Children’s Literature by Black Authors
A selection of books by Black authors and Illustrators for children of all ages
Board Books
Board Books
Whose Knees Are These?
Board book. Takes a loving look at knees from the vantage point of a mother's lap. Age: 2-4.
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Board Books
Baby Goes to Market
Child picture book, and board book. Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Age: 3-6.
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Board Books
Woke Baby
Child picture book, and board book. A baby with awareness of social and racial justice issues wakes up for the day. Age: 1-4.
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Board Books
Baby Says
Child board book. Baby and big brother figure out how to get along. Age: 5-8.
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Board Books
Mommy’s Khimar
Child picture book. A young Muslim girl puts on a head scarf and not only feels closer to her mother, she also imagines herself as a queen, the sun, a superhero, and more. Age: 3-8.
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Picture Books
Picture Books
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale
Child picture book. Reveals the meaning of the mosquito's buzz. Age: 5-8.
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Picture Books
How to Read a Book
Child picture book. “FIRST, FIND A TREE - A BLACK TUPELO OR DAWN REDWOOD WILL DO - AND PLANT YOURSELF. IT'S OKAY IF YOU PREFER A STOOP. LIKE LANGSTON HUGHES.” With these words, an adventure begins-an adventure into the world of reading via Kwame Alexander's evocative poetry and Melissa Sweet's lush artwork. Age: 3-8.
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Picture Books
Baby Goes to Market
Child picture book, and board book. Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
Child picture book, e-audiobook, and e-video. Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair. Age: 6-10.
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Picture Books
The King of Kindergarten
Child picture book, and e-book. Instilled with confidence by his parents, a young boy has a great first day of kindergarten. Age: 3-7.
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Picture Books
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me
Child picture book. “A boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone. At first, he feels lost. But his father has left him a letter filled with advice to guide him through the times he cannot be there."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 3-8.
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Picture Books
Where’s Rodney?
Child picture book. Rodney was inside, but always wanted to be outside. His class takes a field trip to the park. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
Imani's Moon
Child picture book, and e-book. Little Imani of the Maasai people longs to do something great, like touching the moon, but the other children just laugh at her. Age: 5-8.
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Picture Books
Woke Baby
Child picture book, and board book. A baby with awareness of social and racial justice issues wakes up for the day. Age: 1-4.
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Picture Books
I Am Enough
Child picture book, and e-audiobook. We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
My Hair is a Garden
Child picture book. After being teased yet again about her unruly hair, MacKenzie consults her neighbor, Miss Tillie, who compares hair care with tending her beautiful garden and teaches MacKenzie some techniques. Includes tips for shampooing, conditioning, and protecting black hair, and recipes for hair products. Age: 5-7.
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Picture Books
Hair Love : a Celebration of Daddies and Daughters Everywhere
Child picture book, e-book, and e-audiobook. A little girl's daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self. Age: 3-8.
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Picture Books
Let the Children March
Child picture book, e-book, and e-video. Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, children and teenagers march against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. Age: 8-10.
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Picture Books
Uptown
Child picture book. A tour of the sights of Harlem, including the Metro-North Train, brownstones, shopping on 125th Street, a barber shop, summer basketball, the Boy's Choir, and sunset over the Harlem River. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
Full, Full, Full of Love
Child picture book. For young Jay Jay, Sunday dinner at Gran's house is full of hugs and kisses, tasty dishes, all kinds of fishes, happy faces, and love. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
The Ring Bearer
Child picture book. “Jackson's mom is getting married, and Jackson is nervous about his role and his new family."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
Bunheads
Child picture book. From prima ballerina and New York Times bestselling author Misty Copeland comes the story of a young Misty, who discovers her love of dance through the ballet Coppélia--a story about a toymaker who devises a villainous plan to bring a doll to life. Age: 5-8.
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Picture Books
Firebird : Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How to Dance Like the Firebird
Child picture book, and e-book. American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice. Age: 5-10.
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Picture Books
Bigmama's
Child picture book and DVD. Visiting Bigmama's house in the country, young Donald Crews finds his relatives full of news and the old place and its surroundings just the same as the year before. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
My Mommy Medicine
Child picture book. “When a child wakes up feeling sick, she is treated to a good dose of Mommy Medicine. Her remedy includes a yummy cup of hot chocolate; a cozy, bubble-filled bath time; and unlimited snuggles and cuddles. Mommy Medicine can heal all woes and make any day the BEST day!"--Jacket flap. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
Last Stop on Market Street
Child picture book, e-book, DVD, e-video, and audiobook on CD. Also available in Spanish. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things. Age: 3-6.
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Picture Books
A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream
Child picture book. A young girl growing up in Harlem in the 1950s, whose mother cleans and stitches costumes for a ballet company, dreams of becoming a prima ballerina one day, and is thrilled to see a performance of Janet Collins, the first "colored" prima ballerina. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
Mixed Me!
Child picture book, and e-audiobook. Told in rhyming text, Mike is a mixed-race boy, completely comfortable with his identity and his parents--and his wild, curly hair. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
We March
Child picture book. Illustrations and brief text portray the events of the 1963 march in Washington, D.C., where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a historic speech. Age: 5-9.
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Picture Books
Not Quite Snow White
Tameika is excited to audition for the school's Snow White musical, but when she overhears her classmates say she is too tall, chubby, and brown to play Snow White, she questions whether she is right for the part.
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Picture Books
I Am Truly
Child picture book. First book in the Princess Truly series. “Princess Truly's rhyming adventures are a celebration of individuality, girl power, diversity, and dreaming big."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 3-5.
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Picture Books
Sing to the Moon
Child picture book. For one little Ugandan boy, no wish is too big. First he dreams of reaching the stars and then of riding a supernova straight to Mars. But on a rainy day at his grandfather's house, he is brought down to earth with a bump. Do adventures only happen in galaxies far away or can he find magic a little closer to home? A touching story of a grandfather's love for his grandson and the quiet pleasures of a rainy day. Age: 5-8.
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Picture Books
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
Child picture book. In 1865, members of a family start their day as slaves, working in a Texas cotton field, and end it celebrating their freedom on what came to be known as Juneteenth. Age: 6-9.
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Picture Books
Black Is a Rainbow Color
Child picture book. “A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.” -- Provided by publisher. Includes historical and cultural notes, song list, and two poems. Age: 4-10.
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Picture Books
Antiracist Baby
Child picture book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Illustrations and rhyming text present nine steps Antiracist Baby can take to improve equity, such as opening our eyes to all skin colors and celebrating all our differences. Age: Birth - 4.
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Picture Books
The Thing about Bees : A Love Letter
Child picture book. A love poem from a father to his two sons, and a tribute to the bees that pollinate the foods we love to eat. Age: 2-7.
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Picture Books
Henry’s Freedom Box
Child picture book, and print with audio. A fictionalized account of how in 1849 a Virginia slave, Henry "Box" Brown, escapes to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia. Age: 4-8.
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Picture Books
Double Bass Blues
Child picture book. After school orchestra practice, young Nic carries his double bass through rough neighborhoods to his grandfather's home, where he and Grandaddy Nic play jazz music with friends, delighting the neighbors. Age: 3-8.
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Picture Books
When Aidan Became a Brother
Child picture book. “Aidan, a transgender boy, experiences complicated emotions as he and his parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 4-7.
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Picture Books
Going Down Home with Daddy
Child picture book, e-audiobook, and e-video. Alan looks forward to the annual family reunion at the farm where Daddy grew up, but everyone is supposed to share something special and Alan worries about arriving with empty hands. Age: 5-8.
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