Welcome to another edition of Shelf Awareness Extra!, a series of special issues that focus on a particular subject and appear once a month. This edition focuses on Black History Month, which takes place in February.

February is Black History Month, which began 100 years ago as Negro History Week—later renamed and expanded to a month. This year's official theme in the U.S. is "A Century of Black History Commemorations," designated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The association was founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who launched the annual Black history observations, and has the mission "to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community."

ASALH notes the special significance of Black History Month in 2026, writing, "This year, when we are also commemorating the 250th anniversary of United States independence, it is important to tell not only an inclusive history, but an accurate one. We have never had more need to examine the role of Black History Month than we do when forces weary of democracy seek to use legislative means and book bans to excise Black history from America's schools and public culture. Black history's value is not its contribution to mainstream historical narratives, but its resonance in the lives of Black people."

The Association offers Black History Month kits, posters, and merchandise and is hosting the Annual Black History Month Luncheon. This includes an authors book signing event and takes place February 28 in Washington, D.C., and features Karsonya Wise Whitehead.

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For a detailed look at the evolution and importance of Black History Month, check out I'll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month by Jarvis R. Givens, which Harper is publishing on February 3 ($24.99, 9780063478824). In this book, Givens, a Harvard professor and author of American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation, among other titles, traces the history of the Month, drawing on archival research, personal stories involving family and students, and especially the wisdom of Black educators. In the process, he recovers "the legacy of Carter G. Woodson and many others who envisioned Black history as a liberatory force—knowledge that shapes who we are, how we resist, and what we dream."

Givens calls on people "to expand our understanding of Black history to include the everyday lives of ordinary people—the 'workadays' whose stories have long gone untold but form critical parts of Black history... I'll Make Me a World is a call to remember, reimagine, and reclaim an intellectual tradition built by communities well before our time, and to take seriously what is politically at stake in its preservation. At a time when Black history is under attack, this book offers an inspiring vision for how it can still be a source of power, truth, and possibility."

Among the many sources for recommended backlist:

The Center for Black Literature has "a reading list of titles that we and our colleagues turn to for fortitude, inspiration, and uplift." The list includes 58 nonfiction titles, 45 fiction books, 23 poetry titles, and 11 YA and children's books. 

Save the Children offers 19 children's books that celebrate Black history.

Selected recent titles for Black History Month:

Black-Owned:The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams (Tiny Reparations Books, $32, 9780593474235, November 4).

Longtime NBC News reporter Char Adams offers a history of Black political movements through the lens of Black-owned bookstores, which have been centers for organizing from abolition to the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. The book is packed with stories of activism, espionage, violence, community, and perseverance, starting with the first Black-owned bookstore, which an abolitionist opened in New York in 1834. In the 20th century, civil rights and Black Power activists started a Black bookstore boom nationwide. Malcolm X gave speeches in front of the National Memorial African Book Store in Harlem—a place dubbed "Speakers' Corner"—and later, Black bookstores became targets of FBI agents, police, and racist vigilantes. Still, stores continued to fuel Black political movements.

Bookshops were also places of celebration: Eartha Kitt and Langston Hughes held autograph parties at their local Black-owned bookstores. Maya Angelou became the face of National Black Bookstore Week. And today a new generation of Black activists is joining the radical bookstore tradition, with rapper Noname opening her Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles and several stores making national headlines when they were overwhelmed with demand in the Black Lives Matter era. As Adams makes clear, in a time of increasing repression, Black bookstores are needed now more than ever. 

The Look by Michelle Obama with Meredith Koop (Crown, $50, 9780593800706, November 4).

With more than 200 photographs, The Look is a journey through former First Lady Michelle Obama's style evolution, in her own words for the first time, as she shares how she uses the beauty and intrigue of fashion to draw attention to her message.

