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-
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 : poem
Angelou, Maya
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
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
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 Ruby Bridges
Bridges, Ruby
In a beautiful and poetic reflection, Ruby Bridges tells her story as never before and shares the events of the momentous day in 1960 when Ruby became the first child to integrate the school system as a six year old little girl -- a personal and intimate look through a child's lens at a landmark...
I am enough
Byers, Grace 1984-
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
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
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
#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 1945-
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.
My very favorite book in the whole wide world
Mitchell, Malcolm 1993-
From Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader Malcolm Mitchell comes an exciting new story that shows even reluctant readers that there is a book out there for everyone! Meet Henley, an all-around good kid, who hates to read. When he's supposed to be reading, he would rather do anything else....
Hidden figures : the true story of four black women and the space race
Shetterly, Margot Lee
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 1971-
Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award 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 ever seen. But before that, he...
Libba : the magnificent musical life of Elizabeth Cotten
Veirs, Laura
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...
Be a king : Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream and you
Weatherford, Carole Boston 1956-
You can be a King. Stamp out hatred. Put your foot down and walk tall. You can be a King. Beat the drum for justice. March to your own conscience. Featuring a dual narrative of the key moments of Dr. King's life alongside a modern class as the students learn about...
Schomburg : the man who built a library
Weatherford, Carole Boston 1956-
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

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