Random House Children’s Books and Just Us Books Collaborate to Publish Multicultural Middle-Grade Anthology to Inspire Young Activists

— “We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices” will feature original works from such diverse authors and artists as Kwame Alexander, Sharon Draper, Ellen Oh, Andrea Pippins, Jason Reynolds, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson and will publish on September 4, 2018. —

New York, NY — Random House Children’s Books will publish WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, an empowering collection of poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from over 50 diverse, award-winning children’s book authors and artists in collaboration with Just Us Books, a Black-owned publisher committed to exclusively producing Black and multicultural children’s books. Phoebe Yeh, VP/Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, acquired world rights for publication from Just Us Books co-founders and anthology compilers Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. The beautiful, full-color keepsake collection will be available on September 4, 2018.

In an increasingly polarized world, parents are looking for tools to discuss the difficult political and global challenges that their children will one day inherit. In WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, the industry’s foremost children’s authors and illustrators share their perspective, encouragement, hope, and inspiration to help parents, educators, and young readers ignite lasting change in their communities.

The collection features a dynamic lineup of contributors: Arnold Adoff, Kwame Alexander, Jabari Asim, Stephanie Berger, Tonya Bolden, Roy Boney, Jr., Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Tameka Fryer Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Ashley Bryan, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Evelyn Coleman, Floyd Cooper, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Nancy Devard, Sharon M. Draper, Zetta Elliott, Margarita Engle, Zamani Feelings, Sharon G. Flake, Bernette G. Ford, George Ford, Laura Freeman, Chester Higgins, Jr., Ekua Holmes, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Curtis Hudson, Stephan J. Hudson, Wade Hudson, Hena Khan, Rafael López, Kelly Starling Lyons, Tony Medina, Mansa K. Mussa, Innosanto Nagara, Marilyn Nelson, Ellen Oh, Denise Lewis Patrick, Andrea Pippins, James E. Ransome, Jason Reynolds, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Edel Rodriguez, Charles R. Smith, Jr., Javaka Steptoe, Eleanora E. Tate, Eric Velasquez, Carole Boston Weatherford, Jeffery B. Weatherford, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson, the 2018 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

“There is tremendous power in words and images,” says Wade Hudson. “WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES uses that power to help our young people navigate a world that’s full of challenges, complicated issues, and uncertainty. It’s one of only a few collections to bring together such a large and diverse group of children’s book creators and we are thrilled to partner with Random House Children’s Books to bring this important book to readers everywhere,” he says.

“Our young people need comfort, guidance, inspiration and hope in these difficult times we’re facing, and caring, passionate words and beautiful art in the form of a thoughtfully curated treasury can go a long way in helping them learn about empathy, respect for one another and standing up for one another,” says Phoebe Yeh.

Crown Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company. Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and non-fiction, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company’s website, Kids @ Random (www.randomhousekids.com) offers an array of activities, games, and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators.

Just Us Books was founded in 1988 by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson. Wade, President and CEO, is the author of more than 30 published books for children and young adults, and has received numerous honors for his contributions to children’s literature, including the Stephen Crane Literary Award. Cheryl, Publisher and Editorial Director, has authored more than 25 books for children, and is a member of the PEN America’s Children’s/Young Adult Book Authors Committee. They have been widely recognized for their pioneering work in children’s publishing, and have been inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, received the Ida B. Wells Institutional Builders Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award, and The Madame CJ Walker Legacy Award for entrepreneurship. Today, Just Us Books is a recognized leader in multicultural publishing, and in October 2018 the company will celebrate 30 years of continuous publishing. Visit Just Us Books online at @JustUsBooks | www.Facebook.com/JustUsBooks | www.justusbooks.com

 

Crown Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House company.

Visit them online at @RandomHouseKids | Facebook.com/RandomHouseKids | www.RHCBooks.com

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Noreen Herits
Executive Director of Publicity
nherits@penguinrandomhouse.com / 212-782-9043

Dominique Cimina
Vice President, Executive Director, Publicity & Corporate Communications
dcimina@penguinrandomhouse.com / 212-782-9314