Featuring the voices of Meredith Koop, Obama's stylist, as well as her makeup artist Carl Ray, hairstylists Yene Damtew, Johnny Wright, and Njeri Radway, and many of the designers who have dressed Obama for notable events, The Look takes readers behind the scenes not only to reveal how her most memorable looks came together but also to tell a powerful story about how we present ourselves.

Obama's intimate and candid stories illuminate how her approach to dressing has evolved throughout her life—from the colorful sheath dresses, cardigans, and brooches she wore during her time as First Lady to the bold suits, denim, and braids of her post-White House life and all the active looks and beautiful gowns in between. Confidence, she concludes, cannot be put on. But when you're wearing something that's intentional or beloved, clothing can make you feel like the best version of yourself.

My Heart Speaks Kriolu by Stefanie Foster Brown, illus. by Keisha Morris (Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665927833, November 4).

On Saturday walks with her grandfather, a young girl connects with her Cabo Verdean heritage while learning about the true meaning of home in this debut picture book.

Papa always speaks of someday taking his granddaughter to Cabo Verde. But the young girl has never set foot on their ancestral island's faraway shores. And each time Papa urges her to speak Kriolu, the Portuguese creole native to the West African country, the girl's tongue betrays her, and she stumbles over her own words. If she can't get the language right, can her grandfather's home ever truly be hers, too?

But each Saturday afternoon when she helps guide her sight-impaired grandfather through their close-knit Massachusetts community, the girl swears she can smell, hear, feel Kriolu. And each Saturday she comes closer to discovering where home truly lies.

Stella and Roger Are on the Move by Clothilde Ewing, illus. by Lynn Gaines (Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665933346, November 11).

In this fourth and final book in the Stella picture book series, Stella and Roger reflect on their favorite things about living in Chicago and try to devise a plan to stop an impending move.

Stella and Roger face their scariest challenge yet when Stella's parents announce they're moving not just out of Chicago, but to a new state. Stella doesn't want to move away from her favorite park or any of the other things she loves about the only home she’s ever known. Stella and Roger begin a campaign to convince Stella's parents that leaving Chicago is a big mistake. But is this change really as scary as they think? 

The Little Girl Who Loved Christmas by Betty K. Bynum ($29.95, DreamTitle Publishing/IPG, 9798218328870, November 10).

The Little Girl Who Loved Christmas is a colorful, fun, and adventurous Christmas fantasy story about Mia, who gets locked in a world of Christmas magic and learns that the best place for Christmas is always home. The book includes an illustrated glossary full of Mia's favorite Christmas recipes, do-it-yourself Christmas ornaments and holiday decorations made with very simple instructions. This book launches a new series starring the lead character Mia from I'm a Pretty Little Black Girl!, also by Betty K. Bynum. Each book in the series is created for young readers and continues the journey from the first well-loved, bestselling picture book that launched Mia's world of wonder and cultural celebration.

I Can Make a Movie! by Morgan Stevenson Cooper, illus. by Geneva Bowers (Kokila, $18.99, 9780593858301, November 11).

From director Morgan Stevenson Cooper, this picture book is about a girl on a mission to make her first movie—and lift her grandpa's spirits along the way.

Norah Rose loves movies—action, comedy, drama—and dreams of becoming a director, but Hollywood feels a long way from home. When her grandpa falls ill, Norah decides to make a movie just for him, because no one loves a good story more than Grandpa. Equipped with her mom's phone, a head full of ideas, and the wide-open backdrop of Kansas City, Norah sets out to write, cast, shoot, and edit her very first film. There's a lot of work ahead, but Norah's sure of one thing: her movie is going to shine.

Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much by Cynthia Erivo (Flatiron Books, $28.99, 9781250428325, November 18).

The actor, singer, and performer Cynthia Erivo offers a vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, showing how to embrace being "too much" and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves. Her biggest lesson: It is never too late to build the life you're seeking. 

In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Erivo reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she's learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think. She draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for physical and mental balance—because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.

