Books by Tracey Baptiste

Boy 2.0 (Boy 2.0, 1)

by Tracey Baptiste

An action-packed superhero story from New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste

Win “Coal” Keegan has just landed in his latest foster home, with a big, noisy, slightly nosy family named the McKays. They seem eager to welcome Coal, but he’s wary of trusting them. So, he doesn’t tell them that he went for a walk with chalk in his pocket to cover a nearby street with his art. He doesn’t tell them that a neighbor found Coal drawing, pulled a gun on him, and fired it. He doesn’t tell them the police chased him. And he definitely doesn’t tell them that when everything went down, Coal somehow turned invisible.

But he did.

Now he has to figure out how. Is he a superhero? Some kind of mutant? A science experiment? Is that why he has no family of his own? As Coal searches for answers and slowly learns to control his invisibility, he turns to the McKay kids and friends both new and old for help. But they soon discover they’re not the only ones looking for a Black boy with superpowers, and the situation is far stranger—and more dangerous—than they ever could have expected.

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

by Renée Watson, Jason Reynolds, Dhonielle Clayton, Kekla Magoon, Tracey Baptiste, Lamar Giles, Rita Williams-Garcia, Liara Tamani, Ibi Zoboi, Coe Booth, Brandy Colbert, Jay Coles, Leah Henderson, Justina Ireland, Varian Johnson, Tochi Onyebuchi, Nic Stone

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.
Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.
Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds.
Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of.
Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.
Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough.
Contributors:
Justina Ireland
Varian Johnson
Rita Williams-Garcia
Dhonielle Clayton
Kekla Magoon
Leah Henderson
Tochi Onyebuchi
Jason Reynolds
Nic Stone
Liara Tamani
Renée Watson
Tracey Baptiste
Coe Booth
Brandy Colbert
Jay Coles
Ibi Zoboi
Lamar Giles

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

by Renée Watson, Jason Reynolds, Dhonielle Clayton, Kekla Magoon, Tracey Baptiste, Lamar Giles, Rita Williams-Garcia, Liara Tamani, Ibi Zoboi, Coe Booth, Brandy Colbert, Jay Coles, Leah Henderson, Justina Ireland, Varian Johnson, Tochi Onyebuchi, Nic Stone

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.
Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.
Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds.
Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of.
Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.
Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough.
Contributors:
Justina Ireland
Varian Johnson
Rita Williams-Garcia
Dhonielle Clayton
Kekla Magoon
Leah Henderson
Tochi Onyebuchi
Jason Reynolds
Nic Stone
Liara Tamani
Renée Watson
Tracey Baptiste
Coe Booth
Brandy Colbert
Jay Coles
Ibi Zoboi
Lamar Giles

Looking for a Jumbie

by Tracey Baptiste

New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste and acclaimed illustrator Amber Ren take readers on a fun, creepy, storytime-ready romp through a forest filled with creatures from Caribbean folklore.
I’m looking for a jumbie, I’m going to find a scary one.
But Mama says jumbies exist only in stories. So Naya sets out on a nighttime adventure to find out for herself.
No such thing, say the friends she makes along the way.
But Naya is sure that jumbies are real. Some have big mouths. Or thick fur. Or glowing skin. Or sharp teeth. Kind of like her new friends.…
Looking for a Jumbie is a gentle, bouncy, and creepily fun read-aloud inspired by traditional Caribbean tales.

Minecraft: The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel

by Tracey Baptiste

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This official Minecraft novel is an action-packed thriller! When a new virtual-reality version of the game brings her dreams—and doubts—to life, one player must face her fears.

Bianca has never been good at following the plan. She’s more of an act-now, deal-with-the-consequences-later kind of person. But consequences can’t be put off forever, as Bianca learns when she and her best friend, Lonnie, are in a terrible car crash.

Waking up in the hospital, almost paralyzed by her injuries, Bianca is faced with questions she’s not equipped to answer. She chooses instead to try a new virtual-reality version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish, giving her control over a world at the very moment she thought she’d lost it. As she explores this new realm, she encounters a mute, glitching avatar she believes to be Lonnie. Bianca teams up with Esme and Anton, two kids who are also playing on the hospital server, to save her friend.

But the road to recovery isn’t without its own dangers. The kids are swarmed by mobs seemingly generated by their fears and insecurities, and now Bianca must deal with the uncertainties that have been plaguing her: Is Lonnie really in the game? And can Bianca help him return to reality?

