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 June 18, 2026
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Sussex County Library System (NJ) Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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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.

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Lizzie demands a seat! : Elizabeth Jennings fights for streetcar rights
Anderson, Beth
Paper Book
In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation. One hundred years before Rosa Parks...
Seeking freedom : the untold story of Fortress Monroe and the ending of slavery in America
Castrovilla, Selene
Paper Book
In this dramatic Civil War story, a courageousenslaved fugitive teams with a cunning Union general to save a Union fort from the Confederates-and triggers the end ofslavery in the United States. This is the first children's nonfiction book about a Black unsung hero who remains relevant today and...
Twice Enslaved: Liberty and Justice for Henrietta Wood
Castrovilla, Selene
Paper Book
Here is the story of Henrietta Wood, who was enslaved twice-but who demanded justice and was awarded the largest reparations ever granted for enslavement. This nonfiction book for ages 9-12 puts a human face on the current issue of reparations. Henrietta Wood was born enslaved....
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...
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 ...
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...
Unequal : a story of America
Dyson, Michael Eric
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author Michael Eric Dyson and critically acclaimed author Marc Favreau show how racial inequality permeates every facet of American society, through the lens of those pushing for meaningful change.    The true story of...
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.
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...
Garvey's choice :
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
Award-winning author Nikki Grimes's beloved novel in verse Garvey's Choice is now a graphic novel, imaginatively and dramatically illustrated by Little Shaq artist Theodore Taylor III.  Garvey's father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is...
Ordinary hazards : a memoir
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
Michael L. Printz Honor Book Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Teens Six Starred Reviews--★Booklist ★BCCB ★The Horn Book ★Publishers Weekly ★School Library Connection...
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. ...
I have a dream
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Paper Book
Experience history with this picture book of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic speech, including an audio CD. This Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book will inspire young readers! From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King: "My father's dream...
The highest tribute : Thurgood Marshall's life, leadership, and legacy
Magoon, Kekla
Paper Book
A brilliant picture book biography about Thurgood Marshall, who fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement and served as the first Black justice on the Supreme Court, from Coretta Scott King Honor winners Kekla Magoon and Laura Freeman. Growing up in Baltimore, Thurgood Marshall...
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...
Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game
Nelson, Kadir
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller A USA TODAY bestseller Award-winning creator Kadir Nelson delivers the perfect gift for basketball fans of any age--a beautifully illustrated history of the game and its key players over the years--in this companion to...
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...
The book itch : freedom, truth & Harlem's greatest bookstore
Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux
Paper Book
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, ALA Notable Children's Book, CCBC Best Children's Book of the Year, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Kirkus Best Children's Books, NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts In the 1930s, Lewis's dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed...
Walk the Walk
Owens, R J
We all have the power to make meaningful change! This story about one step in the civil rights movement - the Montgomery Bus Boycott - follows one boy's day walking the walk. Dexter and his Papa have a long walk ahead to Dex's piano lessons. Dex sure wants to ride one of those...
Beacon of hope : the life of Barack Obama
Rappaport, Doreen
Paper Book
This addition to the acclaimed Big Words biography series celebrates 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...
The fierce 44 : black Americans who shook up the world
Reiss, Stephen
Paper Book
A dynamic collective biography that presents 44 of America's greatest Black movers and shakers, from Frederick Douglass to Aretha Franklin to Barack Obama, written by ESPN's TheUndefeated and illustrated with dazzling portraits by Rob Ball. From visionaries to entrepreneurs, athletes...
Writing Toward Justice: The Life and Reporting of Alice A. Dunnigan
Thomas, Peggy
Paper Book
Meet Alice Dunnigan, a pioneering Black journalist, who spoke truth to power-and earned the respect of President Harry S. Truman. This inspiring nonfiction picture book for kids ages 7-10 is from award-winning author and illustrator Peggy Thomas and Tonya Engel. Alice Dunnigan...
The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers
Turner, Glennette Tilley
Paper Book
From bestselling illustrator and Coretta Scott King honoree Laura Freeman and award-winning author Glennette Tilley Turner comes the little-known story of Harriet Tubman's daring rescue of her enslaved brothers on Christmas Day Harriet Tubman was always a keen observer. She...
If Kamala can : ... you can too!
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
The inspirational life of Kamala Harris for kids! From the newly-announced Young People's Poet Laureate comes a powerful and inspiring picture book that shares how each milestone and moment in Kamala Harris's life represents something that lies within young readers' reach, too--building...
Troubled Waters: A River's Journey Toward Justice
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
From Young People's Poet Laureate Carole Boston Weatherford and award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier, a stirring account of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, as witnessed by the Alabama River. Some say water is the mightiest force on earth. But the...
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
This is the rope : a story from the Great Migration
Woodson, Jacqueline.
Paper Book
The story of one family's journey north during the Great Migration starts with a little girl in South Carolina who finds a rope under a tree one summer. She has no idea the rope will become part of her family's history. But for three generations, that rope is passed down, used for everything from...
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