Black, White, Colored: The Hidden Story of an Insurrection, a Family, a Southern Town, and Identity in America by Lauretta Malloy Noble and LeeAnet Noble (Amistad, $29.99, 9780063352223, November 18).

This is an investigation into a little-known historical tragedy--an insurrection that upended a resilient and wealthy Black community in Laurinburg, N.C., in 1898.

The town had been a beacon of racial calm, a place where Blacks and whites lived and worked together. Black families like the Malloys became landlords, business owners, and doctors, thriving together and changing the economic landscape. But that progress was shattered on the eve of Election Day, 1898, when supremacist groups launched a bloody attack, forcing Laurinburg's Black citizens to flee and stripping middle-class Blacks of their seats on every electoral board.

With meticulous research drawn from sources including The New York Age and census records, Lauretta Malloy Noble and LeeAnét Noble, descendants of the town's early Black leaders, uncover the trailblazing achievements of their ancestors. They piece together proof of Black resilience in a region shaped by profound adversity whose contributions extended beyond Laurinburg to institutions including Howard University and Meharry Medical College.

Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $33, 9780374611071, December 2).

In this history of enslaved people's resistance and self-emancipation across the Atlantic world and beyond, the author portrays the struggle for liberation from the perspective of the enslaved and, wherever possible, in their own words. It highlights the power of collective action, stressing the role of maroon communities, conspiracies, insurrections, and spiritual movements, from Haiti and Brazil to Cuba, Mauritius, and the American South. These acts of resistance involved entire communities, with women often at the heart of the story as warriors, organizers, and agents of radical change.

Examples include West African chief Tomba who in the 1720s was abducted for organizing the local resistance against slave raiders and imprisoned on a British ship, where he promptly led a revolt using a smuggled hammer. In the early 19th century, a pregnant woman named Solitude rallied laborers and soldiers to resist Napoleon's efforts to reimpose slavery on Guadeloupe.

Bloom How You Must: A Black Woman's Guide to Self-Care and Generational Healing by Tara Pringle Jefferson (Amistad, $28, 9780063377875, December 2).

A blend of guidebook and journal, Bloom How You Must is a self-empowering wellness guide that celebrates the roots of self-care and community care as a sustaining force for generations of Black women. Bloom How You Must is a love letter to the millions of Black women who want a less stressful life but don’t know where to begin.

Tara Pringle Jefferson researches the roots of self-care and community care as a sustaining force for generations of Black women and transforms her findings into a blueprint women can follow in their daily lives. The book includes interviews with a range of women, their stories, overviews and explanations of the components of self care, exercises to put wellness into practice, explanatory graphics and sidebars, and more. 

The Dream Builder's Blueprint: Dr. King's Message to Young People by Alice Faye Duncan, illus. by E.B. Lewis (Calkins Creek/Astra Publishing House, $19.99, 9781662680311, January 6).

In a speech delivered in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. provided his young audience with life lessons: You count. Black is beautiful. Achieve excellence. Make a better world. Believe in nonviolence. Keep going! 

In this book, Alice Faye Duncan reinterprets King's speech as a motivational erasure poem, accompanied by art from E.B. Lewis. Highlighting principles of excellence, activism, and compassion that remain relevant and necessary today, The Dream Builder's Blueprint has a universal message that's ideal for parents, librarians, and teachers looking for a book that distills Dr. King's principles to a level that kids can understand.

Selected upcoming titles for Black History Month:

Fire, Sword & Sea: A Novel by Vanessa Riley (Morrow, $30, 9780063271043, January 13).

The real pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! Here Vanessa Riley, author of Queen of Exiles, offers a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary 17th-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye, the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga. Jacquotte dreams of joining the seafarers and smugglers whose tall-masted ships cluster in the waters around Tortuga. She falls in love with a pirate, but when he returns to the sea, Jacquotte decides to make her own way. In Haiti, she becomes Jacques, a dockworker, earning the respect of those around her while hiding her gender. 

