African American & Black Books
Grades K-2
Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Amanda Redd: As family members braid, brush, twirl, roll, and tighten their hair before bedtime, putting on kerchiefs, wave caps, and other protective items, the little sister cannot find her bonnet. (2020, video)
Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes: A beloved and very sleepy little boy resists his mother's efforts to put him to bed. (2020, video)
Big by Vashti Harrison: Praised for acting like a big girl when she is small, as a young girl grows, "big" becomes a word of criticism, until the girl realizes that she is fine just the way she is. (2023, video)
Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince by Alliah L. Agostini: Shane, a boy with big dancing dreams, learns the meaning of courage and community. (2023, video)
Hello, Mister Blue by Daria Peoples: A day in the park with her grandfather sparks an unlikely connection between a young girl and a street musician without a home. (2023)
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes: Illustrations and easy-to-read text pay homage to the strength, character, and worth of a child. (2020, audiobook)
Juneteenth by Van G. Garrett: An African American family attends a modern-day Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas (the birthplace of the holiday). Text includes lines from Lift Every Voice and Sing. (2023, video)
Kicks in the Sky by C. G. Esperanza: Colorful, psychedelic sneakers hang from telephones wires all over the city. Up in the sky, they hang for all to marvel at. But when a few special pairs get knocked down, the kids have to try them on. Soon they're racing, dancing, leaning to fly! These enchanted sneaks are out of this world, but where did they come from? And who would ever leave these behind? (2023)
The Legend of Gravity: A Tall Basketball Tale by Charly Palmer: This is a tall tale about a local basketball hero nicknamed Gravity. (2022, video)
The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney: Melody, the littlest sea princess, is not content just to sing in the choir of mermaids like her sisters. She is an explorer who wonders about what lies above the water's surface, especially the young girl she has spied from a distance. To meet her requires a terrible sacrifice: she trades her beautiful voice for a potion that gives her legs, so that she may live on land instead. It seems like a dream come true at first. But when trouble stirs beneath the ocean, Melody faces another impossible choice: stay with her friend, or reclaim her true identity and save her family. (2020, video)
Me & Mama by Cozbi A. Cabrera: For a little girl on a rainy day, the best place to be is with Mama. (2020, video)
Saturday by Oge Mora: When all of their special Saturday plans go awry, Ava and her mother still find a way to appreciate one another and their time together. (2019, audiobook)
A Song So Black, So Proud! by R. J. Owens: The song "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" is personified, describing the Black history and culture that inspired its creation. Written in 1968 by singer James Brown after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the song became an anthem for the civil rights movement. (2023)
Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham: Granny teaches her young grandson how to cook the family meal, in this celebration of food, traditions, and gathering together at the table. (2021, video)
Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews: Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest. (2015, video)
The Walk by Winsome Bingham: As a little girl accompanies her grandma on a walk to the polling station, members of their community join and the grandmother explains the importance of their journey. (2023)
What My Daddy Loves by Raissa Figueroa: This book celebrates the warm love between Black fathers and their children. (2023, video)
Grades 3-5
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston: Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good. So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can believe in magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real. Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. (2021, audiobook)
Black Boy Joy: From seventeen acclaimed Black male and nonbinary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood. (2021, audiobook)
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes: Two biracial brothers, Donte and Trey, navigating racism, colorism, and bullying. Older brother Trey, the lighter-skinned sibling of the boys' black mother and white father, is considered the "white brother." Donte, the "black brother," feels like he's "swimming in whiteness" at Middlefield Prep School, where he is regularly bullied because of his skin tone. When Alan, who constantly targets Donte, throws a pencil and Donte is blamed for it, then arrested when he expresses frustration, Donte's ready to fight back, on Alan's home turf: the fencing mat. (2021, audiobook)
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone: When G'ma asks Scoob to go on "a little adventure" during spring break, he doesn't hesitate to say yes (especially since he's been grounded for fighting at school). Once inside her "sweet ride," the new RV she bought after selling her house, Scoob isn't so sure he made the right choice. First, there are the people on the road who look at them funny because he is black and she is white. Then there's G'ma's treasure box, which contains old maps, postcards, newspaper clippings, and a copy of Travelers' Green Book: For Vacation Without Aggravation, 1963. Next, Scoob catches his grandmother changing license plates and refusing to answer Dad's calls. Finally, there's G'ma talking in her sleep about "fixing it." But what is "it"? Scoob isn't so sure he knows who his grandmother is anymore. (2020, audiobook)
Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott: In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a curmudgeonly witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling. (2018, audiobook)
Fast Pitch by Nic Stone: Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way. (2021, audiobook)
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome: Discovering a book of Langston Hughes' poetry in the library helps Langston cope with the loss of his mother, relocating from Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and being bullied. (2018, audiobook)
