We don’t need Black History Month to remind us that there’s a wealth of wonderful kids’ and young adult books out there by Black authors — but what better way to celebrate Black History Month than with a book list? I checked in with some of my kids’-book-loving bookseller friends for some recent favorites. In here is the poetry of Maya Angelou and the pioneering life of Ruby Bridges. In here are a boy who dances with the moon, and a nonbinary child — named Moon — who battles shadows in the spirit realm. Friendly monsters and ambitious witches. A time freeze and a magical blight. With stories of history, imagination, struggle, perseverance, celebration, and joy, we hope you’ll agree this is a great list of books to read all year through.
FOR YOUNGER KIDS
Goodnight Racism
by Ibram X. Kendi and Cbabi Bayoc
With Kendi’s elegant prose and Bayoc’s warm, joyful illustrations, Goodnight Racism cleverly takes the moon from Margaret Wise Brown’s similarly titled classic and makes it so much more — letting it lull sleepers into dreams of a world of equality, 'a world where all people are safe.' A joyful, hopeful book. — Gigi L.
The World Belonged to Us
by Jacqueline Woodson and Leo Espinosa
Jacqueline Woodson and Leo Espinosa capture a time and place with such incredible vibrancy! Every time I read this beautiful picture book, I am absolutely transported. Delightful and timeless, The World Belonged to Us is an instant classic. — Keith M.
Bloom
by Ruth Forman and Talia Skyles
With Ruth Forman’s simple, poetic text and Talia Skyles’s bright, colorful artwork that bursts with joy, Bloom is an homage to African American girls, and to all girls — a celebration of self and growth that invites the reader in. Beautifully, simply life-affirming. — Gigi L.
Maya’s Song
by Renee Watson and Bryan Collier
Portland author and Newbery honor and Coretta Scott King award recipient Renee Watson beautifully writes in lyrical verse about the life of beloved poet and activist Maya Angelou. Maya's Song, illustrated by Caldecott honor and Coretta Scott King Illustrator award recipient Bryan Collier, uses a unique mix of collage and watercolors and perfectly pairs with Watson's prose. This biographical picture book is a treat for the senses and a glorious tribute to a historical icon. — Kim T.
Nigel and the Moon
by Antwan Eady and Gracey Zhang
Author Eady's language is poetic, and illustrator Zhang's artwork is fluid and dancing, in this picture book about Nigel, who has big dreams he shares with the moon but is afraid to share with his earth-bound friends. A beautiful story about self-acceptance and the support and the love of good parents. — Gigi L.
I Am Ruby Bridges
by Ruby Bridges and Nikkolas Smith
The story of Ruby Bridges's experience in her own words. As the first African American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary in Louisiana, Ruby shares her story and the historic points on the path to became a pioneer in Civil Rights history. Finely illustrated by activist/artist Nikkolas Smith, I Am Ruby Bridges is perfect for any home bookshelf, classroom, or children's library collection. — Kim T.
The Pawsons Celebrate!: Tales from Edgewood, The World's Weirdest Town
by Josie A. and Brian W. Parker
The Pawsons were created by the Portland author-and-illustrator team of Josie A. and Brian W. Parker, known professionally as Believe in Wonder publishing. Everything about this family is kooky and joyful and this second book in the series, rendered in pseudo-graphic novel style with talking bubbles and lovely, friendly artwork, is a celebration of adoption. A kind, whimsical tale. — Gigi L.
FOR OLDER KIDS
Moonflower
by Kacen Callender
National Book Award–winner Callender deftly tells the story of depressed, nonbinary Black child, Moon, who would rather stay forever in the spirit world they visit in their dreams. An adventure to save that world helps Moon look for, and find, love and support in the waking world as well. An important narrative about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality with childhood mental health. — Madeline S.
