Black Voices & Culture: Books for Early Childhood

Updated January 17, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Time for bed, old house
Bates, Janet Costa
Paper Book
At Isaac's first sleepover, he gets to help Grandpop with a very special routine--putting the house to bed--in a story that's just right for children visiting a new place, or for adopting a new ritual at home. Isaac is excited about having a sleepover at Grandpop's house, but he...
Soul food Sunday
Bingham, Winsome
Paper Book
Evocatively written and vividly illustrated, this mouthwatering story is a warm celebration of tradition and coming together at a table filled with love and delicious food. Granny teaches her grandson to cook the family meal in author Winsome Bingham and illustrator...
Me & Mama
Cabrera, Cozbi A.
Paper Book
A Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honor Book Mama's love is brighter than the sun, even on the rainiest of days. This celebration of a mother-daughter relationship is perfect for sharing with little ones! On a rainy day when the house smells like cinnamon and...
The ABCs of Black history
Cortez, Rio
Paper Book
In this New York Times Bestseller, B is for Beautiful, Brave, and Bright! And for a Book that takes a Bold journey through the alphabet of Black history and culture. ​   Letter by letter, The ABCs of Black History celebrates a...
The last stand
Eady, Antwan
Paper Book
The author of Nigel and the Moon, delivers a tender intergenerational story inspired by his childhood in the rural south. Here's a farm stand that represents the importance of family, community, and hope. A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BOOKPAGE, and SCHOOL...
Bedtime for sweet creatures
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
Nikki Grimes, Coretta Scott King Award winning author, and acclaimed illustrator Elizabeth Zunon's latest children's masterpiece creates an imagination-fueled and animal-filled journey to bedtime. It's bedtime. But Mommy's little one is not sleepy. He growls like a bear, he...
Brown Girl, Brown Girl
Honore, Lesle
Paper Book
This powerful and hopeful picture book--inspired by the historic election of Vice President Kamala Harris--celebrates brown and Black girls and is magnificently illustrated by a Caldecott Honor-winning artist. Brown girl, brown girl, what did you see?...
Black is a rainbow color
Joy, Angela
Paper Book
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on. Red is a rainbow color. Green sits next to blue. Yellow, orange, violet, indigo, They are rainbow colors, too, but...
Going down home with Daddy
Lyons, Kelly Starling
Paper Book
Set at one young boy's annual family reunion, this Caldecott Honor-winning picture book is a rich and moving celebration of Black history, culture, and the power of family traditions. "On reunion morning, we rise before the sun. Daddy hums as he packs our car with suitcases...
What Do Brothas Do All Day?
Mance, Ajuan.
Paper Book
Inspired by Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?, these joyous portraits of Black men engaged in everyday life celebrate the deep roots and rich cultures of African American communities. Have you ever wondered . . . What do...
Sulwe
Nyong'o, Lupita
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices! Recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award Recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's...
Somewhere in the bayou
Pumphrey, Jarrett
Paper Book
When four swamp creatures looking to cross a river come upon a log that would allow for precisely that, they can't believe their luck. But a questionable tail adjacent to that log gives them second thoughts. Opossum believes it's a sneaky tail and that they must pass it quietly. Squirrel thinks it's...
A history of me
Theodore, Adrea
Paper Book
An uplifting message of hope for the future and pride in your history, inspired by a mother's experience of being the only Black child in her classroom. Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Emphasizing the strength, creativity, and courage passed down through...
Nina : a story of Nina Simone
Todd, Traci N.
Paper Book
A 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honoree!   This luminous, defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy. ...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T : Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award! From a New York Times bestselling and ALSC Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author and an acclaimed illustrator comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul...
The roots of rap : 16 bars on the 4 pillars of hip-hop
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Explore the roots of rap in this stunning, rhyming, triple-timing picture book! "Carole Boston Weatherford, once again, delivers a resounding testament and reminder, that hip-hop is a flavorful slice of larger cultural cake. And to be hip-hop-to truly be it-we must remember...
The Talk
Williams, Alicia D.
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner! As a little boy grows into a bigger boy, ready to take on the world, he first must have that very difficult conversation far too familiar to so many Black and Brown Americans in this gentle and ultimately hopeful picture book.

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.