Reading is the perfect way to learn more about certain topics; Black history being no different. And February is Black History Month — a great time to pick up some new books, here are some reads (for all ages) to keep you busy year-round!
If you are buying new books remember to purchase from Black-owned businesses/bookstores!
Books for Black History Month
Babies/Toddlers:
M Is For Melanin: A Celebration of the Black Child, Tiffany Rose
Curls, Ruth Forman
Dream Big, Little One, Vashti Harrison
Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History, Vashti Harrison
Follow Your Dreams, Little One, Vashti Harrison
Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o
The Ring Bearer, Floyd Cooper
Hair Like Mine, LaTashia M. Perry
The Skin You Live In, Michael Tyler
Young Kids:
When I Am Old With You, Angela Johnson
I Am Enough, Grace Byers
In the Mirror, Fabian E. Ferguson
Blended, Sharon Draper
The Bell Rang, James E. Ransome
Overground Railroad, Lesa Cline-Ransome
D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet, Nancy I. Sanders
Goin’ Someplace Special, Patricia C. McKissack
In My Momma’s Kitchen, Jerdine Nolen
We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past, Jacqueline Woodson
Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuant of a Dream, Deloris Jordan
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, John Steptoe
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, Ellen Levine
Your Dad was Just Like You, Dolores Johnson
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride, Andrea Davis Pinkney & Brain Pinkney
The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague, Julia Finley Mosca
Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
Follow the Drinking Gourd, Jeanette Winter
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman, Kathleen Krull
Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later), Elizabeth Fitzgerald
Where’s Rodney?, Floyd Cooper
Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment, Parker Curry & Jessica Curry
Not Quite Snow White, Ashley Franklin
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation, Barry Wittenstein
The Undefeated, Kwame Alexander
Rebound, Kwame Alexander
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, Derrick Barnes
Mixed Me, Taye Diggs
Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood, Kwame Mbalia
Older Kids:
The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, James McBride
Beloved, Toni Morrison
You Should See Me In a Crown, Leah Johnson
Black Brother, Black Brother, Jewell Parker Rhodes
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis
The Forgotten Girl, India Hill Brown
A Good Kind of Trouble, Lisa Moore Ramée
Teens/Adults:
Fudge, Pauline Nevins
The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
More Than Enough, Elaine Welteroth
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, Mikki Kendall
When No One Is Watching: A Thriller, Alyssa Cole
Between The World And Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower , Brittney Cooper
Nice Racism, Robin DiAngelo
The Other Black Girl: A Novel, Zakiya Dalila Harris
Red at the Bone: A Novel, Jacqueline Woodson
Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid
The Mothers: A Novel, Brit Bennett
For more book recommendations, check out our Resource Guide to Teaching Our Children & Ourselves About Racism.
I love this list! I have read only ONE of these books but have 2 others on my bookshelf. Picking one up NOW! Thanks, Alexa!