Collect all of the official Minecraft books:
Minecraft: The Island
Minecraft: The Crash
Minecraft: The Lost Journals
Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets
Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress
Minecraft: Guide to Exploration
Minecraft: Guide to Creative
Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End
Minecraft: Guide to Redstone
Minecraft: Mobestiary
Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions
Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames
Minecraft: Guide to Farming
Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure
Minecraft for Beginners

Minecraft: The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel

by Tracey Baptiste

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This official Minecraft novel is an action-packed thriller! When a new virtual-reality version of the game brings her dreams—and doubts—to life, one player must face her fears.

Bianca has never been good at following the plan. She’s more of an act-now, deal-with-the-consequences-later kind of person. But consequences can’t be put off forever, as Bianca learns when she and her best friend, Lonnie, are in a terrible car crash.

Waking up in the hospital, almost paralyzed by her injuries, Bianca is faced with questions she’s not equipped to answer. She chooses instead to try a new virtual-reality version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish, giving her control over a world at the very moment she thought she’d lost it. As she explores this new realm, she encounters a mute, glitching avatar she believes to be Lonnie. Bianca teams up with Esme and Anton, two kids who are also playing on the hospital server, to save her friend.

But the road to recovery isn’t without its own dangers. The kids are swarmed by mobs seemingly generated by their fears and insecurities, and now Bianca must deal with the uncertainties that have been plaguing her: Is Lonnie really in the game? And can Bianca help him return to reality?

Collect all of the official Minecraft books:
Minecraft: The Island
Minecraft: The Crash
Minecraft: The Lost Journals
Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book of Secrets
Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress
Minecraft: Guide to Exploration
Minecraft: Guide to Creative
Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End
Minecraft: Guide to Redstone
Minecraft: Mobestiary
Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions
Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames
Minecraft: Guide to Farming
Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure
Minecraft for Beginners

African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History

by Tracey Baptiste

In this expansive collection of history, meet ten real-life kings, queens, inventors, scholars, and visionaries who lived in Africa thousands of years ago and changed the world.
Black history begins thousands of years ago with the many cultures and people of the African continent. Through portraits of ten heroic figures, bestselling author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on an empowering, energetic journey through time to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built nations and shaped the course of history: Menes: Creator of Dynasties Merneith: A Queen Erased Imhotep: From Peasant to God Aesop: The Wisest Man in the Ancient World Hannibal Barca: Unparalleled Military Strategist Terence: North African Playwright Amanirenas: Warrior, Diplomat, Queen Tin Hinan: Founder of a City on the Dunes Mansa Musa: The Richest Man of All Time Queen Idia: Kingmaker
Illustrator Hillary D. Wilson's brilliant portraits accompany each profile, along with vivid, information-filled landscapes, maps, and graphics for readers to pore over and return to again and again. This rich and thrilling work, which celebrates Black excellence and provides an essential correction to Eurocentric tellings of history, will enthrall readers of all ages.
“In African Icons, Baptiste engages in the hard work of unveiling the myths about the African continent to young readers . . . This is a great beginner’s guide to pre-colonial Africa.” —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History

by Tracey Baptiste

In this expansive collection of history, meet ten real-life kings, queens, inventors, scholars, and visionaries who lived in Africa thousands of years ago and changed the world.
Black history begins thousands of years ago with the many cultures and people of the African continent. Through portraits of ten heroic figures, bestselling author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on an empowering, energetic journey through time to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built nations and shaped the course of history: Menes: Creator of Dynasties Merneith: A Queen Erased Imhotep: From Peasant to God Aesop: The Wisest Man in the Ancient World Hannibal Barca: Unparalleled Military Strategist Terence: North African Playwright Amanirenas: Warrior, Diplomat, Queen Tin Hinan: Founder of a City on the Dunes Mansa Musa: The Richest Man of All Time Queen Idia: Kingmaker
Illustrator Hillary D. Wilson's brilliant portraits accompany each profile, along with vivid, information-filled landscapes, maps, and graphics for readers to pore over and return to again and again. This rich and thrilling work, which celebrates Black excellence and provides an essential correction to Eurocentric tellings of history, will enthrall readers of all ages.
“In African Icons, Baptiste engages in the hard work of unveiling the myths about the African continent to young readers . . . This is a great beginner’s guide to pre-colonial Africa.” —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

Rise of the Jumbies

by Tracey Baptiste

The second installment of the action-packed, fantasy-adventure series, The Jumbies.

