Thursday, July 5, 2018

Just Us Books & Marimba Books Announce Fall 2018 Releases



Just Us Books and Marimba Books, leading independent publishers of multicultural books for young people, will release the following titles this fall:


I’m A Big Sister Now
by Katura J. Hudson
illustrated by Sylvia L. Walker
$8.95, ages 3 - 7
ISBN: 978-1-60349-022-1
(companion book to I'm A Big Brother Now)

Being a big sister is a big job. It takes a lot of work, and patience, but it’s a lot of fun, too. This charming picture book explores the anticipation, excitement, and pride a young girl experiences as she helps to welcome a new baby to the family.



AFRO-BETS Kids: I’m Going to Be!
by Wade Hudson
illustrated by Nancy Devard
$8.95, ages 4-8
ISBN: 978-1-933491-49-3

 Do you know what you’re going to be when you grow up? The AFRO-BETS Kids have lots of ideas! There are so many exciting careers: astronaut, publisher, fashion designer, educator, surgeon, movie director and more. And there are many Black leaders in those fields, including Mae Jemison, John Johnson, Tracey Reese, Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams and Ava DuVernay. Learn about these great achievers, their careers, and more as the AFRO-BETS Kids explore what they’ll be when they grow up.


Great Women in the Struggle (revised edition)
$12.95, ages 8 -12
illustrated with photos
978-0-940975-26-2

Learn about the inspiring lives and contributions of 86 historical and contemporary Black women in this updated edition, which includes a new entry on Michelle Obama.





Also coming this fall: We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices! - an anthology co-edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (Crown, Sept. 4, 2018) with original work from more than 50 diverse authors and artists, including Kwame Alexander, Sharon Draper, Andrea Pippins, Jason Reynolds, Rita Williams-Garcia and Jacqueline Woodson.
























Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Just Us Books Collaborates with Random House Children's Books on Multicultural Anthology to Inspire Young Activists

We Rise. We Resist. We Raise Our Voices will feature original works from such diverse authors and artists as Kwame Alexander, Sharon Draper, Ellen Oh, Andrea Pippins, Jason Reynolds, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson and will publish on September 4, 2018. New York, NY

(January 17, 2018) —  Random House Children’s Books will publish WE RISE. WE RESIST. WE RAISE OUR VOICES, an empowering collection of poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from over 50 diverse, award-winning children’s book authors and artists in collaboration with Just Us Books, a Black-owned publisher committed to exclusively producing Black and multicultural children’s books, it was announced today by Mallory Loehr, SVP, Random House Books for Young Readers Publishing Group. Phoebe Yeh, VP/Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, acquired World rights for publication from Just Us Books co-founders and anthology compilers Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. The beautiful, full-color keepsake collection will be available on September 4, 2018.

In an increasingly polarized world, parents are looking for tools to discuss the difficult political and global challenges that their children will one day inherit. In WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, the industry's foremost children's authors and illustrators share their perspective, encouragement, hope, and inspiration to help parents, educators, and young readers ignite lasting change in their communities.

In an increasingly polarized world, parents are looking for tools to discuss the difficult political and global challenges that their children will one day inherit. In WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, the industry's foremost children's authors and illustrators share their perspective, encouragement, hope, and inspiration to help parents, educators, and young readers ignite lasting change in their communities. The collection features a dynamic lineup of contributors: Arnold Adoff, Kwame Alexander, Jabari Asim, Stephanie Berger, Tonya Bolden, Roy Boney, Jr., Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Tameka Fryer Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Ashley Bryan, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Evelyn Coleman, Floyd Cooper, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Nancy Devard, Sharon M. Draper, Zetta Elliott, Margarita Engle, Zamani Feelings, Sharon G. Flake, Bernette G. Ford, George Ford, Laura Freeman, Chester Higgins, Jr., Ekua Holmes, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Curtis Hudson, Stephan J. Hudson, Wade Hudson, Hena Khan, Rafael López, Kelly Starling Lyons, Tony Medina, Mansa K. Mussa, Innosanto Nagara, Marilyn Nelson, Ellen Oh, Denise Lewis Patrick, Andrea Pippins, James E. Ransome, Jason Reynolds, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Edel Rodriguez, Charles R. Smith, Jr., Javaka Steptoe, Eleanora E. Tate, Eric Velasquez, Carole Boston Weatherford, Jeffery B. Weatherford, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson, the 2018 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

 “There is tremendous power in words and images,” says Wade Hudson. “WE RISE. WE RESIST. WE RAISE OUR VOICES uses that power to help our young people navigate a world that’s full of challenges, complicated issues, and uncertainty. It’s one of only a few collections to bring together such a large and diverse group of children’s book creators and we are thrilled to partner with Random House Children’s Books to bring this important book to readers everywhere,” he says.

“Our young people need comfort, guidance, inspiration and hope in these difficult times we’re facing, and caring, passionate words and beautiful art in the form of a thoughtfully curated treasury can go a long way in helping them learn about empathy, respect for one another and standing up for one another,” says Phoebe Yeh. Crown Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.

Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and non-fiction, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company’s website, Kids @ Random (www.randomhousekids.com) offers an array of activities, games, and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators.

 Just Us Books was founded in 1988 by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson. Wade, President and CEO, is the author of more than 30 published books for children and young adults, and has received numerous honors for his contributions to children's literature, including the Stephen Crane Literary Award. Cheryl, Publisher and Editorial Director, has authored more than 25 books for children, and is a member of the PEN America’s Children’s/Young Adult Book Authors Committee. They have been widely recognized for their pioneering work in children’s publishing, and have been inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, received the Ida B. Wells Institutional Builders Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award, and The Madame CJ Walker Legacy Award for entrepreneurship. Today, Just Us Books is a recognized leader in multicultural publishing, and in October 2018 the company will celebrate 30 years of continuous publishing.

Visit Just Us Books online at @JustUsBooks | Facebook.com/JustUsBooks | justusbooks.com


Thursday, January 4, 2018

Celebrate Our History and Heroes Year-Round

Have you heard of entrepreneur/philanthropist Biddy Mason; Bishop Daniel Payne; or the U.S. Lifesaving Services - the only all-black rescue crew of the Outer Banks? How much do you and your young readers know about the contributions of political leader Barbara Jordan, activist Bayard Rustin, or poet Quincy Troupe? Learn about these and other important Black trailblazers in books from our non-fiction collection. Let’s celebrate our heroes - well-known and unsung - all year round.


Browse and buy

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Celebrating the 22nd anniversary of the Million Man March

On October 16, 1996, Kelly Starling Lyons attended the Million Man March and was transformed by what she saw. She shares how that historic movement inspired her first picture book story. Read more  and buy the book here



Monday, August 28, 2017

Remembering the March on Washington




54 years ago today - They came from all corners of the United States: from big cities, and small towns, from the rural South, and the urban North. Holding signs that read "We Demand Voting Rights Now!" and "No U.S. Dough To Help Jim Crow," more than 250,000 people of all ages, races and religions joined together in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963 for what would become one of the most historic civil rights events in U.S. history: the March on Washington. Learn more in The March on Washington by James Haskins available here