Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away is the explosive story of the Kids for Cash scandal in Pennsylvania, a judicial justice miscarriage that sent more than 2,500 children and teens to a for-profit detention center while two judges lined their pockets with cash. Author Candy J. Cooper,... Read More

Perfect for elementary school age readers... readers of all ages will enjoy the whimsical artwork and rhymes. Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, has picture books for kids at every age & every stage! Read More

This collection is perfect for more sophisticated young readers who love to dive deeply into beautiful, touching, sometimes painful, sometimes joyful stories. Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, has picture books for kids at every age & every stage! Read More

These picture books are perfect for independent reading or classroom and storytime read-alouds. Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, has picture books for kids at every age & every stage! Read More

True Colors is a new and spellbinding middle grade novel about a girl whose emotions manifest in a colorful haze. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “(I)ntriguing… an absorbing treatise on living fully and truthfully.” Author Abby Cooper reveals why she wrote the book in this informative Q&A! What was the inspiration behind True Colors? What... Read More

March is Women’s History Month and we are so excited to share the little-known stories of American women all month long. Each book on this list tells... Read More

This collection of titles from Astra Books for Young Readers will help kids understand Martin Luther King Jr., an impactful figure... Read More

A peek at a sublime weekday lunch gathering of Hippo Park friends with editorial director Jill Davis, in honor of our one-year mark and Hippo Park‘s first book of 2024, Pepper and Me. It’s been just a bit over a year since we launched Hippo Park. Ta-da! What a joyful time it’s been. Our very... Read More

Hippo Park believes in stories that reflect the joyful, surprising, and endlessly fascinating world that kids live in. Our discovery wish list for when children look inside our picture books? Ideas that are funny, silly and often true, and illustrations that convey emotion when words might not. It’s this spirit that inspired us to craft our... Read More

As the year comes to a close, we’re celebrating Astra Books for Young Readers’ Best Of 2023 books as voted on by readers! 🏅 A 2023 Horn Book Fanfare Book Who was Coretta Scott King? Her black-veiled image at the funeral of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was moving and iconic. This book introduces readers to... Read More