Random House Children’s Books to Partner With Ebony Jr! Brand on New Little Golden Books Publishing Program

Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) will publish a new line of books within the Little Golden Books imprint, in partnership with Ebony Media Publishing’s Ebony Jr. imprint, as announced today by Sonali Fry, vice president and co-publisher, Crown BFYR, and vice president and publisher, Little Golden Books and Sesame Street.

The books will be packaged by Lavette Books and written and illustrated by Black creators. Titles will be geared toward children ages two to five and include nonfiction and fiction.

RHCB’s new line of books will support Ebony Media Publishing’s mission to ignite a love of reading and a love of self in Black children, profiling cultural icons and celebrating families and holiday traditions. With an over 75-year history of amplifying Black voices, the Ebony brand is one of the most recognizable names in America. Ebony Jr. magazine was created in 1973 and remained in print until 1985, featuring stories, comics, puzzles, and cartoons centering Black children.

The first two Little Golden Books titles will be biographies celebrating the accomplishments, creativity, and undeniable influence of people of color from all walks of life. Harry Belafonte: A Little Golden Book Biography and Beyoncé: A Little Golden Book Biography—both on sale Jan. 10, 2023—will chronicle each star’s rise to fame and cultural legacy. Both will be written by bestselling editor and author Lavaille Lavette, with illustrations from Anastasia Magloire Williams.

Two additional titles will be released later in 2023, introducing readers to the fictional character Jayylen™, a six-year-old boy who dreams of growing up to be an engineer. In Jayylen’s™ Juneteenth Surprise (on sale May 2, 2023), Jayylen plans a visit by a popular Zydeco artist for the neighborhood Juneteenth celebration. His adventures continue in Jayylen’s™ Christmas Wish (on sale Sept. 12, 2023), where he comes up with a plan to bring his brother Manuel—who’s in the Army—home for Christmas. Both titles are written by Lavaille Lavette and illustrated by David Wilkerson.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with such an iconic brand on stories for young readers, and look forward to continuing to collaborate with Ebony Jr! together with Lavaille Lavette on additional publishing in the future,” says Fry.

“The Ebony brand has had a tremendous impact on American culture, and these new books provide such important representation for young Black readers and their families.”

“It is such an honor to collaborate with Random House Children’s Books and the team at Little Golden Books. Our aligned mission of amplifying African American–centered stories will widen the readership of this kind of content for all children,” said Dr. Elinor Jackson, editorial director/senior vice president of Ebony Media Publishing.

Random House Children’s Books (rhcbooks.com) is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and nonfiction, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Ebony Jr! is Ebony Publishing’s home for books for young readers targeting African American children in the three-to-12 age range. Since 1945, the Ebony brand has shined a spotlight on the world of Black people in America and worldwide, telling stories—for us, by us. In 1973, Ebony expanded its readership to include children by producing Ebony Jr!

Lavette Books is an innovative publisher and book packager that acquires a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books. We publish and package for the following brands: One Street Books, Every Child an Author, Ebony Media Publishing LLC, Hajimzel, Ebony Magazine Publishing, Ebony Jr!, L. Street Books, Lavaille Lavette Books, Providence Books, and The Roux^® Books. As story hunters and storytellers, we publish memoirs, cultural commentary, engaging self-help, sports, graphic novels, genre-defining series, and children’s books that entertain, engage, and enlighten.