Black Boy Joy

Ages 9 to 12, Grades 4 to 7

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • FIVE STARRED REVIEWS

Celebrate the joys of Black boyhood with stories from seventeen bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors—including Jason Reynolds, Jerry Craft, and Kwame Mbalia!

* "Pick up Black Boy Joy for a heavy dose of happiness." —Booklist, starred review

Black boy joy is . . .

Picking out a fresh first-day-of-school outfit.

Saving the universe in an epic intergalactic race.

Finding your voice—and your rhymes—during tough times.

Flying on your skateboard like nobody's watching.

And more! From seventeen acclaimed Black male and nonbinary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.

Contributors: B. B. Alston, Dean Atta, P. Djèlí Clark, Jay Coles, Jerry Craft, Lamar Giles, Don P. Hooper, George M. Johnson, Varian Johnson, Kwame Mbalia, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Tochi Onyebuchi, Julian Randall, Jason Reynolds, justin a. reynolds, DaVaun Sanders, and Julian Winters

About the Author

Kwame Mbalia is a husband, father, writer, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and former pharmaceutical metrologist, in that order. He is the author of the Tristan Strong trilogy, the Last Gate of the Emperor duology, and Black Boy Joy—an anthology of 17 stories celebrating Black boyhood. His work has received numerous starred reviews and a Coretta Scott King Honor. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, Kwame survives on dad jokes and Cheez-Its.

Author Residence: Raleigh, NC