2024 Black History Month: African Americans and the Arts - Kids

Celebrate Black History Month 2024's theme African American and the Arts for kids.

Updated January 16, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Rock, Rosetta, rock! Roll, Rosetta, roll! : presenting sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of rock & roll
Bolden, Tonya
Paper Book
"A profile as bold and vivacious as the singer herself." --Kirkus (starred review) "Terrific for all collections that want to inspire the musically inclined and highlight innovative pioneers." --Booklist (starred review) "Bolden uses alliteration, assonance, repetition...
Music is a rainbow
Collier, Bryan
Paper Book
The music turned into color and light and filled the room.   A young boy remembers quietly watching his father read the paper and sip a cup of coffee. He remembers his sweet momma, who lovingly pressed away the wrinkles on his clothes. Then one day, his...
Black ballerinas : my journey to our legacy
Copeland, Misty
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland comes an illustrated nonfiction collection celebrating dancers of color who have influenced her on and off the stage. As a young girl living in a motel with...
Bunheads
Copeland, Misty
Paper Book
Instant New York Timesbestselling series opener inspired by prima ballerina and author Misty Copeland's own early experiences in ballet. From prima ballerina and New York Timesbestselling author Misty Copeland comes the story of a young Misty, who discovers her love...
Legacy : women poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance--paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators.
Ablaze with color : a story of painter Alma Thomas
Harvey, Jeanne Walker
Paper Book
Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas. Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most...
Hip-hop Lollipop
Montanari, Susan McElroy
Paper Book
In this lyrical read-aloud filled with rhythm and rhyme and illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Brian Pinkney, follow a little girl as she dances her way to bedtime. Mama says, "Lollipop, stop! Stop! Jumping snapping nonstop." Arms and shoulders pop...
Just Jerry : how drawing shaped my life
Pinkney, Jerry
Paper Book
An inspiring memoir of a Caldecott-winning artist and one of the most acclaimed children's book illustrators of all time, sharing the story of a young artist who finds the courage to follow his passion against all odds. * "A moving work from a...
There was a party for Langston
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds's debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and...
Ellington was not a street
Shange, Ntozake.
DVD
In this reflective poetic tribute, the author remembers growing up when many of the great figures in African-American history gathered in her family home to talk and share ideas and even sing. Narrated by Phylicia Rashad with the music of Duke Ellington. Video includes documentary segment, More...
The artivist
Smith, Nikkolas
Paper Book
An inspiring picture book about how children can combine art and activism in their daily lives. "They say I'm an artist. They say I'm an activist." When a young boy realizes the scope of inequities in the wider world, he's seized with the urge to do more. He...
Radiant child : the story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Steptoe, Javaka
Paper Book
Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he...
Maya's song
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
From bestselling, award-winning creators Renée Watson and Bryan Collier comes a stunningly crafted picture book chronicling the life of poet and activist Maya Angelou. This unforgettable picture book introduces young readers to the life and work of Maya Angelou, whose words...
Jump at the sun : the true life tale of unstoppable storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
Williams, Alicia
Paper Book
From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature. Zora was a girl who hankered for...
Hip-Hop : the beat of America
Williams, Jarrett
Paper Book
MUSICAL REVOLUTION SWEEPS NATION AND BEYOND How did a bunch of young people from the inner city create a genre of music that became a global phenomenon? From its humble origins at house parties in the Bronx, where DJs mixed old records to create new sounds, charismatic MCs let their...
Young, gifted and black too
Wilson, Jamia
Paper Book

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.