Jacquotte discovers that secret identities are common in the chaotic world of seafaring, which is full of outsiders and misfits. She forms a deep bond with Bahati, an African-born woman who has escaped slavery and also disguises herself as a man to adapt in the world. They join forces with Dirkje De Wulf, a fearless adventurer who also lives as a man at sea. As Jacques, Jacquotte falls in love with Lizzôa d'Erville, a beautiful courtesan who deals in secrets and sex. While others see their work clothes as a disguise, Lizzôa's true self is as a woman. 

For the next 20 years, Jacquotte raids the Caribbean, making enemies and amassing a fortune in stolen gold. When her fellow pirates decide to increase their profits by entering the slave trade, Jacquotte turns away from piracy and the pursuit of riches. Risking her life in one deadly skirmish after another, she instead begins to plot a war of liberation.

This Hair Belongs by JaNay Brown-Wood, illus. by Erin K. Robinson (Astra Young Readers, $19.99, 9781662620867, January 13).

From the intricate coils of kings and queens to the cornrowed maps to freedom of African Americans, This Hair Belongs is a heartfelt poetic tribute to Black hair throughout history and pays tribute to the African origins of Black hairstyles. It will remind young Black readers that their hair is magical and beautiful and belongs.

JaNay Brown-Wood and Erin K. Robinson deftly weave African and American history into this powerful children's picture book about Black hair, making it an important nonfiction title honoring Black cultural heritage.

The Next Little Black Book of Success by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean (Storehouse Voices, $25, 9780593729489, January 13).

In this accessible, no-nonsense guide, three successful Black women executives share their strategies for playing, and ultimately winning, the power game in corporate America. This updated edition of their 2009 classic The Little Black Book of Success offers all corporate professionals—from college students to entry-level employees, senior executives to global leaders—across all industries advice to help them find success. Covering topics such as navigating unconscious biases and microaggressions, managing a global workforce, returning to the office after years of remote work and the importance of self-care, this edition has been optimized for today's culturally and politically complex world.

A High Price for Freedom: Raising Hidden Voices from the African American Past by Clyde W. Ford (Amistad, $30, 9780063309814, January 13).

Clyde W. Ford, author and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Publishing Project, gives voice to long-silent African Americans from the past, allowing them to tell their own stories that shed new light on critical moments in the Black Freedom Struggle, challenging what we think we know about Black history. Ford begins with the 1656 court case of a woman named Elizabeth Key, who won a verdict for her freedom against her would-be enslaver—a victory that would forever change the nature, brutality, and course of American slavery. 

Among Ford's considerations: What if a former enslaved man in Galveston, Texas, witnessed the first Juneteenth and told a completely different story from what most of us know about that day? Why were slave ships most prone to rebellion, including those carrying the most African women? How has Islam found its way into R&B, soul, jazz, and other American popular music? Who was Benjamin Banneker, really?

Ford examines a range of topics, from the role of women in fomenting slave revolts to an in-depth look at how "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Ala., was not really about voting rights or even Martin Luther King, Jr., but about a 26-year-old Black man named Jimmie Lee Jackson who was killed by an Alabama state trooper. As he lay dying in the only area hospital that would treat Black people in February 1965, Jimmie Lee whispered to his nurse, a Catholic nun, "Sister, isn't this a high price for freedom?" 

Burn Down Master's House: A Novel by Clay Cane (Dafina/Kensington, $28, 9781496759146, January 27).

Inspired by true, long-buried stories of enslaved people who dared to fight back, this is a searing portrayal of resistance from Clay Cane, journalist and author of The Grift. 

Luke, quick-witted and literate, and Henri, a man with a strong and defiant spirit, forge an unbreakable bond at a Virginia plantation called Magnolia Row. Both seek escape from unimaginable cruelty. 

Josephine is a young, sharp, and observant girl who wields silence as her greatest weapon. A witness to Luke and Henri's resilience, she listens, watches, waits for the moment to make her move.

