Curated by Jamia Wilson for Magic Cat Publishing, founded in London in 2019, the illustrated almanac gives young readers one Black role model for each week of the year
Dr. Raven Baxter is one of 52 contributors to A Year of Black Joy, an illustrated almanac for young readers subtitled 52 Black Voices Share Their Life Passions. Magic Cat Publishing released it in the United States through Abrams on Oct. 10, 2023, after a UK release on Sept. 28.
Her entry, "The joy of science," falls in February. It is pegged to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed in December 2015 and marks every Feb. 11. Like every weekly entry in the book, hers fills a two-page spread, pairing a first-person account of what brings her joy with an activity for readers.
She is also one of nine contributors drawn on the front cover by illustrator Jade Orlando. Baxter appears at top right in a lab coat, holding a flask, labeled "Scientist Raven Baxter." British politician David Lammy, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley, chef Andi Oliver and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason are among the others.
The book arrived during a national fight over what children read. In September 2023, PEN America counted 3,362 instances of books banned in public schools in the 2022-23 school year, up 33%, Publishers Weekly reported. Most targeted books for young adult, middle grade or younger readers. Of the nearly 3,500 children's books the Cooperative Children's Book Center received in 2022, 13% were by Black authors, up from 2% in 2012, according to Publishers Weekly.
The curator, Jamia Wilson, is vice president and executive editor at Random House Publishing Group and the former director and publisher of the Feminist Press at CUNY. In a December 2023 interview with the School Library Association, she said the idea grew from children's almanacs. "There hasn't yet been precedent of almanacs that necessarily are focused on cultural diversity," Wilson said.
Reading from the book's opening letter, she described "a selection of 52 global Black visionaries, creators and change makers who cover topics from astrology to astronomy and beekeeping to baking."
Wilson named Baxter among the contributors she invited without having met them. "I follow her on Twitter and I find her to be such a delight," she said. "I watched her do a rap about science." Had she grown up with resources like that, Wilson added, she might have earned better marks in science.
Magic Cat Publishing is an independent children's publisher in London. Rachel Williams and Jenny Broom founded it in 2019 to publish illustrated nonfiction, and Abrams became its North American publisher.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, calling it "an inspiring source of creativity for all readers." Kirkus also named it to its 20 Best October Books for Young Readers. In an October 2024 review, the adoption nonprofit Pact wrote that "Dr. Raven Baxter writes about the joy of scientific experimentation."
Baxter is a molecular biologist and the founder of The Science Haven, a STEM nonprofit. Her Ph.D. research at the University at Buffalo focused on communicating science through hip-hop.
The book is available from Abrams. Wilson's full interview is on the School Library Association's YouTube channel.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the launch of the Planetary Health Check 2026 at Climate Week NYC, where she interviewed climate scientist Johan Rockström and former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, from the SDG Media Zone at UN Headquarters and the Unstoppable Africa business forum.
Dr. Raven Baxter launched The Science of Life, her newsletter on Substack, on Sept. 2, 2026, with a post answering thousands of comments on a crocodile's virgin birth.