A Taste of Magic
by J. Elle
Everyone loves a magical school story, and J. Elle’s narrative about the struggle to keep a beloved, historically Black inner-city school open in a fight against gentrification and budget cuts is as magical in the mirror it holds to our reality as it is in its story of spellwork. Can 12-year-old Kyana win the baking contest grand prize to fund Park Row Magick Academy (hidden at the back of her local hair salon) in this fantastic blend of contemporary school challenges and (literal) Black girl magic? You’ll have to read to find out! — Madeline S.
Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution
by Sherri Winston
12-year-old Lotus Bloom’s brilliant violin skills have earned her first chair at her new magnet school. The previous chair isn’t too pleased, but when Lotus speaks up about his bullying, the school is more concerned that her afro (her beloved “wooly mammoth”) is apparently a violation of their (racist) dress code. Is it worth risking her spot to speak out? Lotus is a glowing protagonist for a storyline that’s unfortunately pulled right from the headlines in this look at anti-Blackness in American education. — Madeline S.
Holler of the Fireflies
by David Barclay Moore
12-year-old Javari’s invitation to a STEM camp in West Virginia couldn’t come at a better time: his family is on the brink of eviction from their home in gentrifying Bushwick, and if Javari can win the camp’s cash prize, he can help his parents out. Befriending local 13-year-old Cricket wasn’t on the agenda, but it’s that friendship that leads Javari to explore Affrilachian culture, the difference between Cricket’s history and his own, and the impacts of generational trauma surrounding race and class. — Madeline S.
Amari and the Great Game
by B. B. Alston
Amari and the Night Brothers is one of my new favorites for young readers. Alston has created a fun and fresh supernatural world populated with imaginative creatures and a great hero in Amari. In this installment, Amari is looking forward to summer camp at the Bureau, where she will be a Junior Agent and learn more about her magical abilities when an unauthorized time freeze stirs up anti-magician feelings in the supernatural world. Will Amari be able to use her talents to change peoples’ minds about magicians like her? — Jennifer H.
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Rust in the Root
by Justina Ireland
Ireland (Dread Nation, Deathless Divide) has made her name writing alternate, fantastical Black history for YA readers, and her newest, Great-Depression-set story continues to impress and inspire. Young Black woman Laura just wants to get her mage’s license and open a bakery. In need of a job to fund her dream, she joins the Bureau of Arcane’s Conservation Corps, and finds herself in the middle of an investigation of a magical Blight — one that may be connected to horrifying rituals perpetrated in the past to kill Black mages and take their power. — Madeline S.
Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman
by Kristen R. Lee
Savannah Howard has worked hard to get where she is today: a freshman at the prestigious, predominantly white Wooddale University. As the daily microaggressions she experiences build, a statue is vandalized with blackface, and Savannah finds herself uncovering Wooddale’s racist history and it informs the university’s (only slightly better-hidden) racist present. There’s a good chance that bringing these truths to light will jeopardize Savannah’s hard-earned future, so she has to decide: is justice worth the price of speaking up? — Madeline S.
We Deserve Monuments
by Jas Hammonds
2023 winner of the John Steptoe New Talent Author Award! When Avery and her parents move back to her mother’s small Georgia hometown to care for her mother’s aging mom, Avery — a queer, biracial teen — doesn’t always get a warm welcome. New friendships with her Black neighbor Simone and local white heiress Jade, alongside a troubled history between her mother and grandmother that both refuse to discuss, see Avery uncovering both personal and local history. Like any small town, everyone in Bardell knows everyone else, and the secrets they’re keeping go back decades into the town’s racist past. Can shining a light on the past help illuminate a better future? — Madeline S.
You Truly Assumed
by Laila Sabreen
Sabreen’s gorgeous debut sees three Black Muslim young women finding community and standing up for their culture in the face of anti-Islamic sentiment following a terrorist attack. Sabriya starts a blog, “You Truly Assumed,” as a safe space to vent, but it ends up being a source of inspiration for other Muslim teens — including Zakat and Farah, who become fast friends with Bri and start helping her with the blog. But when hateful comments turn into actual threats, the three young women must decide whether to call it quits. — Madeline S.
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For more recommended reading lists, bookseller displays, and original author content on our
Black History Month resource page.