African American Book List

Below is a list of books for children of all ages. From biographies to historical stories to modern day adventures of children of color, you will find stories that will entertain and inform.

  Freedom School, Yes!
Amy Littesugar, Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

• The year is 1964 and African American children are not allowed to go to school with other children in Chicken Creek, Mississippi.  Many had no school to go to at all.  Teams of young volunteers came to Mississippi to begin Freedom Schools and teach the children, and interested adults, how to read and write.  The lessons were not limited to basic education.  The children learned about famous African Americans that made great contributions to society. 

     Nightjohn
Gary Paulsen

• Nightjohn is a story that is set in the south during the time of slavery.  Based on an actual incident, the author tells about a young slave girl, Sarny, who it taught to read by another slave, Nightjohn. 

   I Love the Look of Words
Maya Angelou

• A poem from Tom Feeling's book of poetry Soul Looks Back in Wonder
• This is a lavishly illustrated collection of poetry aimed at African American young adults. In powerful pictures, Feelings celebrates "African creativity" with realistic portraits of individual people set against landscapes flowing across space and time. I Love the Look of Words by Maya Angelou talks of the "tracks" that new ideas make in her mind.

  Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World
Mildred Pitts Walter

• Draws on information about African American cowboys on the American frontier in the late 1800s while telling a contemporary story.

  Have a Happy...
Mildred Pitts Walter

• Traces an 11-year-old boy’s feelings as he tries to earn money to help out his family during the Christmas season.

  Sister
Eloise Greenfield

• An intimate picture of Doretha, called “Sister” by her family.

  The Mouse Rap
Walter Dean Myers

• This book, which alternates between poetry and prose, is written in the vernacular of jive-talking, tapping, 14-year-old Mouse Douglas, boy “hoop” player.

  Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff
Walter Dean Myers

• A story of the interdependence of a group of basketball-playing boys who inadvertently become involved with drugs while trying to help a former addict.

  Jazmin’s Notebook
Nikki Grimes

• Uses an urban setting to provide a glimpse of pressures and problems faced by an adolescent girl living in Harlem in the 1960s.

  M.C. Higgins, the Great
Virginia Hamilton

• This book is set in southern Ohio where 13-year-old Cornelius Higgins and his family live on old family property just beneath a slagheap created by strip miners. M.C. dreams of moving his family away from the slow-moving heap that threatens to engulf their home.

  The Planet of Junior Brown
Virginia Hamilton

• A story about three complementary “planets.” The final planet is the one that readers see as possible if people like Junior Brown could lead us there. This planet could be a place where everyone belongs, where people respect each other, and where all value themselves as well.

  Maizon at Blue Hill
Jacqueline Woodson

• Margaret and Maizon are best friends growing up in Brooklyn when Maizon wins a scholarship to a mostly white private school.  Her struggles to fit into a world that is alien and alienating are detailed in this book.

  Last Summer with Maizon
Jacqueline Woodson

• Margaret’s own year apart from Maizon is related in this book.

  Between Madison & Palmetto
Jacqueline Woodson

• Margaret and Maizon are reunited in this book when Maizon drops out of Blue Hill and returns home to Madison Street.

  Hold Fast to Dreams
Andrea Davis Pinkney

• This book looks at a middle-class African American family and the special pressures they face as they try to succeed in an often-hostile white world.  The Willis family confronts these issues when they move to suburban Connecticut from urban Baltimore.

  The Girl Who Spun Gold
Virginia Hamilton

• A dramatic fairy tale about a girl who must spin three rooms of cotton into gold – and guess the name of the tiny, cruel creature who threatens to take her away forever.

  Wings
Christopher Myers

• Are you brave enough to be your true self?  Ikarus Jackson is. But it isn’t always easy. The people in his neighborhood point at his wings. The kids at school laugh. The teachers call him a distraction. In this beautiful, thought-provoking and powerful story, Christopher Myers challenges us to embrace our differences and celebrate our individuality. Only then can we truly fly.

  Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba,  Angola, Africa, 1959
Patricia C. McKissack

• Based on true historical events, places, people, and customs, this novel portrays the fascinating details of a remarkable young woman's strength and courage in defending her world against subterfuge, spies, and the onslaught of the Portuguese.

  Shades of Black
Sandra L. Pinkney

• A striking photo-essay celebrating the beauty and diversity of African-American children.

  Just the Two of Us
Will Smith

• Will Smith’s song is a song of love and a call to all fathers to teach their children the values of dignity, integrity, and honor.

  Street Magic
Tamora Pierce

• When Briar Moss spots a street kid using magic in the marketplace, he knows he must find her a teacher. Before he can do so, Briar and the young mage are swept up in gang warfare that puts them both in grave danger. Now Briar must decide if he¹s ready to step in as young Evvy¹s mentor ­ and if he¹s ready to put his own gang life behind him for good.

  Jackie’s Nine – Jackie Robinson’s Values to Live By
Sharon Robinson

• Jackie Robinson is a sports and civil rights hero.  To Sharon Robinson, he was all that-and Dad.  From the unique perspective that only a daughter could have, she serves as a personal tour guide through the nine heart-felt, hard-won values that helped Jackie achieve his goals.

  Stay Strong – Simple Life Lessons for Teens
Terrie Williams

• A top public relations expert shares her recipe for success.  Part inspiration, part advice, Stay Strong guides teens along the path to achieving their dreams.

