Children's Book Suggestions | Black History Month 2026

A few of our favorite books about Black Americans past and present published in 2025. For more book ideas, check out our Black History Month lists from past years (2025, 2024 Chapter Books, 2024 Picture Books) or browse the library catalog.

More great books are honored annually with the Children's Africana Book Award, Coretta Scott King Book Awards, and NAACP Image Awards.

Updated January 17, 2026
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Children's Book Suggestions | Black History Month 2026

A few of our favorite books about Black Americans past and present published in 2025. For more book ideas, check out our Black History Month lists from past years (2025, 2024 Chapter Books, 2024 Picture Books) or browse the library catalog.

More great books are honored annually with the Children's Africana Book Award, Coretta Scott King Book Awards, and NAACP Image Awards.

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Big family beach day
Crews, Nina
Kirkus Best Book "The love that binds this family together is as warm as the summer sun." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) An extended family enjoys a day at the beach in this intergenerational tribute to family, friendship, new experiences, and...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Girls on the rise
Gorman, Amanda
Paper Book
An electrifying picture book by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman Who are we? We are a billion voices, bright and brave; we are light, standing together in the fight. Girls are strong and powerful alone,...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

A cup of quiet
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
From award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a beautiful picture book about the special bond between a child and grandparent, perfect for fans of Thank You, Omu and Fry Bread. When the squeal of tires and thrum of Grandpa's hammer fill the air, Grandma gets...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Lily's dream : a fairy friendship
Jackson, Bea
Paper Book
A flightless fairy befriends a human girl and discovers her magic in this enchanting picture book from the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Parker Looks Up. Lily is a young fairy determined to learn to fly just like the others who soar on shimmering,...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Leo at the farmer's market
McQuinn, Anna
Paper Book
Lola's younger brother Leo explores the tastes, colors, and cultures of a busy Saturday market in a new Leo Can! adventure board book! A great read aloud and perfect gift for babies and toddlers that explores new experiences in the city with mommy and son. Leo and...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

We go slow
Tallie, Mariahadessa Ekere
A walk through their bustling city neighborhood brings a girl and her grandfather closer together in this gentle, contemplative picture book that's "a reminder of the importance of being in the world with unhurried attention and open hearts" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). ...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

The polar bear and the ballerina
Velasquez, Eric
How does a bear go to the ballet? A polar bear escapes into New York City in this heartfelt picture book from award-winning Afro-Latino artist Eric Velasquez. A wordless story of unlikely friendship that celebrates art and its ability to connect us. However, this picture book...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

A fairy finds her song
Jackson, Bea
Paper Book
A fairy searches for her special skill in this enchanting Level 1 Ready-to-Read in the Fairies Welcome series from New York Times bestselling illustrator Bea Jackson. Every fairy has a talent except Lily...or so she thinks. Her human friend, Willow, knows how special Lily...

Early Reader (Level 2)

Super Ty!
Lyons, Kelly Starling
Paper Book
Ty rocks out with friends in this new book in the Geisel Honor-winning series! Join Ty on his imaginative adventures in Ty's Travels: Showtime, a My First I Can Read story by acclaimed author and illustrator team Kelly Starling Lyons and Niña Mata. Music, imagination,...

Early Reader (Level 2)

Curse of the Akoma stone
Mensah, Bernard (Children's author)
Paper Book
Kwame travels to the Cursed Realm, in the fourth installment of this action-packed early chapter book series perfect for fans of Dragon Masters! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

J vs. K
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
A New York Times and IndieBound bestseller! Created by real-life rivals and #1 New York Times bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft this hilarious illustrated story features two talented fifth graders going head...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Inside the park
Williams, Andrea
Paper Book
From Andrea Williams, the bestselling author of We Are Family with LeBron James, comes Inside the Park, the story of a young baseball fan's misadventures after getting locked inside a pro baseball stadium on the eve of the biggest game of the season. In this all-new,...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Winging it
Lloyd, Megan Wagner
From the Eisner-nominated creators of instant bestsellers Allergic and Squished comes a charming and funny graphic novel about family, friendship, and self-discovery! Twelve-year-old Luna never wanted to move from California to Virginia, even if it is near historic Washington...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Serwa Boateng's guide to saving the world
Brown, Roseanne A.
Paper Book
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the thrilling conclusion to Roseanne A. Brown's middle grade trilogy about a pre-teen girl who, as half-Slayer and half-vampire, is caught between two worlds. Serwa Boateng has gone head-to-head with vampires, witches, and even a death...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Will's race for home : a western
Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! ★ "Rhodes deftly captures a unique ­aspect of this historical event, with a perspective that is ­often under-represented in historical ­fiction. A poignant and honest look at the trials of racism that defined the...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The Book of Anansi
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
The highly anticipated sequel to the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy--a boldly original and suspenseful fantasy adventure by one of the most popular and imaginative voices of this generation, Angie Thomas. All of...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

All the blues in the sky
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Chicago Public Library Best Kids' Book of the Year | An NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book | A 2025 Horn Book Fanfare Selection Book | A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book # 1 New York Times bestselling and...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel
Williams-Garcia, Rita
Paper Book
"I wish I didn't know that I was marching my sisters into a boiling pot of trouble cooking in Oakland..." Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She's had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

How sweet the sound
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
Featuring artists ranging from Miles Davis to Kendrick Lamar, dive into this stunningly illustrated celebration of the history of Black music in America by the award-winning author of The Undefeated. Listen to the sound of...

Children's Nonfiction (Age 4-8)

Go tell it : how James Baldwin became a writer
Harris, Quartez
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller!  * Discover the story of young James Baldwin in this ode to the legendary writer and the power of the written word--with exquisite prose from acclaimed poet Quartez Harris, and breathtaking illustrations from New York Times <...

Children's Nonfiction (Age 4-8)

They built me for freedom : the story of Juneteenth and Houston's Emancipation Park
Ellis, Tonya Duncan
Paper Book
A moving picture book about the history of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas--and the origins of Juneteenth. When people visit me, they are free--to run, play, gather, and rejoice. They built me to remember. On June 19, 1865, the 250,000 enslaved people of...

Children's Holiday Book (Age 4-8)

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