Charity Butler's husband is a formerly enslaved man who proved his ferocity as a young boy standing alongside Josephine. With his encouragement, Charity fights for her freedom in court and wins—only to battle a deeply unjust system designed to destroy the life they've built.

And finally, there is Nathaniel, who ruthlessly exploits other Black people and mirrors the cruelty of the white men who, like him, are enslavers. A perversion of the system of slavery, his fragile and contradictory rule will become a catalyst of its own.

Inspired by the true stories of the profoundly courageous men and women who dared to fight back, Burn Down Master's House is a tour de force of a novel—breathtaking in scope, compassion, and a timeliness that speaks powerfully to our present era.

stages: poems by Tramaine Suubi (Amistad, $19.99, 9780063344952, January 27).

This poetry collection by the author of phases is inspired by the evolution of our brightest star and alludes to the history of how it came to be and its effects on each human life. Readers will discover poems exploring everything from the gimmicks of capitalism to the false promises of tranquility. 

With Love from Harlem: A Novel of Hazel Scott by ReShonda Tate (Morrow, $19.99, 9780063421189, January 27).

From the author of The Queen of Sugar Hill, this novel is inspired by Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott.

In Harlem in 1943, at age 23, Hazel Scott is a jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights. She's breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem's most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel--charismatic, powerful... and married.

This kicks off a decades-long relationship that propels them to the center of a political and cultural revolution. As Hazel's star rises, Adam takes the national stage in Congress and the couple becomes the toast of the country. But when their affair turns into a marriage, behind the glamorous façade is a battlefield of ego, ambition, and sacrifice. Forced to choose between her music and her family, Hazel must decide what she's willing to lose—and what she refuses to give up.

Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider by Stacy Spikes (Dafina/Kensington, $18.95, 9781496739575, January 27).

Stacy Spikes knows what's it like to be an outsider. He certainly knew he didn't fit the mold of a successful future tech entrepreneur. But he marshaled his resolve and ultimately set out to shatter that mold—along with the glass ceiling that came with it. Finding his footing in the tech world was an education in the complexities of being an outsider, but as Spikes came to see, rather than a hindrance, it afforded him an unusual position of power.

Beginning as a film studio gopher, Spikes quickly rose through the industry ranks, being named one of the Hollywood Reporter's 30 Under 30. Still, he was an outsider looking in. So he set out to make his own dreams a reality. Defying expectations, Spikes effectively disrupted the status quo and reinvented himself from junior executive to CEO tech founder. What ensued was an escalating adventure with bigger stages, bigger risks, and a roller-coaster ride of exhilarating ascent—unpredictable collapse—and a story-book return.

The Seven Daughters of Dupree: A Novel by Nikesha Elise Williams (Gallery/Scout Press, $30, 9781668051948, January 27).

By the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast, this is a multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family.

It's 1995, and 14-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family's past, including why she left Land's End, Ala., in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.

Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen by Cheryl W. Thompson (Dafina/Kensington, $30, 9781496750778, January 27).

NPR investigative journalist and the daughter of a Tuskegee airman, Cheryl W. Thompson explores the stories of the 27 Tuskegee Airmen—the Black pilots who fought for America in World War II—who went missing in combat, the lives they led, the reasons their planes went down, why the remains of all but two were never found, and the impact their disappearances had on their families and communities.

The airmen were among the nearly 1,000 trailblazing Black pilots trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, a strictly segregated facility in Alabama. Hailing from the Iowa cornfields to the Texas Gulf Coast to the tobacco plantations of North Carolina, the Tuskegee Airmen already proved, under the toughest circumstances, to be among the most resilient and defiantly patriotic men of the Army Air Corps.

Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton (Nancy Paulsen Books, $19.99, 9798217004942, January 27). 

This is a YA thriller about a Black teen whose fight for survival forces a small Southern vacation town to face its dark history of racial violence.

