Summer
Reading Lists

Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Rain School by James Rumford

Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

The Library by Sarah Stewart

The Treasure Box by Margaret Wild

Vincent Can’t Sleep: Van Gogh Paints the Night Sky by Barb Rosenstock

Wild About Books by Judy Sierra

A Bird or 2: A Story About Henri Matisse by Bijou Le Tord

Cinderella/Cenicienta by Francesc Boada

Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella by Jewell Reinhart Coburn

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Youn

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters An African Tale by John Steptoe

Pablo Picasso (Revised Edition) (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia 

Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story by Robert D. San Souci

Spotlight on South Korea by Bobbie Kalman

The Friendly Postman: The Art of Van Gogh by Yu-Ri Kim

The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story by Rebecca Hickox 

This Is Ireland by Miroslav Šašek

Vincent’s Colors by Vincent van Gogh 

Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel

Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Poppleton in Winter by Cynthia Rylant

The House of Four Seasons by Roger Duvoisin

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown

Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin’ Cowboy by Andrea Davis Pinkney

A Moose Boosh by Eric-Shabazz Larkin

Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

Sopa de frijoles / Bean Soup by Jorge Argueta

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

The Quest to Digest by Mary K. Corcoran

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Your Digestive System by Rebecca L. Johnson

Yum! Mmmm! Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings by Pat Mora

Breakthrough!: How Three People Saved Blue Babies and Changed Medicine Forever by Jim Murphy

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman

Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero by Patricia McCormick

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Tiny Stitches: Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks

Who Was Clara Barton? By Stephanie Spinner

Adventures of the Greek Heroes by Anne M. Wiseman

Classic Myths to Read Aloud: The Great Stories of Greek and Roman Mythology by William F. Russell

Cupid and Psyche by Marie Charlotte Craft

Fables by Arnold Lobel

Pegasus by Marianna Mayer

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

As Long As the Rivers Flow by Constance Brissenden

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell

Zia by Scott O’Dell

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jennifer Bryant

Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley

America’s Champion Swimmer Gertrude Ederle by David A. Adler

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion by Russell Freedman

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

Mr. Matisse and His Cutouts by Annemarie van Haeringen

Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Reprint) by Jonah Winter

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jennifer Bryant

Bat Boy and His Violin by Gavin Curtis 

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy

Who Was Roberto Clemente? by James Buckley 

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Miguel’s Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and His Dream of Don Quixote by Margarita Engle

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz 

The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park

The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa by Fredrick McKissack and Patricia McKissack

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís

Oh Rats!: The Story of Rats and People by Albert Marrin

Summer Assignments for UCHS Honor Students

Why reading is important for the development of identity:

Children are able to detect the differences in skin color as early as six-months-old and are capable of internal racial biases before entering kindergarten. That means by the time a Black child is in kindergarten, they’re able to see books in class and recognize when they aren’t in them.

In order for parents to foster a love for reading in their child, it helps for Black children to see themselves or people they can relate to in the characters. It’s a crucial element to keeping them engaged and staying on track—not just for school, but for life itself.

How To Use This Recommended Resource: 

The Great Black Book List

For each recommended book, we’ve included a short synopsis. Picking one is as simple as finding the age-appropriate category, reading the brief summary, and finding one or two books you think your child will enjoy. At the end of every age group section, we’ve included a list of suggested activities. 

This list is a guide on how to interact with your child and ensure they understand what they’re reading. It includes games, questions, and a few strategies if you notice they’re having trouble with the book. 

The books are both age and subject-appropriate:

• For the youngest, we’ve recommended picture books with simple words that your child will be able to understand. Our book recommendation for the shorties features lots of light-hearted tales and narratives featuring both grounded and fantastical fictional stories. There are also great introductions to historical Black figures for those a little older, such as a story about the four Black women who helped NASA get to the moon.

• Middle schoolers receive reading suggestions that are a little more complex, teaching different elements of being Black in America and expanding their knowledge base on some of the more complicated issues regarding Black identity. We’ve included fictional sports narratives, friends growing apart due to racial tensions, and fictional tales of what it’s like growing up in America’s darkest historical periods.

• High schoolers are taken on a journey through Black history where they can read texts depicting both real-life and fictional accounts of what it’s like to be Black in America at their age. There are books regarding police brutality, Black people passing as white people as a method of safety, and tracing the lives of Black people from pre-slavery Africa all the way to modern-day America.