"we are here" picture book
About the book...
An empowering follow-up to New York Times bestselling picture book All Because You Matter that celebrates the rich history of Black and brown men and women throughout history with soaring language and stunning illustration.
Lyrical, affirmational, and bursting with love, We Are Here is a poignant story about Black and brown heritage and community. Full of assurance, tenderness, and triumph, this much-anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling picture book All Because You Matter offers an equally inspirational and arresting ode to all of the Black women and men throughout history who have made momentous contributions from the beginning of time.
Tami Charles shares the beauty and excellence in the history of the Black community, assuring Black and brown children of the extraordinary legacy from which they come. Charles's powerful and empowering text is accompanied with illustrations by renowned artist Bryan Collier, a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner or honoree. We Are Here celebrates readers with pride, joy, and love, reminding them of their roots, inviting readers to imagine a future that shines ever bright, and strengthening them for their triumphant days to come!
Honors:
Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
Publisher's Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW
New York Times Review, by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Amazon's Editor Pick, January 2023
Amazon #1 Best seller
Amazon #1 New Release
Barnes & Noble's Most Anticipated Books for January
Kirkus "20 Best Books to Read in January 2023"
SLJ's Best Books of 2023
Amazon Top 20 Children's Books of 2023
Kirkus Reviews, Best Books of 2023
Horn Book Magazine, Best Books of 2023
Reviews
"A powerful narrative about Black yesterdays that have built the foundation for all our tomorrows." -- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"Collaborators Charles and Collier meld pithy, free-verse lines and saturated illustrations to form an empowering treatise that celebrates the Black diaspora across time and space." -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"Muted" YA Verse Novel
About the book...
A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds!
Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.
For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown.
So Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean "Mercury" Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it.
Until they're not.
Denver begins to realize that she's trapped in Merc's world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break, or get broken.
Inspired by true events, Muted is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her - and what it takes to fight back.
Honors:
ALA Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
2021 Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best List – Best Teen Fiction
Buzzfeed, Top 40 YA Novels in 2021
Bookbuzzed 21 Most Anticipated Books to Read in 2021
Essence Magazine feature: On How Black Women Can Find Their Voice Through Poetry
Marie Claire Magazine: 35 Must-Read 2021 Book Releases by Black Authors
Audiofile Magazine: Earphones Award Winner
Audible #1 New Release, Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Abuse
Amazon #1 Bestseller, eBook
Woman's Day: 30 Best Beach Books To Read This Summer
Buzzfeed: YA Books That Will Make You Cry
Nerdy Book Novel-in-Verse Award for 2021
Rise 2021 Booklist
Reviews
"...a necessary reckoning that amplifies the voices of Black and brown girls." Kirkus
"Highly anticipated...groundbreaking." Entertainment Weekly
"Denver's voice is...unique, delicate..." School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
"Charles plays continuously with space and language here, effortlessly ..." ALA Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"A Justice for all" Picture book biography
About the book...
Discover the incredible story of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who followed her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer and judge.
After 232 years and 115 appointments, Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson became the first Black woman appointed to serve on the US Supreme Court. With Tami Charles’s sweeping lyricism and Jemma Skidmore’s unforgettable illustrations, readers learn about the narratives that have shaped the Justice’s life, and how this historic moment will be impressed upon the minds of the young dreamers of the future.
Honors:
Common Sense Media Selection, 2023
School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2023 (Nonfiction Elementary)
School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
NCTE Orbus Pictus Honor book
2024 Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Titles
ALA’s Rise Feminine List for Early Readers—Nonfiction
Reviews
“Every dream begins with one small step, and those who read this book will know that with work, determination, and love, their dreams can come true, too. An excellent book to share in groups and necessary for all collections.”—School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“[A]n inspiring biography that acknowledges the impact of those who paved the way.”—Publishers Weekly
“Triumphant and inspiring.”—Kirkus Reviews
"All Because You Matter" picture book
A New York Times Bestseller!
Discover this poignant, timely, and emotionally stirring picture book, an ode to black and brown children everywhere that is full of hope, assurance, and love.
Tami Charles pens a poetic, lyrical text that is part love letter, part anthem, assuring readers that they always have, and always will, matter. This powerful, rhythmic lullaby reassures readers that their matter and their worth is never diminished, no matter the circumstance: through the joy and wonder of their first steps and first laughter, through the hardship of adolescent struggles and the pain and heartbreak of current events, they always have, and always will, matter. Accompanied by illustrations by renowned artist Bryan Collier, a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner or honoree, All Because You Matter empowers readers with pride, joy, and comfort, reminding them of their roots and strengthening them for the days to come.
Lyrical, personal, and full of love, All Because You Matter is for the picture book audience what The Hate U Give was for YA and Ghost Boys was for middle grade: a conversation starter, a community touchstone, and a deep affirmation of worth for the young readers who need it most.