  Freedom’s Wings – Corey’s Diary
Sharon Dennis Wyeth

• Corey Birdsong is a spiritual, lively young boy in search of freedom in the same country that has made an economy of slavery. He and his family are owned by the Hart family of Kentucky. When they learn that Roland, Corey’s father, is to be sold, Roland flees . . . Corey and his mother follow him via the Underground Railroad.

  The Journal of Biddy Owens – The Negro Leagues
Walter Dean Myers

• It is the summer of 1948, and Biddy Owens is the batboy for the Birmingham Black Barons, one of the best teams in the Negro Leagues. Biddy’s story covers the games, the grueling road trips, racial segregation, and day-to-day life in Birmingham during this pivotal time in American history.

  The Hickory Chair
Lisa Rowe Fraustino

• A unique and beautiful book about love from the perspective of a blind child.

  The Spider Weaver, A Legend of Kente Cloth
Margaret Musgrove

• Many people are familiar with kente cloth, but this fascinating story from Ghana tells about its origins.  One night, two weavers came across an extraordinary spider web. A magical spider began to dance for them, weaving a second magnificent, colorful web. Inspired, the men began to weave the spider’s pattern into their cloth, now called kente.

  Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Pictorial Tribute to the Negro National Anthem
James Weldon Johnson

• A beautiful collection of black-and-white photographs are matched with the words of the song, which was composed in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson for a special celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday.

  Kevin and His Dad
Irene Smalls-Hector, Michael Hays (Illustrator), Arene Smalls-Hector

• A wonderful relationship between a father and son.

  I Love My Hair!
Natasha Tarpley, E.B. Lewis (Illustrator)

• A wonderful story to help children appreciate their hair. The text represents the first-person reflections of a little Black girl named Keyana. After describing the hair care ritual she goes through with her mother, Keyana reflects on the different styles in which she can wear her hair: cornrows, an Afro, a bun, etc.

When Africa Was Home
Karen Lynn Williams, Floyd Cooper (Illustrator), Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

• Take a journey with Peter as he remembers his life in an African village

  To Be A Kid!
Maya Ajmera

• Celebrate the universality of childhood around the world.

  Hats Off to Hair
Virginia Kroll, Kay Life (Illustrator)

• How do you wear your hair?  Great pictures of hairstyles from different cultures.

  Furaha Means Happy!
Ken Wilson-Max

• Introduce children to Swahili with this fun book of words.

  Anansi the Spider
Gerald MeDermott (Illustrator)

• A wonderful tale from the Ashanti Tribe in Ghana, Africa.

  Why the Sky is so Far Away
Mary-Joan Gerson

• The future of nature and its gifts rest in our hands as told by the Bini Tribe of Nigeria.

  Jonathan and His Mother
Irene Smalls, Michael Hays (Illustrator), Arene Smalls

• A great story about a mother and son relationship.

  Jaha and Jamil
Virginia Kroll

• A series of African Mother Goose stories.

  Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Pictorial Tribute to the Negro National Anthem
James Weldon Johnson

• A pictorial tribute to the Negro National Anthem.

  Irene and the Big, Fine, Nickel
Irene Smalls

• Finding a nickel can be very interesting as children will hear from this story.

  The Greatest:  Muhammad Ali
Walter Dean Myers

• An introduction to Ali's life from his childhood to the present day, focusing on his career and the controversies surrounding him.

  Harlem: A Poem
Walter Dean Myers

• The author views Harlem--where he grew up--as a symbol of African American aspiration; the artist shares a more concrete city composed of "colors loud enough to be heard."

  Through My Eyes
Ruby Bridges

• Ruby Bridges played a significant role in the history of civil rights. In 1961, as a tiny first-grader escorted by federal agents, she integrated an all-white school in New Orleans. This is Ruby's recollections of external and internal events.

  Black Hands, White Sails
Patricia C. & Fredrick L. McKissack

• This fascinating look at the convergent histories of whaling and the abolitionist movement weaves seemingly disparate threads into a detailed tapestry. The authors trace the whaling industry from its colonial New England roots through the end of the nineteenth century, establishing it within a strong political, social, and economic context. The connections they describe are illuminating, including the use of whaling ships as vehicles on the Underground Railroad and as weapons in the blockade of two Confederate harbors.

  Second Cousins
Virginia Hamilton

• This book gives us 17 pugnacious and heroic female characters in a collection of tales that demonstrates the breadth of African-American cultural tradition.

  Slam!
Walter Dean Myers

• Greg "Slam" Harris's life revolves around basketball. His game, which is formidable, is the only thing he has control over.

  Bluish
Virginia Hamilton  

• Bluish is unlike any girl 10-year-old Dreenie has ever seen. At school she sits in a wheelchair, her skin so pale it's almost blue. Dreenie, herself new to the New York City magnet school, is fascinated by her, but wary as well. Unaware that the name Bluish could have derogatory connotations ("Blewish," for Black and Jewish), she fixates on the moonlight blue skin tones of this curiously fragile child.

  The Other Side
Jacqueline Woodson

• A story of friendship across a racial divide. Clover, the young African-American narrator, lives beside a fence that segregates her town.

  Mirandy and Brother Wind
Patricia McKissack

• This children's book, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, is about a young and joyous African-American girl who hopes to win a prize at a cake walk by capturing the wind as her partner.

  Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Deborah Hopkinson

• Sweet Clara's aunt teachers her how to sew and she makes a quilt. She and young Jack leave because they were slaves, but you are going to have to find out if they make it to freedom or not.

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