The Latest Title
Featured by Mychal Threets, Resident Librarian of PBS and host of Reading Rainbow, and appearing in venerated lists like The Children’s Book Council’s Small Moments of Gratitude and MaiStoryBook’s Top 24 Books of 2024 , Next Level: A Hymn in Gratitude for Neurodiversity is a love letter from Samara to her non-speaking, magic-weaving, neurodivergent son. Kirkus calls Next Level “a deeply empathetic celebration of familial love and neurodiversity.” Read the full Kirkus Starred Review here. Next level is illustrated by Kaylani Juanita and published by Tilbury House Publishers. You can purchase this title on Amazon or through Indiebound, Print, or Longfellow Books.
Debut Title (Over 30k Copies sold):
This debut children’s book, a masterfully crafted song of self-love, won The 2020 Lupine Award for Children’s Literature as well as The 2021 International Literacy Association’s Award for Primary Fiction. It also won a 2020 Coretta Scott King Honor for Kaylani Juanita’s illustrations. Magnificent Homespun Brown has been included in several Best Books of 2020 lists, including:
- Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best of the Best Book List
- The Boston Globe’s Best of 2020 Children’s Books
- The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2020
- Happily Ever Elephants’ Best Picture Books of 2020
To purchase your copy, visit Amazon, Indiebound, Print, or Longfellow Books.
Black Hair Love
Magic Like That is Samara’s second lyrical picture book with an emphasis on identity celebration. It was featured on the Bookstagang Best Picture Books of 2021 list and was honored by a Kirkus starred review. Kirkus calls this book “A fine addition to an expanding body of hair-affirming books that exude Black girl self-love and confidence.” Read the full review here. Magic Like That is illustrated by Geneva Bowers and published by Lee & Low Books. You can order Magic Like That at Barns & Noble, Amazon, and Bookshop, or find it at your local bookstores–Portland people, try Print and Longfellow Books!
Poetry
Samara’s work has been included in anthologies such as From Root to Seed: Black, Brown, and Indigenous Poets Write the Northeast (edited by Samaa Abdurraqib, NatureCulture 2023) and It Rains Diamonds On Neptune (edited by Rylan Hynes, Telling Room, 2025). Her poetry has also been featured in multiple editions of the online lit journal, Résonance. To listen to a reading, check out Samara’s IG account. She is currently working on a poetry manuscript which may or may not ever be finished.