Juneteenth: Books for Teens

Updated May 26, 2026
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Begin with the past : building the National Museum of African American History & Culture
Wilson, Mabel
Paper Book
Rising on the National Mall next to the Washington Monument, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a tiered bronze beacon inviting everyone to learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience and how it helped shape this nation. Begin with the...
Brown girl dreaming
Woodson, Jacqueline.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The acclaimed author of Red at the Bone tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing poems. A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK * WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARD * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY...
Carver, a life in poems
Nelson, Marilyn
Paper Book
Newbery Honor Book National Book Award finalist Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Flora Stieglitz Straus Award Beautiful verse explores agricultural scientist George Washington Carver's life...
Dream keeper and other poems
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967.
Paper Book
"HOLD FAST TO DREAMS / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly." The Dream Keeper, the great African-American writer Langston Hughes's only collection of poems for children, includes some of his best loved works. It is being reissued in a...
For the rest of us : 13 festive holiday stories to celebrate all seasons
Adler, Dahlia
Paper Book
Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read! From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the...
Fros, Fades, and Braids: A Brief History of Black Hair in America
Qualls, Sean
Paper Book
From Coretta Scott King Honor illustrator Sean Qualls, artist for Questlove's The Idea In You, comes a hip, brief history of the most well-known Black hairstyles and the famous innovators behind them, reminding us of the strength and stature of Black hair and its prominence in hair...
How the word is passed : remembering slavery and how it shaped America
Smith, Clint
Paper Book
Adapted from Clint Smith's #1 New York Times bestselling and universally acclaimed How the Word Is Passed, this must-read narrative takes readers to historical sites across America, exploring the legacy of slavery to help readers make sense of our nation's...
Stories of the spirit of justice
Tisby, Jemar
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author Jemar Tisby collects the true, impactful stories of figures from across history--from the well-known to those often forgotten--who resisted racism and created a legacy of hope and perseverance. Each short biography is paired with an illustration to help inspire...
Black writers of the founding era, 1760-1800
Basker, James G.
Paper Book
Black Writers of the Founding Era is the most comprehensive anthology ever published of Black writing from the turbulent decades surrounding the birth of the United States. An unprecedented archive of historical sources-including more than 200 poems, letters, sermons, newspaper advertisements, slave...
An African American cookbook : exploring Black history and culture through traditional foods
Bailey, Phoebe
Paper Book
400 Soul Food Recipes for Appetizers, Main Meals, Breads, Pies, Cakes, Salads, and More! An African American Cookbook: Exploring Black History and Culture Through Traditional Foods is a bountiful collection of favorite foods and the memories that go with them. The...
Black enough : stories of being young & black in America
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today--Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it's like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the...
Under the heron's light
Pink, Randi
Paper Book
Inspired by stories about the real-world Great Dismal Swamp, this acclaimed fantasy explores alternate history and a family's supernatural connections to the swamp, perfect for fans of Sinners, Blood at the Root, Judy I. Lin, and Jason Reynolds!
Dream country
Gibney, Shannon
Paper Book
The novel begins in suburban Minneapolis at the moment when seventeen-year-old Kollie Flomo begins to crack under the strain of his life as a Liberian refugee. He's exhausted by being at once too black and not black enough for his African American peers and worn down by the expectations of his own...
My name is not Friday
Walter, Jon
Paper Book
A gorgeously written account of a freeborn black boy sold into slavery during the Civil War; think 12 Years a Slave for young adults.Well-mannered Samuel and his mischievous younger brother Joshua are free black boys living in an orphanage during the end of the Civil War. Samuel takes the...
A sitting in St. James
Williams-Garcia, Rita
Paper Book
Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award! 7 starred reviews! "Monumental." --Booklist (starred review) * "A marathon masterpiece."--Kirkus (starred review) * "Necessary."--SLJ (starred review) * "Shocking and dramatic."--Shelf Awareness (starred review) * "Mesmerizing, confounding and...

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