Children’s Literature by Black Authors
A selection of books by Black authors and Illustrators for children of all ages
Fiction
Fiction
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on cd, and e-audiobook. Part of the Logan Family Saga. A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand. Age: 10-13.
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Fiction
The Gold Cadillac
Fiction e-book. Two black girls living in the North are proud of their family's beautiful new Cadillac until they take it on a visit to the South and encounter racial prejudice for the first time. Age: 7-11.
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Fiction
Becoming Billie Holiday
Child fiction book. Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years in this fictional memoir written in verse. Age: 11-14.
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Fiction
Genesis Begins Again
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is. Age: 9-13.
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Fiction
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
Child fiction book, and e-book. Feeling most alive when he's playing the blues with his grandfather, Clayton is devastated when his grandfather dies and his mother forbids him from playing music, losses that compel him to run away and join bluesmen on the road. Age: 9-13.
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Fiction
One Crazy Summer
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. Age: 8-12.
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Fiction
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach
Child fiction book, e-book. Saint Louis Armstrong Beach is enjoying life in New Orleans, playing clarinet for the tourists in his spare time, accompanied by Shadow, a local stray dog. When Hurricane Katrina approaches, Saint faces unexpected challenges in trying to rescue Shadow. Age: 9-12.
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Fiction
The Unsung Hero of Birdsong USA
Child fiction book, and audiobook on CD. Gabriel, twelve, gains new perspective when he becomes friends with Meriwether, a Black World War II hero who has recently returned to the unwelcoming Jim Crow South. Age: 10+
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Fiction
Harbor Me
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. When six students are chosen to participate in a weekly talk with no adults allowed, they discover that when they're together, it's safe to share the hopes and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 10-13.
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Fiction
Miracle’s Boys
Fiction e-book. Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother. Age: 10-13.
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Fiction
My life As an Ice Cream Sandwich
Child fiction book, e-book, and audiobook on CD. In the summer of 1984, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace of Huntsville, Alabama, visits her father in Harlem, where her fascination with outer space and science fiction interfere with her finding acceptance. Age: 10+
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Nonfiction
Nonfiction
The Undefeated
Child nonfiction book, and e-book. “The Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree"-- Provided by publisher. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man
Child nonfiction book. 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. Statesman, suffragist, writer, and newspaperman, this book focuses on Douglass the man rather than the historical icon. Age: 9-12.
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Nonfiction
How to Build a Museum : Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
Child nonfiction book. Award-winning author Tonya Bolden has written a fascinating chronicle of how many ideas, ambitions, and actual objects came together in one incredible museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Includes behind-the-scenes photos of literally "how to build a museum" that holds everything from an entire segregated railroad car to a tiny West African amulet worn to ward off slave traders. Age: 9-11.
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Nonfiction
This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality
Child nonfiction book, and e-book. “In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of her four months thrust into the national spotlight and as a trailblazer in history. Based on original research and interviews and featuring backmatter with archival materials and notes from the authors on the co-writing process."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 10-12.
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Nonfiction
Black Girl Magic : A Poem
Child nonfiction book. Much of what twenty-first century culture tells black girls is not pretty: Don't wear this; don't smile at that. Don't have an opinion; don't dream big. And most of all, don't love yourself. In response to such destructive ideas, internationally recognized poet Mahogany Browne challenges the conditioning of society by crafting an anthem of strength and magic undeniable in its bloom for all beautiful Black girls. Age: 11+
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Nonfiction
Woke : A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
Child nonfiction book. "Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.“ Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Beautiful Blackbird
Child nonfiction book. In a story of the Ila people, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his "blackening brew. Age: 7-11.
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Nonfiction
Freedom over Me : Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life
Child nonfiction book, e-book, and DVD. "Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 9+
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Nonfiction
Infinite Hope : A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace
Child nonfiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Artist Ashley Bryan's experience as a Black soldier in the segregated army of WWII.” —Provided by publisher. Age: 9-11.
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Nonfiction
Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice
Child nonfiction book. “A nonfiction collection of profiles of prominent activists for young readers." --Provided by publisher. Age: 10-13.
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Nonfiction
Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb
Child nonfiction book. A picture book biography celebrating the life and contributions of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress, who sought the Democratic nomination to be the president of the United States. Age: 4-8.
