Picture Books
For Always Friends
by Tootie Nienow, illustrated by Katherine Ahmed
When a new neighbor becomes a best friend, everything feels perfect—until a few hurtful words put that friendship at risk. For Always Friends? is a tender, relatable story about finding a best friend, making mistakes, and learning how true friendships grow stronger through kindness and forgiveness.
I watch your moving truck and dream.
I hope you’re coming to meet me.
Two boys, both lonely, just know there’s a new friend around the corner. In the moment it takes to knock on a door, the boys simultaneously imagine a bond to last forever. Back-and-forth dialogue brings to life a future full of bike rides, hideouts, secret codes, and handshakes. Time passes, the friends side-by-side, until…
Buddies make mistakes. Mean words can hurt. But best friends learn to navigate the ups and downs of a lasting friendship.
Poetic text and vibrant illustrations reveal how dreams can blossom into reality. Together, the boys manifest a friendship rooted in joy, kindness, and forgiveness . . . for always.
COMING SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2026!
Lion on the Inside
by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir and Judith Henderson illustrated by Katherine Ahmed
A Muslim American girl at the top of her game makes a difficult choice in this powerful and beautifully told true story about breaking barriers.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir was born to play basketball. At three, she has her own hoop. By seventeen, she’s the star player on her school’s varsity team. On the day of the playoffs, though, the referee says she can’t play while wearing her hijab. Her teammates refuse to play, the crowd shouts its support and the referee relents. With that game, Bilqis becomes the all-time lead scorer in Massachusetts State history and goes on to play college ball, where she is the first woman to play in a hijab in the NCAA – she even plays basketball with President Obama at the White House!
The story follows Bilqis into adulthood and her heartbreaking decision to walk away from a professional basketball career when the rules once again won’t allow her to wear a hijab. Bilqis becomes an activist, fighting for years on the international stage advocating for young Muslim women, and eventually the rule is overturned. Written in free verse in a voice that captures the cadence of the game, this picture book biography, coauthored by Bilqis and award-winning writer Judith Henderson, is both a love poem to the sport of basketball and an inspiring story about how one person can effect change. Richly colored illustrations by Katherine Ahmed add further emotional depth to the story.
This book will spark discussions about respect, beliefs, values, culture and discrimination. Back matter includes biographical information, photos and a list of sources for further exploration. Lion on the Inside is the first book in the CitizenKid collection that is geared to younger readers ages 5 to 8.