Honors:
New York Times Bestseller
Starred reviews: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Horn Book
Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated New Kids’ Book Releases of October 2020
Amazon Best Book of the Month (October)
Amazon #1 Best Children's Book of 2020
CSMCL Best Multicultural Children’s Books of 2020
School Library Journal Best Books of 2020
2020 "Best of the Best" Booklist, Black Caucus of the American Library Association
NPR Best Books of 2020
100 Best Books for Kids by NYPL
Best Children's & Teen Books of 2020 by Shelf Awareness
Today Show 25 Best Books for Kids
2020 Nerdy Book Club Award
Buzzfeed 15 Picture Books to Gift Friends
ALA Notable Book 2021
SCBWI Golden Kite Award 2021
Barnes& Noble, Children's Book Award shortlist
2022 Donna Norvell Oklahoma Book Award Masterlist
Reviews
"Universal declarations are often illustrated with images of many children; this book’s focus on a single child brings his experience and life—and the ways they matter—right up close." Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"...the journey from beginning to end of the book sends a message that is nurturing, nourishing, loving, and reassuring, expanding and deepening the words of the movement it echoes." Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
"Stunning. Powerful. Timely." Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW
"Like Vanessa" Middle Grade Novel
About the book...
In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty.
Honors:
* Three starred reviews (Kirkus, Booklist, Foreword)
* SCBWI Book Launch Award
* Indies Introduce Top 10 List
* Kids' Indie Next Top 10 List
* Project Lit Top 10 Middle Grade List
* We Need Diverse Books/ Goodreads "Must Read" of 2018 List
* Junior Library Guild, Spring 2018 Selection
* Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Silver Award 2018
* 2020 Sequoyah Award Finalist
Reviews
"Charles evades the clichés and imbues Vanessa with an inner life that's so real and personal it's hard to deny the charm, heartbreak, and triumph of her story. . . . Superb."— Booklist STARRED REVIEW
"This debut is a treasure: a gift to every middle school girl who ever felt unpretty, unloved, and trapped by her circumstances."— Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW
"Definitely Daphne" Middle grade novel
About the book...
In front of her followers, Daphne is a hilarious, on-the-rise vlog star. But at school Daphne is the ever-skeptical Annabelle Louis, seventh-grade super geek and perennial new kid. To cope with her mom's upcoming military assignment in Afghanistan and her start at a brand new middle school, Annabelle's parents send her to a therapist. Dr. Varma insists Annabelle try stepping out of her comfort zone, hoping it will give her the confidence to make friends, which she'll definitely need once Mom is gone. Luckily there is one part of the assignment Annabelle DOES enjoy--her vlog, Daphne Doesn't, in which she appears undercover and gives hilarious takes on activities she thinks are a waste of time. She is great at entertaining her online fans, yet her classmates don't know she exists. Can Annabelle keep up the double life forever?
Reviews
"It is refreshing to see diverse characters tackling the normal highs and lows of middle school life." Kirkus Reviews
"Becoming Beatriz" Young Adult Novel
About the book...
"Forgiveness is a gift."
Readers of Tami Charles’s debut novel, Like Vanessa, will remember neighborhood bad girl, Beatriz Mendez. Beatriz bullied and betrayed Vanessa as they competed for Miss King Middle School, but is Beatriz really bad? Is she stuck in her gang life, or can she break away and pursue her dreams of fame? Every story is deeper than you think.
It’s Beatriz’s birthday—her quinceañara—and she is ready to be treated like royalty. But when her brother, the leader of the Diablos, is gunned down by a rival gang, Beatriz will never be the same again. Her dreams of dancing, her hopes for fame, and her love of music died with Junito.
But when handsome brainiac, Nasser, asks her to join a dance competition with him—one that could land them both a role on Beatriz’s favorite TV show, Fame—Beatriz starts to feel the music again. And Nasser makes her feel alive again. But with her Mami practically catatonic with grief, and her duties with Junito’s gang, Beatriz’s dreams are put on hold.
Set in 1984, the music, the dancing, and the rhythm of the life of a Puerto Rican teenager in Newark, New Jersey, reveal a story of hope and perseverance. By the time Beatriz turns sixteen, she has a much better idea about what her dreams are made of, what she’ll do to achieve them, and how to live the life she wants, rather than a life that someone else decided for her.
Honors
Junior Library Guild Selection
Two starred reviews, Kirkus & Shelf Awareness
Endorsed by Debbie Allen, actress, director, choreographer, iconic star of FAME
#1 New Release in Teen/YA Dance Fiction, Amazon
Kirkus Best Books, 2019
One Book Baltimore 2021 Selection
Reviews
". . .a necessary portrayal of a young Afro-Latina woman who makes her own path, one that isn’t straightforward, told in an extremely realistic voice." Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"Tami Charles. . . creates a believable character in Beatriz, one with an intensity of spirit likely to draw in fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Tiffany D. Jackson."
Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW
"Freedom Soup" Picture book
About the book...
Join the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year’s soup — and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be.
The shake-shake of maracas vibrates down to my toes.
Ti Gran’s feet tap-tap to the rhythm.
Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara’s lush illustrations bring to life both Belle’s story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles’s lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.
Honors:
Junior Library Guild Selection
Winter Kids Next List
Kirkus Best Books, 2019
#1 New Release, Amazon (3 categories)
Apple Books, December "Must Listen"
Four starred reviews, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness
Parents' Choice Award, silver recognition
Featured on the Today Show
Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Finalist
Amazon Best Book, ages 6-8
Featured title, Read Across America 2021
Reviews
"A stunning and necessary historical picture book."
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
". . .this book is a start-to-finish celebration of family, history, and culture."
School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
". . . this vibrant title is bound to teach, empower, and rumble the bellies of its readers."
Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW