The Joffrey Ballet is proud to present the world premiere of Rita Finds Home, a family-friendly program and collaborative project between the Joffrey and Miami City Ballet, which will make its debut at the Navy Pier Lake Stage in Chicago from July 9-10. Rita Finds Home is conceived by a nationally recognized, women-led creative team including choreographer Amy Hall Garner, author Karla Estela Rivera,and award-winning children’s book author/illustrator Elisa Chavarri; and will be danced by the Joffrey Studio Company and Academy Trainees of the Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet.  For a full list of venues and schedule, visit Joffrey.org.

Read more about the performances in Chicago here

School Library Journal has given a starred review to Because of You, John Lewis (Scholastic) by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown. The review calls the illustrations “a vivid and dramatic complement to this story of friendship, courage, and effecting change.”

Read the full review here

Get the book here

Art by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children’s Books features artwork from over 40 picture books. The illustrations tell the story of how Black people and families were impacted by and resisted racism. The exhibition features civil rights leaders, foot soldiers, and everyday people, and celebrates organized protests as well as day-to-day joys. Painted Words books included in the exhibit are:

Let the Children March (Clarion) by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Parker Looks Up (Simon & Schuster) by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry, illustrated by Brittany Jackson

The Youngest Marcher (Simon & Schuster) by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

White Water (Candlewick Press) by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein, illustrated by Shadra Strickland

The exhibit will be on display at the New York Historical Society through July 24, 2022.

Shadra Strickland’s work is included in the exhibit Imprinted: Illustrating Race at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The piece is from the book Bird (Lee & Low) written by Zetta Elliot. The book was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations and the Ezra Jack Keats Award.

To learn more about the exhibit, visit here

Get Bird here

Alyssa Bermudez‘s middle grade graphic memoir, Big Apple Diaries, has been shortlisted for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (The Ledger).  Winners will be announced in August. You can view the full list here.

Congratulations Alyssa!

School Library Journal gave a Starred Review to Stand Up! 10 Mighty Women Who Made a Change, written by Brittany Cooper and illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson. SLJ writes, “Vibrantly illustrated and featuring a variety of justice-seekers, this book belongs in every library and classroom.” The book hits shelves in August 2022 from Scholastic. You can pre-order a copy here!

The Association of Illustrators’ World Illustration Awards announced their 2022 Long list, which includes Acamy Schleikorn‘s piece “Mother’s Love.” Her piece is one of 500 selected out of over 5,000 entries. Congratulations Acamy!

Juneteenth: Our Story of Freedom (Random House, Step into Reading) by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, illustrated by Kim Holt, has been featured on School Library Journal’s list of 7 titles to teach young children about Juneteenth!

See the full list here

Get the book here

Blueberry Cake, written and illustrated by Sarah Dillard, and published by Aladdin Books, has won First Place in the “Fruits Books” category of the Gourmand Awards.  The Gourmand Awards recognize the best books of food culture from around the world. This year’s award ceremony was held in Sweden on June 5th.

Congratulations Sarah!

Hitting shelves this Tuesday, June 7th, Because of You, John Lewis (Scholastic) has been selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month for Ages 6-8. Illustrated by Keith Henry Brown and written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Because of You, John Lewis has also received a Kirkus Starred Review and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Pick up your copy here.