For Young Readers
Akeem Keeps Bees! A Close-Up Look at the Honey Makers and Pollinators of Sankofa Farms

Told from Akeem’s perspective, Akeem Keeps Bees! begins with the arrival and installation of a package of bees and follows Akeem and his Dad throughout the year as they inspect the hive, find the queen, deal with a swarm, harvest honey, and prepare for winter.

Every part of the process is illustrated for young readers, teaching them the special role that bees play on a farm. The author, Kamal Bell, is a leading voice among Black farmers educating and inspiring Black youth about farming and beekeeping. Perfect for children ages 6 through 10.

• In 2025, NC Humanities distributed 440 book copies with literacy resources to 22 libraries, schools, and community groups across the state. 

For Adult Readers

Katharine, The Wright Sister by Tracey Ennerson Wood

It all started with two boys and a bicycle shop. Wilbur and Orville Wright, both unsuited to college and disinclined to leave home, jumped on the popular new fad of bicycle riding and opened a shop in Dayton, Ohio. Repairing and selling soon led to tinkering and building as the brothers offered improved models to their eager customers. Amid their success, a new dream began to take shape. Engineers across the world were puzzling over how to build a powered flying machine—and Wilbur and Orville wanted in on the challenge. But their younger sister, Katharine, knew they couldn’t do it without her. The three siblings made a pact: the three of them would solve the problem of human flight.

As her brothers obsessed over blueprints and risked life and limb testing new models on the sandy beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions. She sourced materials, managed communications, and kept Wilbur and Orville focused on their goal—even when it seemed hopeless. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind.
What followed was the kind of fame and fortune the Wrights had never imagined. The siblings traveled the world to demonstrate their invention, trained other pilots, and built new machines that could fly higher and farther. But at the height of their success, tragedy wrenched the Wright family apart… and forced Katharine to make an impossible choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

From internationally bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood, Katharine, the Wright Sister is an unforgettable novel that shines a spotlight on one of the most important and overlooked women in history, and the sacrifices she made so that others might fly.

Watch the recorded virtual book event. 

For Young Readers

Bountiful Red Acres by Eileen Heyes and illustrated by Dare Coulter

Young readers can get a taste of farm life in the North Carolina Piedmont through Bountiful Red Acres. The story chronicles a year in the lives of two neighboring families—one Black and one White—moving from season to season through the year 1900. Despite the racial inequalities built into American life by both law and custom, the Sawyers and Hauser families share an abiding friendship as they rear children, tend crops, and build community.

Author Eileen Heyes and artist Dare Coulter bring these real Surry County families to life for readers, offering a vibrant look at neighbors caring for each other as they force a living out of the red clay soil that is known today as Horne Creek Farm State Historic Site. This book was published in association with the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission.

• In 2024, NC Humanities distributed 840 books and book boxes with reading resources to 42 libraries, schools, and community groups across the state.

For Adult Readers

Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy

Toya Gardner, a young Black artist from Atlanta, has returned to her ancestral home in the North Carolina mountains to trace her family history and complete her graduate thesis. But when she encounters a still-standing Confederate monument in the heart of town, she sets her sights on something bigger. Meanwhile, local deputies find a man sleeping in the back of a station wagon and believe him to be nothing more than some slack-jawed drifter. Yet a search of the man’s vehicle reveals that he is a high-ranking member of the Klan, and the uncovering of a notebook filled with local names threatens to turn the mountain on end. After two horrific crimes split the county apart, every soul must wrestle with deep and unspoken secrets that stretch back for generations. Those We Thought We Knew is an urgent unraveling of the dark underbelly of a community. Richly drawn and bracingly honest, it asks what happens when the people you’ve always known turn out to be monsters, what do you do when everything you ever believed crumbles away?

• Watch our Those We Thought We Knew Book Discussion with author David Joy.

For Young Readers: 

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn

Bex and Davey’s summer in the saltmarsh is different this year, thanks to the record-breaking drought. Even the fish seem listless—and each day the water level lowers farther. When they discover a mysterious underwater statue, they’re thrilled at the chance to solve the puzzle of its origin. But when they learn of a development plan that will destroy their beloved marsh, they need to act quickly. Unfortunately, sometimes progress happens whether you’re ready or not. What will it mean if Bex and Davey lose their corner of the marsh where otters frolic and dragonflies buzz—their favorite place to be siblings together?

• In 2023, NC Humanities distributed 600 books and box boxes with reading resources to 30 libraries, schools, and community groups across the state. 

• Watch our The Kudzu Queen Book Discussion with author Mimi Herman and Dr. Marc Cohen.

For Young Readers:

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor 

Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she must do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected. With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O’Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what’s right when everything else seems wrong.

For Adult Readers:

The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myer

North Carolina, 1946. One woman. A discovery that could rewrite history. Shedding light on the hidden history of women’s activism during the post-war period, at its heart, The Tobacco Wives is a deeply human, emotionally satisfying, and dramatic novel about the power of female connection and the importance of seeking truth. 

• Watch our The Tobacco Wives Book Discussion with author Adele Myers and historian Beth Nevarez.

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

The Edge of Anything is a young adult novel set in the mountains of North Carolina. Len, a loner teen photographer, and Sage, a star athlete with a recent medical disqualification, both need college scholarships. After a chance encounter, the two girls form an unlikely friendship. Both Len and Sage are keeping secrets, that if kept hidden, could cost them everything.

• Download the Thinking Questions.

My N.C. from A to Z written by Michelle Lanier and illustrated by Dare Coulter 

My N.C. from A to Z celebrates pride of place, creates connections to North Carolina’s rich African American heritage, and teaches children about human equality. Each letter of the alphabet introduces an African American person or place who has shaped North Carolina’s arts, culture, and social-justice legacy.