Misty Copeland

What I love about Olympic gold medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad’s debut children’s book is how it deftly shows -- not tells -- that difference doesn’t have to be scary. The book follows the first day of school for the sisters Fazia and Asiya. It is Asiya’s first day wearing a hijab and she is enormously proud. But, as the girls quickly find, her head covering proves a lighting rod for bigotry. Told with skill and illustrated with a specificity that makes it ring true -- i.e. the subtle differences in head covering from Asiya’s hijab to her mother’s abaya -- The Proudest Blue shines with pride and strength.