Black Voices & Culture: Books for Early Childhood

Updated January 10, 2024
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The undefeated
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Caldecott Medal A 2020 Newbery Honor Book Winner of the 2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time...
Life is beautiful
Bingham, Winsome
Paper Book
A "soul-stirring opportunity for joyful reflection" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a little girl who loses her grandmother and how, even in the midst of sadness and loss, life is beautiful. Every week, Granny Dee takes three trains and one bus to have a weekend...
Brown baby lullaby
Brown, Tameka Fryer
Paper Book
This lyrical bedtime picture book is a must-have for every brown baby's bookshelf. Come, my sweet brown baby... From sunset to bedtime, two parents lovingly care for their beautiful baby: first, they play outside, then it is time for dinner and a bath, and...
Shirley Chisholm is a verb!
Chambers, Veronica
Paper Book
A timely picture book biography about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress, who sought the Democratic nomination to be the president of the United States. Shirley Chisholm famously said, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." This...
The ABCs of Black history
Cortez, Rio
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER B is for Beautiful, Brave, and Bright! And for a Book that takes a Bold journey through the alphabet of Black history and culture. Letter by letter, The ABCs of Black History celebrates a story that spans continents and centuries, triumph and heartbreak, creativity and...
Magnificent homespun brown : a celebration
Doyon, Samara Cole
Paper Book
Magnificent Homespun Brown is an exploration of the natural world and family bonds through the eyes of young, mixed raced heroines--a living, breathing, dazzlingly multi-faceted, exuberant masterpiece, firmly grounded in a sense of self-worth and belonging. This is a story--a poem, a song, a...
Opal Lee and what it means to be free : the true story of the grandmother of Juneteenth
Duncan, Alice Faye
Paper Book
Booklist starred review Black activist Opal Lee had a vision of Juneteenth as a holiday for everyone. This true story celebrates Black joy and inspires children to see their dreams blossom. Growing up in Texas, Opal knew the history of Juneteenth, but she soon discovered that...
Me and the Boss: A Story about Mending and Love
Edwards, Michelle
Paper Book
CORETTA SCOTT KING ILLUSTRATOR HONOR AWARD WINNER CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW AWARD WINNER All the highs and lows of having a bossy, protective, and loving older sibling are depicted in this heartwarming picture book by a critically acclaimed author and award-winning illustrator....
Bedtime for sweet creatures
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
Nikki Grimes, Coretta Scott King Award winning author, and acclaimed illustrator Elizabeth Zunon's latest children's masterpiece creates an imagination-fueled and animal-filled journey to bedtime. It's bedtime. But Mommy's little one is not sleepy. He growls like a bear, he...
Big
Harrison, Vashti
Paper Book
Winner of the Caldecott Medal! A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor book, a National Book Award finalist, and a New York Times bestseller! This deeply moving story shares valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance,...
Brown Girl, Brown Girl
Honore, Lesle
Paper Book
This powerful and hopeful picture book--inspired by the historic election of Vice President Kamala Harris--celebrates brown and Black girls and is magnificently illustrated by a Caldecott Honor-winning artist. Brown girl, brown girl, what did you see?...
Milo imagines the world
de la Pen a, Matt
Paper Book
The team behind the Newbery Medal winner and Caldecott Honor book Last Stop on Market Street and the award-winning New York Times bestseller Carmela Full of Wishes once again delivers a poignant and timely picture book that's sure to become an instant classic.
Sulwe
Nyong'o, Lupita
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices! Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award Recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's...
My hair is a book
Oso, Maisha
Paper Book
"Oso's metaphors illustrate how Black hair tells the story of those who wear it; hair announces its wearer's beauty to the world, be it cornrowed, locked, twisted, or curled...A stellar work that belongs in every collection serving young people." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)<...
Somewhere in the bayou
Pumphrey, Jarrett
Paper Book
When four swamp creatures looking to cross a river come upon a log that would allow for precisely that, they can't believe their luck. But a questionable tail adjacent to that log gives them second thoughts. Opossum believes it's a sneaky tail and that they must pass it quietly. Squirrel thinks it's...
Sweet justice : Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rockliff, Mara
Paper Book
An inspiring picture-book biography about the woman whose cooking helped feed and fund the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956, from an award-winning illustrator. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NewYork Public Library . Chicago Public Library Georgia...
Nina : a story of Nina Simone
Todd, Traci N.
Paper Book
A 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honoree!   This luminous, defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy. ...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T : Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award! From a New York Times bestselling and ALSC Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author and an acclaimed illustrator comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul...
The roots of rap : 16 bars on the 4 pillars of hip-hop
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Explore the roots of rap in this stunning, rhyming, triple-timing picture book! "Carole Boston Weatherford, once again, delivers a resounding testament and reminder, that hip-hop is a flavorful slice of larger cultural cake. And to be hip-hop-to truly be it-we must remember...
Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE LEGACY AWARD WINNER . CORETTA SCOTT KING ILLUSTRATOR AWARD WINNER . A stunning and deeply moving picture book based on the popular spiritual from an award-winning author and critically acclaimed illustrator. The classic lyrics have been reworked to chronicle the milestones,...
The Talk
Williams, Alicia D.
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner! As a little boy grows into a bigger boy, ready to take on the world, he first must have that very difficult conversation far too familiar to so many Black and Brown Americans in this gentle and ultimately hopeful picture book.
The world belonged to us
Woodson, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Two children's book superstars--#1 New York Times bestseller Jacqueline Woodson, the author of The Day You Begin, and Leo Espinosa, the illustrator of Islandborn­--join forces to celebrate the joy and freedom of summer in the city, which is gloriously captured in their...

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