Books like Dancing in the Wings
By Debbie Allen
For the kid who's been told to shrink themselves smaller, quieter, more 'normal' — Sassy takes up exactly as much space as she needs to. Spirited, hopeful, a little defiant, and full of movement.
A determined little blue engine returns with words of encouragement for anyone facing a new chapter, showing that the same grit that carried her up the mountain can carry you forward too.
A glamorous Hollywood movie star secretly spends her nights inventing — and during World War Two, she develops a groundbreaking communications system the military doesn't take seriously, at first, because of who she is.
Two sisters wake before sunrise six days a week to practice tennis, pushing through boos and taunts from a sport that didn't expect them, on their way to becoming legends.
A true story about a young inventor who builds his own microphone from a broomstick, a cinderblock, and a telephone, then goes on to engineer the world's first solid-body electric guitar.
When a train full of toys and treats needs to get over a mountain, a little blue engine agrees to try — chugging along on determination alone.
An original poem celebrates girls and girlhood in all their forms, honoring how girls have shaped history while calling them to stand together and march boldly into the future.
A confident Black boy affirms everything he is — creative, funny, brave, sometimes afraid, always resilient — celebrating his own worth in a string of joyful, declarative statements.
A boy settles into the barber's chair for a fresh cut, and with every snip of the clippers feels himself transform into something sharper, prouder, and more sure of who he is.
A young traveler sets off into the wide world, soaring to great heights and seeing amazing sights, but also facing slumps, lurches, and lonely stretches along the way.
A thoughtful girl whispers her wish to change the world to a paper crane each night, and slowly learns to push past feeling invisible so her light can shine.
A boy in Punjab, born with weak legs that kept him from playing cricket or walking to school, grows stronger year by year on his family's farm and eventually runs marathons at over one hundred years old.
A secret night-time inventor builds gadgets from odds and ends, but hides them under her bed until her great-great-aunt Rose visits and helps her see her crashed flying machine as a success, not a failure.
