Playing with Lanterns by Wang Yage and Chengliang Zhu

Zhao Di and her friends are excited to go out at night with their paper lanterns and celebrate Chinese New Year. Each holding a unique colorful lantern with a lit candle inside, they admire the breathtaking colors while doing their best to avoid the wind and the sneaky boys in the village. Every night, until the fifteenth day of New Year, Zhao Di and her friends take part in this fun tradition, experiencing the thrill of nighttime in their village. And then—it’s time to smash the lanterns!

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

“We Shall Overcome” is one of the most recognizable anthems of the Civil Rights movement, widely performed at protests and rallies to promote nonviolent civil rights activism. Now, these inspirational, empowering, legendary lyrics are brought to life with the stirring, evocative, and breathtaking illustrations from multi-award-winning talent Bryan Collier. Powerfully imagined for the present moment, Collier’s illustrations meld the most emblematic moments of the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement with the present day, depicting the movements, protests, and demonstrations — big and small — as the fight for justice continues.

Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History by Charlotte Nebres

The only thing Charlotte loves as much as ballet is Christmas. So, when she gets the opportunity to play Marie in the New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker , she leaps at the chance. Dancing takes practice-hours of adjusting her arms and perfecting her jumps. With the help of her Trinidadian and Filipino families, encouragement from her sister, and a view of her mom and dad in the audience, Charlotte finds the strength to never give up.

What Is Love? by Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis

“What is love?” a young boy asks. “I can’t answer that,” his grandmother says, and so the boy goes out into the world to find out. But while each person he meets – the fisherman, the actor, and others – has an answer to his question, not one seems quite right. Could love really be a fish, or applause, or the night? Or could it actually be something much closer to home?