Deep beneath the waves, a great enemy awakens . . .

Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne.

To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends Dru, Bouki, and Malik must travel with mermaids across the ocean to fetch a powerful object for Mama D’Leau. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s adventures across the sea is the jumbie that waits for her back home.

With action-packed storytelling and inventive twists on Caribbean and West African mythology and fairy tales, Rise of the Jumbies is a breathlessly exciting tale of courage and friendship.

An NPR Best Book of 2017
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017

The Jumbies

by Tracey Baptiste

The start of an exciting series filled with Caribbean folklore and daring adventure.

Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.

The Jumbie God's Revenge (The Jumbies)

by Tracey Baptiste

Thunder rumbles, lightning strikes, danger appears . . .

When an out-of-season hurricane sweeps through Corinne’s seaside village, Corinne knows it’s not an ordinary storm. At first Corinne believes Mama D’Leau, the powerful and cruel jumbie who rules the ocean, has caused the hurricane. Then an even more ferocious storm wrecks the island, sending villagers fleeing their houses for shelter in the mountains, and Corinne discovers the storms weren’t caused by a jumbie, but by the angry god Huracan.

Now Corinne, with the help of her friends and even some of her enemies, must race against time to find out what has angered Huracan and try to fix it before her island home is destroyed forever.

The Jumbie God’s Revenge blends Caribbean and West African tales to present powerful themes of community and heroism in a heart-pounding action adventure.

Mermaid and Pirate

by Tracey Baptiste

A mermaid and a pirate build a friendship through kindness, empathy, and shared adventure in this heartwarming picture book by New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste, with bright, bold illustrations by Leisl Adams.

Glub glub…

Aargh...

Mermaid and Pirate cannot understand each other. They speak different languages and come from different worlds. But they’re quick to lend a hand, or a tail, when the sky grows stormy and waters get rough, and a friendship is born. Sometimes kindness and generosity speak louder than words.

Boy 2. 0

by Tracey Baptiste

An action-packed superhero story from New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste.



Win "Coal" Keegan has just landed in his latest foster home, with a big, noisy, slightly nosy family named the McKays. They seem eager to welcome Coal, but he's wary of trusting them. So, he doesn't tell them that he went for a walk with chalk in his pocket to cover a nearby street with his art. He doesn't tell them that a neighbor found Coal drawing, pulled a gun on him, and fired it. He doesn't tell them the police chased him. And he definitely doesn't tell them that when everything went down, Coal somehow turned invisible.

But he did.

Now he has to figure out how. Is he a superhero? Some kind of mutant? A science experiment? Is that why he has no family of his own? As Coal searches for answers and slowly learns to control his invisibility, he turns to the McKay kids and friends both new and old for help. But they soon discover they're not the only ones looking for a Black boy with superpowers, and the situation is far stranger--and more dangerous--than they ever could have expected.



The adventure continues in Kid X!

Kid X

by Tracey Baptiste

The thrilling sequel to Boy 2.0, from New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste, perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers and Into the Spiderverse.

Win "Coal" Keegan is starting to get the hang of his new life. He's come to love his foster family, the McKays, and is getting more confident with his invisibility powers. Almost too confident. At first, he uses his abilities for small favors. But soon, the favors snowball into bigger asks and messier pranks. And when rumors surface about a "ghost" in the neighborhood, Coal realizes it might be best to keep his talents under wraps.

But that gets harder when Coal starts to suspect that someone--or something--might be tracking him. And as the evidence stacks up, Coal realizes he's not the only one with powers. Is his pursuer friend or foe? What would it be like to meet someone just like him?

As the stakes rise and Coal finds allies and enemies in unexpected places, he'll have to channel a new level of bravery to protect himself, his family, and his world. Packed with themes of technology, race, and justice, this exhilarating follow-up to Boy 2.0 returns readers to the world of their new favorite superhero.

Moko Magic: Museum Mayhem

by Tracey Baptiste

From the best-selling author of the Jumbies series comes
another Afro-Caribbean-inspired story, about three cousins who are called on to use their moko (protector) magic when stolen art goes on the rampage.

