Tweens & Young Adult

Stranded in Mexico after nearly capturing the leaders of SPYDER, thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley desperately needs a shower. But even more so, he and his spy school friends need to come up with a new plan to defeat their enemies; their only clue a key that opens…something.

The mission: Go rogue from the CIA, join up with the British MI6 to locate the leader of SPYDER, the enigmatic Mr. E, and bring down the evil organization once and for all.

Only it won’t be easy. They’ll have to deal with rival evil splinter factions, devious double-crosses, and learning to drive on the opposite side of the road. But they have no other choice: this is their last chance to crack the code on SPYDER.

Good things come to those who wait.

Ben does his best to heed his fortune cookie’s advice, and as a result he is paired with Walter–the kid who’s always picked last–for a school scavenger hunt. Working with Walter must be a good thing if the cookie said so, but so far all he does is talk too loud and recite obscure facts about feet. Meanwhile, Ben has an argument with his best friend Janet, and waiting for her to apologize first isn’t going so well…. But eventually, Ben’s patience starts paying off: if he and Walter are able to pull out a win in the scavenger hunt, they’ll earn a half-day of recess for the whole school! Waiting may not always be a good thing, but taking the time to listen and consider all options isn’t half bad.

Live each day as if it were your last.

When Ben reads his fortune-cookie fortune, he’s alarmed and inspired. Immediately, he begins drafting a bucket list of unfinished tasks and lifelong dreams (finish his 1000-piece model of the Taj Mahal, eat an entire cake, etc….). As Ben marches himself in and out of trouble, takes useful risks, and helps both his parents to see the bigger picture, readers discover how something that seems scary can instead be empowering–leading to friendships that might never have been made, neighbors that might never have been known, and apple pies that might otherwise never have been baked.

An important book for all ages, Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of forty trailblazing black women in American history. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash.

Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things – bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn’t always accept them.

The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come.