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
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Soul food Sunday
Bingham, Winsome
Paper Book
On Sundays, everyone gathers at Granny's for Soul Food. But today, I don't go to the backyard or the great room. I follow Granny instead. "You're a big boy now," Granny says. "Time for you to learn." At Granny's, Sunday isn't Sunday...
Music is a rainbow
Collier, Bryan
Paper Book
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 father is gone and his momma falls ill. But through his love of music he feels his father's warm hugs...
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 Times bestselling series opener inspired by prima ballerina and author Misty Copeland's own early experiences in ballet. From prima ballerina and New York Times bestselling author Misty Copeland comes the story of a young Misty, who discovers her...
Okra stew : a Gullah Geechee family celebration
Daise, Natalie
Paper Book
This rhythmic, joyous picture book from Natalie Daise, the co-star of the hit Nickelodeon show "Gullah Gullah Island," celebrates a special day of father-son cooking, and serves up a love letter to food, family, Gullah Geechee culture, and tradition--and includes the author's own recipe...
The green piano : how little me found music
Flack, Roberta
Paper Book
This autobiographical picture book by the multiple Grammy Award-winning singer Roberta Flack recounts her childhood in a home surrounded by music and love- it all started with a beat-up piano that her father found in a junkyard, repaired, and painted green. Growing up in a Blue...
You gotta meet Mr. Pierce! : the storied life of folk artist Elijah Pierce
Lee, Chiquita Mullins
Paper Book
A picture book biography about the barber shop of woodcarver Elijah Pierce, recipient of the highest folk art honor in the United States. "Creeeeak!" goes the screen door to self-taught artist Elijah Pierce's barbershop art studio. A young boy walks in for an ordinary...
Only the best : the exceptional life and fashion of Ann Lowe
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
An inspiring picture book biography about the amazing Ann Lowe--the first nationally-known African American fashion designer. A careful snip, a delicate fold. Fabric the color of new petals. Skirts that flare like upside-down blossoms....
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...
Chef Edna : Queen of southern cooking, Edna Lewis
Noel, Melvina
Paper Book
Edna Lewis loved to cook. Growing up on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, she learned the value of fresh, local, seasonal food from her Mama Daisy, as well as how to measure ingredients for biscuits using coins and to listen closely to her cakes to know when they were done. Edna carried these traditions...
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...
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...
Holding her own : the exceptional life of Jackie Ormes
Todd, Traci N.
Paper Book
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book * Robert F. Sibert Honor Book An evocative picture book biography about the prolific life of Jackie Ormes, whose groundbreaking cartoons became some of the first empowering depictions of Black women in America! Jackie Ormes made...
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...
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...
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...

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