Astra Young Readers News

4 Perfect Poetry Picture Books for Preschool & Kindergarten! (updated 3/2024)

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 Q&A

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

18 Picture Books that Celebrate Women’s History

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

martin luther king jr day

9 Important Books That Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement

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

An Intimate Picture Book Celebration

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

Spark Conversations with Hippo Park

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

Best of the Best: ABFYR’s 2023 Books on Best Of Lists

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

A Thank-You from the Author of PEPPER AND ME

Beatrice Alemagna is the author of PEPPER AND ME, now a Kids’ Indie Next Pick. DEAR READER, when I wrote about a girl and the scab on her knee, I was transported back to the painful moments in my own childhood when I fell off my bike or tripped in the schoolyard. I knew this... Read More

A Note from Maya MacGregor, Author of THE EVOLVING TRUTH OF EVER-STRONGER WILL

Hello! When I first started writing this book, I had one real thought in my mind: this will be the book I wish I had had, the book I wish someone else had written for me. Will came to me, as many of my stories do, with the first few lines fully formed. It sat like... Read More

Quirky Nonfiction books from Astra Books for Young Readers

Explore a wonder-filled house, a museum of nothing, and more in Astra’s fantastic fall collection

The ABFYR marketing team runs librarians through a selection of Fall 2023 titles 1. Addie and the Acrobats Addie must choose fame or friendship in this delightfully off-beat picture book debut, perfect for fans of Aaron Blabey and Ryan T. Higgins. 2. Look and Cook Snacks: A First Book of Recipes in Pictures The first... Read More

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