The journey is the important thing in this tale of a sympathetic — if temporarily distracted — artistic soul. Features an audio read-along! Ike wants to write a story, an incredible story. He’s all ready to go, but even after cleaning his room and calling his best friend, he somehow can’t seem to get started. And then Ike realizes what’s missing — he needs new ink. His very own ink, made from just the right ingredients. Now what can Ike find that is velvety, dark, and sneaky, just like ink? How far will he go to get it? In Brianne Farley’s whimsical debut picture book, freely illustrated in a fresh, bold collage style, Ike’s adventurous quest to find the perfect ink might just be the inspiration he needs to get started on his incredible story.

Cleaning his room and talking to his best friend while preparing to write what he knows will be an incredible story, little Ike discovers that he is missing just the right ink to get his project underway, a need that requires extraordinary effort to fulfill.

A rich and imaginative discovery of how ink has shaped culture and why it is here to stay. Ink is so much a part of daily life that we take it for granted, yet its invention was as significant as the wheel. Ink not only recorded culture, it bought political power, divided peoples, and led to murderous rivalries. Ancient letters on a page were revered as divine light, and precious ink recipes were held secret for centuries. And, when it first hit markets not so long ago, the excitement over the disposable ballpoint pen equalled that for a new smartphone—with similar complaints to the manufacturers. Curious about its impact on culture, literature, and the course of history, Ted Bishop sets out to explore the story of ink. From Budapest to Buenos Aires, he traces the lives of the innovators who created the ballpoint pen—revolutionary technology that still requires exact engineering today. Bishop visits a ranch in Utah to meet a master ink-maker who relishes igniting linseed oil to make traditional printers' ink. In China, he learns that ink can be an exquisite object, the subject of poetry, and a means of strengthening (or straining) family bonds. And in the Middle East, he sees the world's oldest Qur'an, stained with the blood of the caliph who was assassinated while reading it. An inquisitive and personal tour around the world, Ink asks us to look more closely at something we see so often that we don't see it at all.

A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl's coming-of-age story—and a coming home story—set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea. Ever since Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee emigrated from South Korea to the United States, she's felt her otherness. For a while, her English wasn’t perfect. Her teachers can’t pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyes—especially her eyes—feel wrong. In high school, everything gets harder. Friendships change and end, she falls behind in classes, and fights with her mom escalate. Caught in limbo, with nowhere safe to go, Deb finds her mental health plummeting, resulting in a suicide attempt. But Deb is resilient and slowly heals with the help of art and self-care, guiding her to a deeper understanding of her heritage and herself. This stunning debut graphic memoir features page after page of gorgeous, evocative art, perfect for Tillie Walden fans. It's a cross section of the Korean-American diaspora and mental health, a moving and powerful read in the vein of Hey, Kiddo and The Best We Could Do.

***AWARDED THE INDIE B.R.A.G. MEDALLION*** TRUST NO ONE. It's the first and greatest rule Inkwell Featherfield ever learned. It's also the only way he knows how to survive—besides picking pockets, dodging the law, and using every ounce of his plucky charm. But none of this will be enough to save him now. If only he'd never snooped around a dead man's house. If only he'd never found that pocket watch full of strange magic. If only he'd known the old man had snuffed it at the hands of the ghostly Spektors, or that such dark spirits even existed, because now they're after him. When Ink is approached by an enigmatic group offering to keep him safe, he accepts—only to discover his rescuers are a band of infamous fugitives. Who knew they had a flair for winemaking? Or a penchant for sing-a-longs? Thrust into a world of arcane horrors, powerful politicians, and dangers on every side, the boy has no choice but to finally break his rule and decide who to trust. But with all the secrets, magic, and mystery thickening around him—and the stakes so much higher than he ever imagined—it might just be downright impossible.

Once upon a time, a spell went awry, stranding Make Believe characters in the ordinary world. Since then, Tess "Red" Little--a/k/a Little Red Riding Hood--has worked as an Enforcer for the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. But, consider yourself warned--she's not just some waif with a basket of goodies. All grown up and with nothing to lose, a gun and combat boots is more her style. Red's new assignment threatens to be short on happily ever afters.