Black History Month: Children's Books

Updated February 1, 2024
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Life doesn't frighten me
Angelou, Maya.
Paper Book
Maya Angelou's brave poem is illustrated by the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Angelou is well-known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Biographies of the artists are included.
I am Ruby Bridges
Bridges, Ruby
Paper Book
Ruby Bridges tells her story as never before and shares the events of the momentous day in 1960 when Ruby became the first Black child to integrate the all-white William Franz Elementary as a six year old little girl -- a personal and intimate look through a child's lens at a landmark moment in...
I am enough
Byers, Grace
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards picture book winner! This is the perfect gift for mothers and daughters, baby showers, and graduation. This gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another comes...
A library
Giovanni, Nikki
Paper Book
In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination,...
Little leaders : bold women in black history
Harrison, Vashti
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Meet the little leaders. They're brave. They're bold. They changed the world. Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women...
Amazing Grace
Hoffman, Mary
Paper Book
Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be. Remarkable watercolor illustrations give full expression to Grace's high-flying imagination.
My very favorite book in the whole wide world
Mitchell, Malcolm
Paper Book
From Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader Malcolm Mitchell comes an exciting new story that shows even reluctant readers that there is a book out there for everyone! Meet Henley, an all-around good kid, who hates to read. When he's supposed to be reading, he would rather do anything else....
Malcolm Little : the boy who grew up to become Malcolm X
Shabazz, Ilyasah.
Paper Book
Malcolm X grew to be one of America's most influential figures. But first, he was a boy named Malcolm Little. Written by his daughter, this inspiring picture book biography celebrates a vision of freedom and justice. Bolstered by the love and wisdom of his large, warm family,...
Hidden figures : the true story of four black women and the space race
Shetterly, Margot Lee
Paper Book
Katherine, Dorothy, Mary, and Christine were all good at math. Really good. And it was their understanding of numbers that helped them do what seemed impossible. They were African-American women, living during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do....
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...
Libba : the magnificent musical life of Elizabeth Cotten
Veirs, Laura
Paper Book
This lyrical, loving picture book from popular singer-songwriter Laura Veirs and debut illustrator Tatyana Fazlalizadeh tells the story of the determined, gifted, daring Elizabeth Cotten--one of the most celebrated American folk musicians of all time. Elizabeth Cotten was only a...
Be a king : Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream and you
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Young People's Poet Laureate Carole Boston Weatherford and award-winning illustrator James E. Ransome use key moments from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life to inspire future generations to stand up for what's right, make the world a better place, and be a King. You can be...
Schomburg : the man who built a library
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
In luminous paintings and arresting poems, two of children's literature's top African-American scholars track Arturo Schomburg's quest to correct history. Where is our historian to give us our side? Arturo asked. Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists...
The night is yours
Zachariah, Abdul-Razak
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling illustrator of I Am Enough, this glowing, empowering picture book about a nighttime hide-and-seek game celebrates blackness and self-confidence. Little one, so calm and so happy, the darkness of the night is yours like the...

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