Freewater by Amina Dawson-Luqman: A remarkable historical novel chronicling the journey of two enslaved children as they escape a plantation in the South to join a secret community deep in a swamp. An inspiring and suspenseful read on courage, friendship, and hope. (2022, audiobook)
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks: Zoe Washington, a soon-to-be seventh-grader growing up outside Boston, is celebrating a birthday bereft of friends due to distance and betrayal, when a surprise letter from her incarcerated father arrives and throws her life into emotional disarray. (2020, audiobook)
Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes: Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading—anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey’s life changes. (2016, video 1, video 2)
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee: Twelve-year-old Shayla avoids trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. But in junior high, it's like all the rules have changed. Now she's suddenly questioning who her best friends are, and some people at school are saying she's not black enough. After experiencing a powerful protest, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. Shay is scared to do the wrong things (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn't face her fears, she'll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. (2019, audiobook)
J.D. and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard: Eight-year-old J.D. turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business. (2021, video)
Just Right Jillian by Nicole D. Collier: It's hatching season and Jemison Elementary is buzzing about the arrival of the baby chicks. Fifth-grader Jillian must learn to speak and break free of her shell to enter her school's competition and keep her promise to her grandmother. (2022, audiobook)
Maya and the Robot by Eve L. Ewing: A forgotten homemade robot comes to life just when aspiring fifth-grade scientist Maya needs a friend - and a science fair project. (2021, audiobook)
Mia Mayhem is a Superhero by Kara West: Eight-year-old Mia Macarooney is delighted to learn she is from a family of superheroes, but her acceptance into the Program for In Training Superheroes requires she take a placement exam. (2018, video)
Miles Lewis: King of the Ice by Kelly Starling Lyons: Miles, a first-time ice skater frets about an upcoming field trip to the rink. When Miles' friend RJ bets that Miles can't skate without falling, Miles reluctantly accepts the challenge. (2022, video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4)
Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynold and Ibram X. Kendi, adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul: Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Readers will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they'll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives. (2021, audiobook)
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson: Ryan Hart has a lot on her mind--school, self-image, and especially family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means some changes, like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. (2020, audiobook)
Grades 6-8
A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to Climate Change by Vanessa Nakate: A founder of the Rise Up Climate Movement discusses ways we can all build a livable future, with a focus on the role of African voices, while revealing the rampant inequalities within the climate-justice movement. Watch author Vanessa Nakate shine a light on the climate crisis at COP27 in Egypt. (2021, video)
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: Seventeen-year-old Zélie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy. (2018, video)
The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander: A novel in verse about a boy escaping slavers during the nineteenth century-- 11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. It's a mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets ... Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father's father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so he's hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older, stronger cousin.. Listen to Kwame Alexander read an excerpt from his book. (2022, video)
March Book One by John Lewis: This graphic novel is Congressman John Lewis' first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a climax on the steps of City Hall. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington D.C., and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom awarded to him by Barack Obama, the first African-American president. (2013, video)
March Book Two by John Lewis: After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence -- but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the Deep South, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the young activists of the movement struggle with internal conflicts as well. But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy... and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (2015)
March Book Three by John Lewis: By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as a chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: "One Man, One Vote." T (2016)
Stamped: racism, antiracism, and you by Jason Reynolds: The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. Racist ideas are woven into the fabric of this country, and the first step to building an antiracist America is acknowledging America's racist past and present. This book takes you on that journey, showing how racist ideas started and were spread, and how they can be discredited"--Dust jacket flap. "A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning. (2020, video)
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia: Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend Eddie when they were in a bus accident together. But on his first night at his grandparents' farm, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie's notebook. When Tristan chases after, he finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American folk heroes John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi to come out of hiding. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves? (2019, video)
When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed: This book is a work of fiction based on true events. It reflects the author's present recollections of experiences over time. Some names and characteristics have been changed or invented, some events have been compressed, and dialogue has been re-created. (2020, video)