Kirkus Reviews Best of 2024 list, Best of Middle Grade
A vibrant, heartwarming collection of 15 middle grade stories and poems that celebrates the joy, strength, and experience of Black girlhood, including stories from Ibi Zoboi, Sharon M. Draper, and Leah Johnson, as well as cover art from Caldecott winner Vashti Harrison.
Black girl power is…
Bringing your favorite stuffed animal to your first real sleepover. . . Escaping an eerie dollhouse that’s got you trapped inside. . . Making new friends one magical baked good at a time. . . Finding the courage to dance to the beat of your own drum. . .
And more! From 15 legendary Black women authors comes a dazzling collection of stories and poems about the power we find in the everyday and the beauty of Black girlhood.
Contributors include: Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Dhonielle Clayton, Natasha Diaz, Sharon M. Draper, Sharon Flake, Leah Johnson, Kekla Magoon, Janae Marks, Tolá Okogwu, Karen Strong, Renée Watson, and Ibi Zoboi
Accolades
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BEST SELLER
Kirkus Reviews Best of 2024 list, Best of Middle Grade
*"An anthology that beams with heart and hope, especially for young Black girls."—School Library Journal (starred review)
*"Electric: bequeaths confidence-building stories that sizzle with wisdom and a little bit of magic."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
*“This empowering collection . . .contains messages of hope, resilience, power, and friendship.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
*"At its core, each story is unified by the theme of the power inside each Black girl to be strong and believe in herself."—Booklist (starred review)
Leah Johnson always wanted to be a superhero, but she became a writer instead, which she thinks is the next-best thing. Her best-selling debut novel, You Should See Me in a Crown, was a Stonewall Honor Book, the inagural Reese's Book Club YA Pick, and named one of Time's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Leah lives in Indianapolis, where she writes books about Black girls with big hearts, plays fetch with the best dog in the world, and talks about Mile Morales to anyone who will listen. You can find Leah online at ByLeahJohnson.com and on Instagram @ByLeahJohnson.
Vashti Harrison is the 2024 Caldecott winner for Big, which she wrote and illustrated; as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends and the illustrator of Andrea Beaty's I Love You Like Yellow, Matthew Cherry’s Hair Love, and Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic’s Hello, Star, among others. She received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Lupita Nyong’o’s Sulwe and is also a two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children.
Kirkus Reviews Best of 2024 list, Best of Middle Grade
A vibrant, heartwarming collection of 15 middle grade stories and poems that celebrates the joy, strength, and experience of Black girlhood, including stories from Ibi Zoboi, Sharon M. Draper, and Leah Johnson, as well as cover art from Caldecott winner Vashti Harrison.
Black girl power is…
Bringing your favorite stuffed animal to your first real sleepover. . . Escaping an eerie dollhouse that’s got you trapped inside. . . Making new friends one magical baked good at a time. . . Finding the courage to dance to the beat of your own drum. . .
And more! From 15 legendary Black women authors comes a dazzling collection of stories and poems about the power we find in the everyday and the beauty of Black girlhood.
Contributors include: Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Dhonielle Clayton, Natasha Diaz, Sharon M. Draper, Sharon Flake, Leah Johnson, Kekla Magoon, Janae Marks, Tolá Okogwu, Karen Strong, Renée Watson, and Ibi Zoboi
Praise
Accolades
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BEST SELLER
Kirkus Reviews Best of 2024 list, Best of Middle Grade
*"An anthology that beams with heart and hope, especially for young Black girls."—School Library Journal (starred review)
*"Electric: bequeaths confidence-building stories that sizzle with wisdom and a little bit of magic."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
*“This empowering collection . . .contains messages of hope, resilience, power, and friendship.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
*"At its core, each story is unified by the theme of the power inside each Black girl to be strong and believe in herself."—Booklist (starred review)
Author
Leah Johnson always wanted to be a superhero, but she became a writer instead, which she thinks is the next-best thing. Her best-selling debut novel, You Should See Me in a Crown, was a Stonewall Honor Book, the inagural Reese's Book Club YA Pick, and named one of Time's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Leah lives in Indianapolis, where she writes books about Black girls with big hearts, plays fetch with the best dog in the world, and talks about Mile Morales to anyone who will listen. You can find Leah online at ByLeahJohnson.com and on Instagram @ByLeahJohnson.
Vashti Harrison is the 2024 Caldecott winner for Big, which she wrote and illustrated; as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends and the illustrator of Andrea Beaty's I Love You Like Yellow, Matthew Cherry’s Hair Love, and Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic’s Hello, Star, among others. She received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Lupita Nyong’o’s Sulwe and is also a two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children.
