Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 29, 2026)

Buy it now!

Honors

  • Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Here Comes the Band

by Shadra Strickland, illustrated by John Holyfield

From Ezra Jack Keats Award and Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award winner Shadra Strickland comes a dazzling picture book about a young child who watches in awe as an HBCU band takes the field and works its magic.

The game is tied at seven.
A hush falls over the stands.
Get up and stand up, everybody!
Here comes the band!

Everyone has their favorite part of a football game, but at a historically Black college or university, halftime is game time when the band takes the field in this glorious celebration of the tradition and pageantry of an HBCU band.

Praise

Coming soon.