Black History Month Book List for Kids, Tweens and Teens.

This book list includes a celebration of black history, achievement, and innovation of black men, women and children through the years. These children and teen information books have received starred reviews, and/or prestigious awards such as the Michael L. Printz Award, Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Award, Newbery Honor Award, Coretta Scott King Award, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Award, ALSC Notable Children's Book to name a few. All the books on this list are available through the Sussex County Library System.

Updated January 15, 2026
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Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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The bat boy & his violin
Curtis, Gavin.
Paper Book
A young aspiring violinist learns the value of family ties and team spirit in this picture book lushly illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner E.B. Lewis about a down-on-their-luck baseball team and the music that turns their season around. Reginald loves to create beautiful music...
Beacon of hope : the life of Barack Obama
Rappaport, Doreen
Paper Book
A magnificently illustrated picture book biography of Barack Obama​: a tireless organizer, a brilliant orator, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the first Black president of the United States of America. Before he became the president, Barack Obama was a little...
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...
Coretta's journey : the life and times of Coretta Scott King
Duncan, Alice Faye
Paper Book
★★★★ FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! New from the award-winning author/illustrator team behind Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop! Who was Coretta Scott King? Her black-veiled image at the funeral of her husband, Dr. Martin ...
Everywhere beauty is Harlem : the vision of photographer Roy DeCarava
Golio, Gary
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year A Kirkus Best Picture Book Biography CCBC Choices 2025 A Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of 2024 The New York Public Library Best...
Invincible : fathers and mothers of Black America
Hudson, Wade
Paper Book
This lyrical picture book explores the birth of Black America, focusing on the little-known men and women who fought for justice and for an America where freedom truly rang for all. We're familiar with the founding fathers of white America, but who are the founding fathers (and...
King : a life
Eig, Jonathan
Paper Book
Hailed as "the most compelling account of [Martin Luther] King's life in a generation" by the Washington Post, the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller is now adapted for young adults in this new standard biography of the most famous civil rights activist in American History.
Memphis, Martin, and the mountaintop : the sanitation strike of 1968
Duncan, Alice Faye
Paper Book
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Booklist Editors' Choice * Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book * Booklist Top 10 Diverse Books for Middle Grade or Older Readers * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books This award...
Rooting for plants : the unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black botanist and collector
Harrington, Janice N.
Paper Book
Meet Charles S. Parker, an unsung yet trailblazing Black scientist who made major contributions to the fields of botany (the study of plants) and mycology (the study of fungi) in this inspiring STEM/STEAM picture book biography from the creators of Buzzing with Questions. ...
This is the rope : a story from the great migration
Woodson, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Jacqueline Woodson--New York TimesBestselling, National Book Award andNewbery Honor winning author--writes arich story of a family adapting to change as they hold on to the past and embrace the future. WithCoretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator James Ransome. ...
The underground railroad
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about the Underground Railroad and Black Americans' struggle for freedom. Perfect for fans of I Survived! and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. Before the Civil War, there was a crack team of abolitionists who used quilts...
Working cotton
Williams, Sherley Anne
Paper Book
This child's view of the long day's work in the cotton fields, simply expressed in a poet's resonant language, is a fresh and stirring look at migrant family life. "With its restrained poetic text and impressionist paintings, this is a picture book for older readers, too."--Booklist

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