  • Children’s books featuring Black authors or Black characters.

  • Black authors nonfiction

  • Young Adult books by Black authors

To celebrate African American and Black authors or characters, a list has been compiled for young readers-middle grade-high school grade readers. The majority of these books were published in 2020 & 2021. There are a few older stories as well.

INFANT-PRESCHOOL READERS

1. Brown Sugar Babies by Charles R. Smith Jr.

2. Hey Black Child by Useni Eugene Perkins

A poetry book on what it means to be a strong, unique, and know where you are going.

3. Change Sings by Amanda Gorman

4. Time for Kenny by Brian Pinkney

5. Ruby’s Reunion Day Dinner by Angela Dalton

6. Jayden’s Impossible Garden by Mélina Mangal

7. Ty’s Travels: Beach Day by Kelly Starling Lyons

8. Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn

9. Just Us Books, Marimba Books, an African American publisher

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5-8 YEAR OLD, PRIMARY READERS

FICTION

1. What Is Light? By Markette Sheppard

2. ana & andrew book series by Christine Platt

3. Southwest Sunrise by Nikki Grimes

4. Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan

A group of birds rejoice how beautiful the black bird is because the black bird contains all of their colors.

You can discover more about the author here: https://ashleybryancenter.org/contact.html

5. Mia Mayhem Superhero Series by Kara West

6. The Dramatic Life of Azaleah Lane by Nikki Shannon Smith

7. When My Cousins Come to Town by Angela Shanté

REALISTIC FICTION

1. Early Sunday Morning by Denene Millner

2. The Old Truck by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey

3. Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Amanda Redd, Nneka Myers

A storybook about nighttime traditions.

4. Saturday by Oge Mora
A little girl and her mother have fun routines every Saturday because it is the only time they can spend a whole day together each week. But this Saturday something went wrong, and they discover the true meaning of Saturday.

5. Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson

HISTORY

Praline Lady by Kirstie Myvett

The King and Me by Isaiah Bealer

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AGES 8-12, MIDDLE GRADE READERS

ADVENTURE

1. The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles

2. Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron

REALISTIC FICTION

1. Ashton’s Dancing Dreams by Kaitly Pitts

2. Some Place More Than Others by Renée Watson

3. What Lane? by Torrey Maldonado

A story about what it means to be biracial.

4. Fast Pitch by Nic Stone

5. Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles

 

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AGES 13+, SECONDARY READERS

REALISTIC FICTION

1. Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

2. Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

3. Muted by Tami Charles

 

HISTORICAL FICTION

1. Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron

2. Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome

3. Pictures at the Protest by Steven K Smith

4. Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden

5. The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen

 

ADVENTURE

1. Black girl unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a teenage wizard by Echo Brown

2. My life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Aanu Zobi

3. Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia
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