When 16-year-old Naomi Ward and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don't know the small, mountain town of Sparksburg, Va., has a dark and twisted past. When they arrive, Naomi can't shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg isn't right. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town--a town where Black people weren't allowed after sunset lest they be murdered--Naomi's unease starts to make sense.

As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.

Writing Toward Justice: The Life and Reporting of Alice A. Dunnigan by Peggy Thomas, illus. by Tonya Engel (Calkins Creek/Astra Publishing House, $19.99, 9781662680892, January 27).

This is an inspiring nonfiction picture book for kids ages 7–10 about Alice Dunnigan, a pioneering Black journalist, who spoke truth to power—and earned the respect of President Harry S. Truman.

Alice Dunnigan knew all about injustice—she was the daughter of poor Black sharecroppers in Kentucky. But Alice also knew the key to fighting injustice was to speak out. At 13 years old, she wrote to a Black newspaper asking for a job and got it. This was only the beginning. After many years of hard work as a teacher, a cleaner, a typist, and a journalist, Alice became the first Black woman in the Capitol press corps. But one person was still beyond her grasp, a person who needed to be held accountable: President Truman. Would he keep his promise to support civil rights for Black Americans? By scrimping and saving for a ticket on the president's cross-country train tour, Alice was able to meet the president and win him over to her cause: justice.

If I Ruled the World: A Novel by Amy DuBois Barnett (Flatiron Books, $29.99, 9781250378125, January 27).

This fast-paced, juicy debut novel peeks behind the curtain at the cutthroat world of hip-hop music and the glamorous magazine scene in the late 1990s, written by a media insider.

In 1999, Nikki Rose is the only Black editor on the staff of a prestigious fashion magazine she once thought would be her ticket to becoming a respected editor-in-chief. But after being told often by her boss that "Black girls don't sell magazines," she quits to take over Sugar, a struggling hip hop music and lifestyle magazine with untapped potential.

Thrown into a new world of wealth, decadence, and debauchery, Nikki has just six months to save Sugar--and her own dreams. As she pulls all-nighters at the office and parties with New York City's most influential bad boys, Nikki must prove she has what it takes to lead. But her most dangerous challenge is evading Alonzo Griffin, her very married, very powerful ex-lover and former boss, who is determined to destroy both her and Sugar. Along the way, Nikki leans on a circle of loyal friends and navigates unexpected romances that force her to reckon with what—and who—she truly wants.

Twice Enslaved: Liberty and Justice for Henrietta Wood by Selene Castrovilla, illus. by Erin K. Robinson (Calkins Creek/Astra Publishing House, $19.99, 9781662680748, February 3).

This is the story of Henrietta Wood, who was enslaved twice—but who demanded justice and was awarded the largest reparations ever granted for enslavement. This nonfiction book for ages 9-12 puts a human face on the issue of reparations.

Henrietta Wood was born enslaved. As a teen she was ripped from her family and sold. Years later, a miracle happened, and she was given freedom papers. But Wood's freedom was short-lived. She was tricked back into enslavement and sent to a Mississippi cotton plantation.

On June 19, 1865—Juneteenth—she was emancipated. Finally free for good, Wood sued the man who had kidnapped her back into enslavement and won. Wood was one of the few people in United States history to ever receive a reparation payment for slavery. Twice Enslaved is a true story of cruelty, resilience, and ultimately triumph.

Nani and the Lion by Alicia D. Williams, illus. by Anna Cunha (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, $19.99, 9781665914222, February 3).

By Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award winner Alicia D. Williams, this rhythmic picture book is about an irrepressible little drummer determined to outwit the grumpy, noise-hating Lion. Nani's heart pounds with fear, but her love for drumming beats more loudly. To keep playing her music and bringing joy to her village, Nani must stand up to the biggest bully around armed with only courage, quick thinking, and her drum.

The Way Love Goes: A Guide to Building a "Beaurtiful" and Everlasting Relationship by Da Brat & Judy (Amistad, $27.99, 9780063349643, February 3).

