RENÉE WATSON is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Over the past decade she has authored twenty books for young readers, which have collectively sold more than a million copies. She received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor for her novel Piecing Me Together and high praise for 1619 Project: Born on the Water, co-written with Nikole Hannah-Jones. Her debut adult novel, Skin & Bones, was published in May 2024. Watson is on the Council of Writers for the National Writing Project and is a member of the Academy of American Poets’ Education Advisory Council. Her latest books are All The Blues In The Sky, Summer is Here illustrated by Bea Jackson and Cicely Tyson illustrated by Sherry Shine, and Black Girl You Are Atlas. She splits her time between Portland, Oregon and New York City.

ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl’s journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself.

SUMMER IS HERE

Celebrate iconic childhood joys in this love letter to summer featuring bright, sun-drenched art, from New York Times bestselling creators Renée Watson and Bea Jackson.

Summer is here!
No dark clouds in the sky,
it’s a perfect day for play.
What joy will summer bring me today?

Summer is finally here, and she’s bringing the most perfect day! From sunup to sundown, there’s so much to do on this lovely summer day. With summer comes fresh fruit, sweet and tangy, jump ropes for leaping and dancing, and friends at the pool swimming and floating. Summer brings family cookouts under shady trees, gardens overflowing, and the familiar song of the ice-cream truck. This beautiful ode to all the season’s sensations follows one girl’s perfect day in an exploration of joy, family, friendship, sunshine, and wonder.

Her stars shimmer like spilled glitter across the sky.
I whisper a wish and say goodbye to the day.
I wish summer would stay.