140 ratings | 58 reviews | avg rating:4.52

Tonya’s Year In Books

Tonya’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Tonya’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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Tonya Ellis has read 5 of 60 books.

Tonya Duncan Ellis

Goodreads Author

Born

in Louisville, The United States

Website

http://www.tonyaduncanellis.com

Twitter

TonyaDEllis

Genre

Children's

Member Since

November 2016

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Tonya Duncan Ellis is author of THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM (HarperCollins, Balzer + Bray, 2024) and the SOPHIE WASHINGTON children’s chapter series. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, and the Brown Bookshelf’s Highlights Foundation-sponsored Amplify Black Stories storyteller cohort. Tonya has spoken and taught at writing conferences at the Highlights Foundation and for SCBWI in New York City and for SCBWI Houston and Austin, TX chapters. A former journalist and freelance magazine writer, she lives in Houston, Texas.

www.tonyaduncanellis.com
Facebook: @tonyaellisbooks
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Combine Editions
Tonya Duncan Ellis’s books

Average rating: 4.41 · 2,430 ratings · 495 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee 4.36 avg rating — 1,012 ratings — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston's Emancipation Park – An SCBWI Award Honor Picture Book about Black American History for Children (Ages 4-8) by Tonya Duncan Ellis (Goodreads Author), Jenin Mohammed (Illustrator) 4.50 avg rating — 212 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: The Snitch 4.39 avg rating — 173 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: My BFF 4.57 avg rating — 143 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Things You Didn't Know About Sophie 4.12 avg rating — 137 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Secret Santa 4.29 avg rating — 113 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Code One 4.57 avg rating — 93 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Mismatch 4.63 avg rating — 86 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Mission: Costa Rica 4.52 avg rating — 88 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophie Washington: Class Retreat 4.28 avg rating — 83 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Tonya Duncan Ellis…

191 posts
Tonya Duncan Ellis's Blog

Things I Changed to Land a Book Deal

Landing a traditional publishing book deal is not for the faint of heart. Less than one to two percent of writers achieve this goal. Realizing my dream to move from self-publishing to traditional publishing felt impossible until I started taking the steps listed below:

I stopped –Worrying about judgment from others. I realized that the longer I kept my work to myself, the longer it would take for i

Series by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Sophie Washington (14 books)
by

Tonya Duncan Ellis (Goodreads Author)

4.40 avg rating — 2,211 ratings

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Tonya’s Recent Updates

Tonya Ellis and 14 other people liked Jessica Rodriguez's review of Overdue: "Ingrid and her boyfriend have dated for 11 yrs and have never dated anyone else. When her little sister gets engaged- they decide to take a month long break and try dating other people before deciding whether they’re spending the rest of their lives t" Read more of this review »
Jan 24, 2026 08:57AM · see review
Tonya Ellis has read Overdue by Stephanie Perkins (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 24, 2026 08:48AM · like
Tonya Ellis rated a book it was amazing The March for Hope by Valerie Bolling (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An engaging story about a young girl reluctantly joining her mother on a march for women's rights and deciding that she wants to stand up for rights for herself and her friends. I loved the message about "girl power" and the adorable illustrations. T ...more
Jan 17, 2026 02:55PM · like · see review
Tonya Ellis and 8 other people liked Linda Jackson's review of Radiant: "This book has my WHOLE heart. Radiant is a perfect title, because this book SHINES!!!! I finished reading it months ago, and the story has stayed with me. It’s beautifully written, heartwarming, and charming. I can imagine kids reading it again and a" Read more of this review »
Jan 16, 2026 12:55PM · see review
Tonya Ellis has read Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 16, 2026 12:54PM · like
Tonya Ellis and 1 other person liked Sydney Turner's review of The Wilderness: "part 1 & 2 had potential. part 3 had me wondering if I had skipped a few chapters. part 4 suddenly we are in parable of the sower. "
Jan 15, 2026 12:01PM · see review
Tonya Ellis and 1 other person liked Scotia's review of The Wilderness: "Shoot I really didn’t like this book, I literally couldn’t even finish it lol. It was so boring and I didn’t care about any of the characters which made the book feel a bit useless cause there wasn’t really a plot and the plot that was there was SO c" Read more of this review »
Jan 15, 2026 12:01PM · see review
Tonya Ellis finished reading The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2026 11:59AM · like
Tonya Ellis has read This Ain't Our First Rodeo by Liara Tamani (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 12, 2026 04:53PM · like
Jan 04, 2026 01:15PM · 1 like · like · view books

More of Tonya's books…

Quotes by Tonya Duncan Ellis (?)

“get good grades”
― Tonya Duncan Ellis, Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee

2 likes

“That’s easy for her to say. She’s old, so nobody cares about how she looks.”
― Tonya Duncan Ellis, Sophie Washington: The Snitch

1 likes

“Moooom! I was here first, and now she wants to change the channel,” he whines.”
― Tonya Duncan Ellis, Sophie Washington: Queen of the Bee

1 likes

See all Tonya Duncan Ellis's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Making Connections: 5079. - SOPHIE WASHINGTON: QUEEN OF THE BEE by Tonya Duncan Ellis	3	7	Dec 31, 2017 06:42AM
Making Connections: 5081. - SOPHIE WASHINGTON: THE GAMER by Tonya Duncan Ellis	3	6	Dec 31, 2017 06:43AM
Making Connections: 5078. - SOPHIE WASHINGTON: THE SNITCH by Tonya Duncan Ellis	11	18	Jan 20, 2018 07:24PM
Making Connections: 5080. - SOPHIE WASHINGTON: THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT SOPHIE by Tonya Duncan Ellis	6	11	Jan 28, 2018 01:11PM
Genre Specific Re...: Children's Review Group 6 (closed)	60	48	Jun 19, 2018 08:51AM
Genre Specific Re...: Children's Books Review Group 11/2018 (Closed)	128	48	Jan 20, 2019 02:33AM
Making Connections: 5520. Sophie Washington: Mismatch by Tonya Duncan Ellis	1	10	Jul 23, 2019 07:11PM
Making Connections: 6530. Sophie Washington: Treasure Beach by Tonya Duncan Ellis	3	37	Jan 18, 2023 07:13PM
Genre Specific Re...: Children's Book Review Group 7 (reviewing)	76	68	Jun 14, 2023 05:03AM
Cozy Mysteries : * When You’re Not Reading a Cozy	1957	1172	13 hours, 31 min ago