Hip-hop legend "Da Brat" DuPart and her wife, Judy DuPart, stars of WEtv's reality series Brat Loves Judy, share their journey to the altar and parenthood in this candid relationship guide and marriage memoir. Their love story is as heartwarming as it is improbable. As rumors about her sexuality abounded, Da Brat believed she would remain in the closet until she took her last breath. But lightning struck when the rapper and the businesswoman met in 2017. Though their chemistry was instant and undeniable, the two went their separate ways.

Reconnecting at the Essence Festival a few years later, Da Brat made the bold decision to come out publicly and confirmed their relationship in March 2020. Their love blossomed into the reality show Brat Loves Judy, and two years later they married. Within a few months of sharing vows, the couple announced that Da Brat was pregnant, and on July 6, 2023, the pair welcomed a baby boy named True Legend Harris-Dupart.

Part memoir and part relationship guide, The Way Love Goes is laugh-out-loud funny and filled with warmth and love—and is told in Da Brat's signature Chicago tone and Judy's distinctive New Orleans patois.

Keeper of Lost Children: A Novel by Sadeqa Johnson (37 Ink, $30, 9781668069912, February 10).

In this novel, Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an U.S. Army officer, is living in West Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GIs, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.

Philadelphian Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Mannheim, West Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.

In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all-white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.

Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman's vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms—familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self—can be transcendent.

Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church by L. Michelle Smith (Amistad, $28.99, 9780063425934, February 10).

The Black church in the U.S. has long been a place for developing Black leaders, teaching them many of the qualities required to lead effectively in today's ultra-competitive, digital, and swiftly transforming corporate world. Many high-performing Black leaders benefited from their experiences growing up in this cultural institution steeped in rich history.

Merging cultural study with applied neuroscience and tenets of positive psychology, L. Michelle Smith dissects how these qualities are demonstrated by leaders across industries, from resiliency to their sense of undeniable purpose, their ability to build community and collaborative environments, the delivery and language of their speaking style to their unusual leadership flair. She reveals how this historic institution has served as a wellspring of leadership development, empowerment, and cultural preservation and ultimately as Black leaders' "secret sauce."

Where the False Gods Dwell: A Novel by Denny S. Bryce (Kensington, $18.95, 9781496737892, February 24).

Inspired by real-life legendary choreographer Katherine Dunham's groundbreaking expedition into the heart of Caribbean dance culture, this novel imagines the experiences of three very different women who accompany her, hoping to find their destinies—yet finding themselves forced to survive a historic event.

In Chicago in 1935, Othella is an orphaned con artist who needs to escape the city's brutal underworld. Vivian Jean is a wealthy wife, student, and anthropologist eager to prove herself professionally and personally. Zinzi is a Jamaican labor union activist determined to bring change to her homeland's plantation system. Thanks to a series of fortunate mishaps and coincidences, all three join Dunham's voyage to the Maroon village of Accompong in Jamaica's Cockpit Country—and perhaps discover what they desperately want most.

When a deadly storm bears down on the island, imperiling the women's missions—and their lives—they must form an unlikely sisterhood. To survive, they will need each other more than anyone or anything they've ever needed.

It's Never Too Late: A Memoir by Marla Gibbs (Amistad, $28.99, 9780063356634, February 24).

At age 93, Marla Gibbs, the star of such classic television series as The Jeffersons and 227, reveals her difficult journey from a tempestuous childhood to becoming a confident Hollywood powerbroker and groundbreaker who learned to work behind the scenes for fair pay, access, and more creative control for herself and her colleagues.

Told in her forthright voice, It's Never Too Late illuminates Gibbs's daring move to Los Angeles to rebuild her life after an abusive marriage, how she became an actor, and how she eventually learned to balance acting with show running. Her hard-luck young life had prepared her to succeed even as her tenacity was put to the test. Her experiences laid the groundwork for power brokers like Shonda Rhimes and Issa Rae.