Let It Shine!: A Celebration of You -- Carole Boston Weatherford, Hardcover

From the Newberry Honor-winning author of Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom comes a joyful picture book set to "This Little Light of Mine." With a unique jacket and case cover, it's the perfect gift for all of life's milestones.

This little light reflects
an everlasting flame:
Hope that was passed down to you
by those who overcame.
A new sun is rising.
Tomorrow's yours to claim.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Read or sing along to affirmations that will inspire children as well as adults to dream big and commemorate every success. The powerful text reminds readers that everyone has potential for greatness; it shines brightly from within and sparks your determination to reach for the stars, even when you feel doubt.

The vibrant illustrations focus on kids and adults enjoying everyday moments like reading, gardening, and reuniting, as well as commemorating milestones and achievements, like graduating or winning a medal. Certain images also pay homage to historical changemakers such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Shirley Chisholm, and others who paved the way for the Black community.

With two distinct illustrated covers, one on the jacket and the other on the case, this book is the perfect gift for graduation and life's major milestones. It encourages everyone to fan their spark into a flame, celebrate joy, and cherish each moment.

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Published: 01/20/2026
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9780593805756
Audience: Ages 4-8

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2025

About the Author
Carole Boston Weatherford is a two-time NAACP Image Award Winner, an ALA-ALSC Children's Literature Legacy Award Winner, and the author of Standing in the Need of Prayer, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner; Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, which won the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards, a Caldecott Honor, and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor Book Box Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom; Family Feast!; and many other acclaimed books. She was also named the 2025-2026 Young People's Poet Laureate. Carole was born in Baltimore, where she now resides.

Tequitia Andrews is an artist and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia. Starting off primarily as a painter, Tequitia (pronounced tuh-KEE-ta) took an independent learning journey focusing on all the different facets of art making and found her voice in the world of illustration. She has illustrated the picture books Every Body: A First Conversation About Bodies, The Story of Serena Williams: An Inspiring Biography for Young Readers, One Hen and Then . . . The Story of a Small Loan and a Big Dream, and others.