Books published by publisher Just Us Books, Inc

Courtney is very excited. Her seventh birthday is only a few days away, and her mother has planned a special party. All of Courtney's classmates will be invited, including Courtney's best friend, Dejana. Courtney and Dejana have been best friends for a long time. They ride the bus to school together; they sit next to each other in class. It has never mattered to them that one is white and one is black. Dejana is excited, too. In the days leading up to the party, she works hard at several odd jobs so she can buy a special gift to give to her friend. But when the invitations to the party are passed out, Dejana doesn't receive one. Courtney's mother doesn't want Dejana to attend. Both Dejana and Courtney are devastated. But friendship wins the day when Courtney's determination forces her mother to change her mind. In engaging prose, actress and educator Loretta Long shows that loyalty and determination can overcome racial prejudice and ignorance.

When her father is transferred from his position as a professor at a Capetown, South Africa university to Buena Vista, California, Thandie Sobukwe says goodbye to her friends, family and favorites places and hello to self-doubt, rejection and cultural confusion. Everything from the way she looks to the way she speaks, and even the way she thinks is questioned, mocked or simply misunderstood. Thandie's struggling to be confortable in her skin, but between her California girl dreams, ambivalent feelings about Black American culture, and sensitivity about the ethnic background she thinks makes her stand out too much, she doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Thandie's facing a real dilemma: How can you be true to yourself when you're trying to discover who you are?

All of us have special places in our childhood memories. They are happy places, fun places. They are places where unique people live. They are places that elicit warm, comforting and safe feelings. They are places we want to visit again and again. MaDear's old green house is such as place. There, Sunday morning breakfast is an event. Hide and go seek is more than just a game. The tall pecan tree isn’t just a familiar landmark. It's a place to rest and dream. At MaDear’s old green house nurturing relatives come and go. You’re surrounded by a nourishing and caring community. And there is freedom to jump, to skip, to run and to grow. Denise Lewis Patrick’s own childhood memories of visits with her grandmother are the inspiration for this poignant story. Through heartwarming and lyrical prose, Patrick shares memories of summers at her special place: MaDear’s old green house. It is a place all children should have a chance to visit at least once. Patrick’s moving story is beautifully illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler’s bold and vibrant scratchboard images. Much may change around us. We grow older. We move. A special place, however, lives forever—-just like MaDear’s old green house.