Exploring Black History

by Kwame Mbalia 

Grades 3 - 7

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade American Gods set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods.

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

In rich, poetic language, Andrea Davis Pinkney weaves the true story of a boy with a dream―together with the story of a real-life hero (who himself had a life-altering friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was young!). Keith Henry Brown’s deeply affecting paintings bring this inspiring bond between a young activist and an elder congressman vividly to life.

by Jacqueline Woodson

Grades K - 3

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.

by Deloris Jordan

Grades Preschool - 3

Michael Jordan’s mother and sister team up for this heartwarming and inspirational picture book about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true. Featuring illustrations by Kadir Nelson, winner of the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement!

by Rita Williams-Garcia

Grade 3 - 7

In this Newbery Honor novel, New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them. A strong option for summer reading—take this book along on a family road trip or enjoy it at home.

This moving, funny novel won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the Coretta Scott King Award and was a National Book Award Finalist. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern's story continues in P.S. Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama.

by Derrick Barnes

Grades K - 3

This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber’s chair—a tradition that places on their heads a figurative crown, beaming with jewels, that confirms their brilliance and worth and helps them not only love and accept themselves but also take a giant step toward caring how they present themselves to the world. The fresh cuts. That’s where it all begins.

by Rose Blue and Corinne J Naden

Grade 1 - 3

Nine-year-old Ron loves going to the Lake City Public Library to look through all the books on airplanes and flight. Today, Ron is ready to take out books by himself. But in the segregated world of South Carolina in the 1950s, Ron's obtaining his own library card is not just a small rite of passage—it is a young man's first courageous mission. Here is an inspiring story, based on Ron McNair's life, of how a little boy, future scientist, and Challenger astronaut desegregated his library through peaceful resistance.

by Jacqueline Woodson

(Jacqueline Woodson won a Newberry Honor and the Hans Christian Anderson Medal)

Grades K - 3

On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice: “Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now.”  Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.

by Vashti Harrison

(Vashti Harrison is a Caldecott Winner)

Grades 3 - 7

An important book for readers of all ages, this beautifully illustrated and engagingly written volume brings to life true stories of black men in history. Among these biographies, readers will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include writer James Baldwin, artist Aaron Douglas, filmmaker Oscar Devereaux Micheaux, lawman Bass Reeves, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, and musician Prince.

The legends in Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History span centuries and continents, but each one has blazed a trail for generations to come.

by Vashti Harrison

(Vashti Harrison is a Caldecott Winner)

Grade level 3 - 7

Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all expectations, including:

• Nurse Mary Seacole
• Politician Diane Abbott
• Mathematician Katherine Johnson
• Singer Shirley Bassey

Bestselling author and artist Vashti Harrison pairs captivating text and beautiful illustrations as she tells the stories of both iconic and lesser-known female figures. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things.

by Kwame Alexander

(Kwame Alexander has won a Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott King honors)

Grades 5 - 7

Twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.  

by Jason Reynolds  (Jason Reynolds has won Coretta Scott King honors, a Newberry Honor, and a Printz honor)

Agest 10 - 12

Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. A fast but fiery group of kids from wildly different backgrounds, chosen to compete on an elite track team. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Discover each of their stories in Jason Reynolds’s explosive New York Times bestselling Track series.

by Amanda Gorman (Amanda Gorman was the National Youth Poet Laureate)

Picture Book

Grades Preschool - 3

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by presidential inaugural poet and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.