Twelve-year-old Misty and her two cousins, Aidan and Brooke, are mokos--protector spirits--who recently combined their magic to save Brooklyn's carnival celebration. Now they're excited about Uncle Andrew's upcoming art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. He has chosen to create a piece centered around a Benin Bronze, one of several artworks that were looted from Nigeria in 1897, and the cousins are treated to a private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to help him choose it.

When Misty views the bronzes for the first time, she is transported into a long-ago memory of an oba (king) who was stern and angry. And that's just the beginning of the trouble. Once the selected bronze is delivered from the Met, the Brooklyn Museum is overrun with dust bunnies that attack people. A mysterious force controlling the dust begins to pull innocent victims into artworks and trap them inside. The cousins are going to need a lot of help--BIG help--to defeat this fearsome foe.

Tracey Baptiste, the author of the popular Jumbies series, has once again used her special brand of magic to concoct a wildly imaginative adventure as thought-provoking as it is thrilling.

Carnival Chaos

by Tracey Baptiste

From the best-selling author of the Jumbies series comes a magic-and-mythology-filled novel for 8-12-year-olds that celebrates Afro-Caribbean culture and Black history

Weirdness and wonders abound in this Afro-Caribbean-inspired action-adventure novel about 3 cousins who discover they are mokos--protector spirits--during carnival season in Brooklyn

Twelve-year-old Misty and her mother have just moved from Trinidad to Brooklyn, New York, in time for the annual carnival celebrations over Labor Day weekend. Misty has plenty to deal with getting used to living with her cousins Aiden and Brooke in her new surroundings. On top of that, her mom is too busy trying to find a job and her aunts and uncles are too preoccupied with carnival preparations to pay any attention to her.

Then really strange things begin to happen. A ball of feathers in the basement turns into a creature that squeaks and rolls around. When Misty and her cousins eat pieces of mango anchar, flames shoot out of their mouths. Most disturbing of all, Misty begins to see visions of the future--scary visions that soon come true.

Misty discovers that she and her cousins come from a long line of mokos, people who have special powers meant to help them protect their community. Misty can see impending danger, Aiden can heal, and Brooke has crazy physical strength. The trio is just learning about their skills when Misty senses something watching her. And then each of the carnival events is disrupted by a different disaster. Some kind of evil force is clearly trying to stop the festivities. But why? And will moko magic be enough to save the day?

Super Goat Girl

by Tracey Baptiste

A graphic picture book about a shy new kid in superhero school, who's not like any of the others, and has to figure out how not to feel so super-strange

On Super Goat Girl's first day at her new school, she's met with stares. Laserbeam Lass, Robo Kid, and Noodle Boy don't know what to make of her—after all, what kind of a super has no swagger, and not even a cape? At recess, while the others have fun writing with lasers, doing lightning-fast math, and being super stretchy, Super Goat Girl doubts she can measure up. But when an army of evil aliens appears and ties up their teacher, Miss Damsel, it’s Super Goat Girl to the rescue—the only one who can chomp through the impossibly strong rope. She's sure she'll fit in now, but the other kids just seem confused—is chewing even a superpower? So maybe she's still not the right kind of super. At lunch, she gets another chance to prove herself when a giant gorilla crashes into the cafeteria and her supersonic bleat scares him away. But is being loud a superpower?

Then the biggest test comes when the other kids accidentally create a black hole and Miss Damsel is sucked inside. This time when Super Goat Girl helps them save the day with her bravery and quick thinking, they begin to appreciate her. After all, almost every day calls for some superpowers—and they now realize that by sticking together, they’ll have the best chance of taking on anything that comes their way.

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin Civil Rights Heroes

by Tracey Baptiste

A 2024 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Award Winner

Turn back the clock with History Comics! In this volume, learn about two brave women who stood up against segregation, setting in motion the Montgomery Bus Boycott!

A Black woman who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus sparked a bus boycott and became part of one of the most iconic moments in American history. Yet, few know that Rosa Parks had actively worked toward social justice her whole life. And even fewer know that the seeds of the statewide bus boycott were first planted by a teenager named Claudette Colvin, who was arrested on similar charges months earlier. Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin inspired a nation, showing how positive change can start with a single defiant act. Their actions have become the stuff of legend, but there is so much more to their lives, their stories, and the movement they began.