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Nonfiction
Before She Was Harriet : The Story of Harriet Tubman
Child nonfiction book, e-book, print with audio book, audiobook on cd, e-audiobook, and e-video. A lush and lyrical biography of Harriet Tubman, written in verse. An evocative poem and opulent watercolors come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her larger than life. Age: 4-8.
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Nonfiction
Some Kind Of Love: A Family Reunion In Poems
Child nonfiction book. Collection of poetry celebrating family. Age: 5-10.
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Nonfiction
The Journey of York : The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Child nonfiction book. Thomas Jefferson's Corps of Discovery included Captains Lewis and Clark and a crew of 28 men to chart a route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. All the crew but one volunteered for the mission. York, the enslaved man taken on the journey, did not choose to go. Slaves did not have choices. York's contributions to the expedition, however, were invaluable. The captains came to rely on York's judgement, determination, and peacemaking role with the American Indian nations they encountered. But as York's independence and status rose on the journey, the question remained what status he would carry once the expedition was over. Age: 9-12.
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Nonfiction
A Nation's Hope : The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis
Child nonfiction book, and read-along DVD. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. On the eve of World War II, African-American boxer Joe Louis fought German Max Schmeling in a bout that had more at stake than just the world heavyweight title. For much of America, their fight came to represent America's war with Germany. This elegant and powerful picture book biography centers on this historic fight in which the American people came together to celebrate our nation's founding ideals. Age: 6-8.
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Nonfiction
Lifting as We Climb : Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box
Child nonfiction book. For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle. Age: 10-12.
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Nonfiction
March On! : The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
Child nonfiction book. “Christine King Farris recalls her brother, Martin Luther King, Jr., in this evocative picture book (Scholastic, 2008) focusing on the 1963 March on Washington where he gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.” —from School Library Journal. Age: 7-12.
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Nonfiction
Rosa
Child nonfiction book. The story of Rosa Parks and her courageous act of defiance. Age: 6-10.
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Nonfiction
Honey, I Love
Child nonfiction. A young girl expresses what she loves about life. Age: 3-8.
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Nonfiction
Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story
Child nonfiction book. Illustrated by Duane Smith. “A biography of Robert Smalls who, during the Civil War, commandeered the Confederate ship Planter to carry his family and twelve other slaves to freedom, and went on to become a United States Congressman working toward African American advancement."--Provided by publisher. Age: 6-11.
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Nonfiction
The People Could Fly : The Picture Book
Child nonfiction picturebook, and e-book. In this retelling of a folktale, a group of slaves, unable to bear their sadness and starvation any longer, calls upon the African magic that allows them to fly away. Age: 8-12.
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Nonfiction
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
Child nonfiction book. Presents fifty diverse creators that lend voice to young activists. Age: 8+
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Nonfiction
Lullaby (for a Black Mother) : A Poem
Child nonfiction book. The author's poem about a mother's love for her child is paired with color illustrations. Age: 2-5.
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Nonfiction
My People
Child nonfiction book. "Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribute to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Smith interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today."--From publisher description. Age: 4-8.
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Nonfiction
That is My Dream! : A Picture Book of Langston Hughes’s "Dream Variation"
Child nonfiction book. “Dream Variation," one of Langston Hughes's most celebrated poems, about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice, is now a picture book stunningly illustrated by Daniel Miyares...An African-American boy faces the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice, but he dreams of a different life--one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun." --Provided by publisher. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Child nonfiction book. The famous poem, taken from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (c1994), illustrated with watercolors. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
Hidden figures : The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
Child nonfiction book. Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them despite their groundbreaking successes. Age: 4-8.
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Nonfiction
Hidden Figures : The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space
Child nonfiction book, e-book, audiobook on cd, e-audiobook. Young readers' edition. Hidden Figures recalls America's greatest adventure and NASA's groundbreaking successes through the experiences of five spunky, courageous, intelligent, determined, and patriotic women: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and Gloria Champine. Moving from World War II through NASA's golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women's rights movement, Hidden Figures interweaves a history of scientific achievement and technological innovation with the intimate stories of five women whose work forever changed the world -- and whose lives show how out of one of America's most painful histories came one of its proudest moments. Age: 8-12.
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Nonfiction
To Be a Slave
Child nonfiction book, and e-audiobook. A compilation, selected from various sources and arranged chronologically, of the reminiscences of slaves and ex-slaves about their experiences from the leaving of Africa through the Civil War and into the early twentieth century. Age: 10+
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