste, author (African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History)

Jerry Craft, author-illustrator (Class Act)

Carole Boston Weatherford, author (Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre)

Gordon James, illustrator (Let ‘Er Buck)

Mildred Taylor, author (All the Days Past, All the Days To Come)

John Steptoe, author-illustrator (Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters)

Nic Stone, author (Clean Getaway)

Andrea Davis Pickney, author (Martin Rising: Requiem for a King)

EB Lewis, illustrator (Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis)

Dhonielle Clayton, author (The Everlasting Rose)

Kadir Nelson, illustrator (Coretta Scott)

Zetta Elliott, author (The Witch’s Apprentice)

Shane Evans, illustrator (Hands Up)

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, author (Operation Sisterhood)

Jabari Asim, author (Yonder)

Tonya Bolden, author (Saving Savannah)

Bryan Collier, illustrator (We Shall Overcome)

James Haskins, author (Freedom Rides: Journey for Justice)

Eloise Greenfield, author (The Women Who Caught the Babies)

Angie Thomas, author (Concrete Rose)