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 1947-
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.
Fancy party gowns : the story of fashion designer Ann Cole Lowe
Blumenthal, Deborah
Paper Book
A beautiful picture book about Ann Cole Lowe, a little-known African-American fashion designer who battled personal and social adversity in order to pursue her passion of making beautiful gowns and went on to become one of society's top designers. Wisps of cloth would fall...
Facing Frederick : the life of Frederick Douglass, a monumental American man
Bolden, Tonya
Paper Book
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is best known for the telling of his own emancipation. But there is much more to Douglass's story than his time spent enslaved and his famous autobiography. Facing Frederick captures the whole complicated, and at times perplexing, person that he was....
I am enough
Byers, Grace 1984-
Paper Book
This is a gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another-from Empire actor and activist Grace Byers and talented newcomer artist Keturah A.
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...
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...
Schomburg : el hombre que creó una biblioteca
Weatherford, Carole Boston 1956-
Paper Book
"A must-read for a deeper understanding of a well-connected genius who enriched the cultural road map for African Americans and books about them." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Entre los eruditos, poetas, autores y artistas del Renacimiento de Harlem, se alzaba la...

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