Celebrate Black History Month with books by Black authors and writing focusing on Black voices, characters, history, and culture. We hope these selections serve to educate and encourage a dialogue on topics of Black history and experiences, as well as highlight authors and stories from a variety of genres.
Whose Toes are Those? By Jabari Asim
A vibrant, playful verse that celebrates a beautiful brown baby’s adorable little toes, for fans of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes . Who do you suppose has such fine toes? So brown and sweet. Who could have such darling feet? Snuggle with a child on your lap with this cheerful rhyme inspired by the classic giggle-inspiring game of This Little Piggy. With lush, adorable pictures from New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham, reminiscent of the beloved work of Ezra Jack Keats, this interactive board book full of toddler appeal is a perfect baby gift for parent-child playtime.
Available formats: Book
Glow by Ruth Forman
A joyfully poetic board book that delivers an ode to the beautiful light of African American boys. I shine night too smooth brown glow skin This simple, playful, and elegant board book stars a young boy who joyfully celebrates his dark skin with a bright moon at the end of a perfect day.
Available formats: Book
Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
A rhythmic, whimsically illustrated celebration of Black and brown babies and the joy, tender moments, and boundless love shared between children and their caregivers.
Available formats: Book
Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem by Amanda Gorman
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. With lyrical text and rhythmic illustrations that build to a dazzling crescendo by illustrator Loren Long. This picture book is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference.
Available formats: Book
Lullaby for a Black Mother by Langston Hughes
With a few simple words as smooth as a song, the poet Langston Hughes celebrates the love between an African American mother and her baby. The award-winning illustrator Sean Qualls’s painted and collaged artwork captures universally powerful maternal moments with tenderness and whimsy. In the end, readers will find a rare photo of baby Hughes and his mother, a biographical note, further reading, and the complete lullaby. Like little love-ones, this beautiful book is a treasure.
Available formats: Book
Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings by Francie Latour
A Haitian American girl finds connection to generations of family lore in this story of identity, heart and home. Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter. The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow — the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt’s home in the mountains. The girl has always loved Auntie Luce’s paintings: the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country’s independence. Through Haiti’s colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt’s brush.
Available formats: Book
The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson
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.” Before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom. Then, on a day full of quarrels, it’s time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds.
Available formats: Book
The Electric Slide and Kai by Kelly J. Baptist
Kai’s aunt is getting married, and everyone in the Donovan family is excited about the wedding … except Kai. The highlight of every Donovan occasion is dancing the electric slide–a groovy line dance with footwork that Kai can’t quite figure out. More than anything, he wants to prove that he can boogie with the rest of his family and earn a cool nickname from his granddad. Can Kai break through his nerves and break it down on the dance floor?
Available formats: Book
Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil
When a child wakes up late one day, it’s only the first in a series of things to go terribly awry. But the people around them show them that what’s important is being kind to yourself and getting through rough days. Because, after all, tomorrow is a fresh start.
Available formats: Book
Ty’s Travels by Kelly Starling Lyons
This early reader series features Ty and his family. Join Ty on adventures as he uses his imagination. With simple, rhythmic text and joyful, bright art, this Guided Reading Level I and My First series is perfect for shared reading with a child. The books feature basic language, word repetition, and whimsical illustrations, ideal for sharing with emergent readers. The active, engaging stories have appealing plots and lovable characters, encouraging children to continue their reading journey.
Available formats: Book
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
This is the first novel in the series which follows a group of kids: Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.
Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city.
Available formats: Book, eBook (Overdrive Media on Demand), Audiobook, Audiobook (Overdrive Media on Demand), Audiobook (CloudLibrary)
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.) 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. Wait, what? Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn’t think that’s for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, 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. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.
Available formats: Book, eBook (Overdrive Media on Demand), eBook (CloudLibrary), eBook (Hoopla), Audiobook (Hoopla), Audiobook (Overdrive Media on Demand)
Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles
Wes Henderson wants to focus on hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to. But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they’re doing is arguing. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks.
Available formats: Book, eBook (Overdrive Media on Demand)
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn’t sure she should read it. It’s addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert’s history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets.
Available formats: Book, eBook (Overdrive Media on Demand), Audiobook (Hoopla), Audiobook (Overdrive Media on Demand)
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