Jacqueline Woodson’s first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winnerBrown Girl Dreamingcelebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories.

It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat–by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for A Room to Talk), they discover it’s safe to talk about what’s bothering them–everything from Esteban’s father’s deportation and Haley’s father’s incarceration to Amari’s fears of racial profiling and Ashton’s adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.

Jacqueline Woodson,born in Columbus, Ohio, grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from college with a B.A. in English. She is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a four-time National Book Award finalist, and a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner. Her books includeBefore the Ever After;New York TimesbestsellersThe Day You BeginandHarbor Me;The Other Side,Each Kindness, Caldecott Honor bookComing On Home Soon; Newbery Honor winnersFeathers,Show Way, andAfter Tupac and D Foster; andMiracle’s Boys, which received theLA TimesBook Prize and the Coretta Scott King Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.

• Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books; Reprint edition (April 21, 2020)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 192 pages
• ISBN-10: 0525515143
• ISBN-13: 9780525515142
• Reading age: 10 – 13 years
• Grade level: 5 – 6
• Item Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches