Black History Month: Children's Books

Updated February 1, 2024
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Becoming Kareem : growing up on and off the court
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
Paper Book
The first memoir for young readers by sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At one time, Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, pleasing a strict father, and overcoming shyness that made him feel...
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 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,...
Dream big, little one
Harrison, Vashti
Paper Book
This beautifully illustrated board book edition of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by #1 New York Times bestselling author Vashti Harrison showcases women who changed the world, and is the perfect goodnight book to inspire big dreams.
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.
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
Somewhere in Brooklyn, a little boy dreams of being a famous artist, not knowing that one day he would make himself a king. 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...
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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