The Brainstormerz: Operation Blowout (A Graphic Novel)

By Cassidy Dyce

Illustrated by Rashad Doucet

On Sale: Mar 2, 2027
Page Count: 176 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
ISBN-13: 9780316541596
Age Range: 8–12

$24.99

$32.99 CAD

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For fans of The Cartoonists Club and Frizzy comes the second in a fresh, funny kids’ graphic novel series about three problem-solving besties—and this time, a bad hair day is no match for the Brainstormerz!

Cass Salamander was feeling ready for picture day, but when mean-girl classmates make fun of her look, she starts seeing her Afro the way the haters do: It’s too frizzy, too big—too much.

So Cass decides to take matters—and a straightener—into her own hands, with disastrous results! Now Cass, DJ, and Lex must come up with a plan to help Cass salvage her style and take pride in her natural coils. Luckily, the Brainstormerz have never met a problem they couldn’t solve!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander, Cassidy Dyce, and acclaimed illustrator Rashad Doucet comes a hair-larious and poignant graphic novel about embracing what makes you unique.

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Brainstormerz

Kwame Alexander is an Emmy Award–winning producer, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over forty books, including the first book in the Brainstormerz series, Money Talks; the Newbery Medal–winning novel The Crossover; the Caldecott Medal- and Newbery Honor winning picture book The Undefeated; The Door of No Return; and J vs. K, which he co-wrote with Jerry Craft. He invites you to visit him at kwamealexander.com and @kwamealexander.

Cassidy Dyce is an author and founder of Writing Black @ The House, a creative community dedicated to uplifting Black artists across disciplines. Her work is rooted in storytelling, collaboration, and building spaces where creativity and community thrive. She is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She invites you to visit her at cassidydyce.com.

Rashad Doucet is from New Orleans by way of Eunice and Ville Platte, Louisiana. Rashad is an Eisner-winning cartoonist and currently a professor of sequential art at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia, where he can often be found listening to K-pop and watching way too much anime. He's written and illustrated several graphic novels, including Art Club, which was an ALA Best Graphic Novel of 2024. He invites you to visit him at rashaddoucet.artstation.com.

Praise for Brainstormerz: Money Talks:* “This graphic novel is an absolute standout….readers will be eagerly anticipating the sequel the minute they finish. /B>School Library Journal, starred review"This heartfelt graphic novel celebrating friendship and creativity is nicely grounded in the economic reality many families face."
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Kwame Alexander

About the Author

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Emmy-winning Writer of The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James’ SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame’s production company that is dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment. Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers.

A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, he regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing there and around the world at events like the Chautauqua Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana. Most recently he was appointed the Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Writer-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution.
His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.

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Cassidy Dyce

About the Author

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Brainstormerz

The Brainstormerz: Operation Blowout (A Graphic Novel)

The Brainstormerz: Money Talks (A Graphic Novel)

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