There are so many ways to learn about history and so many books to read that it’s hard to know where to begin, but since Black History Month is about learning and celebrating the history of Black Americans, it’s important to focus on resources created by Black Americans. The recommendations listed below will help you get started in teaching your kids/students/self the names of some great authors and major historical figures, and they’re broken down into sections to make it easier for you to find suitable material for different age groups. All of these books are written by Black authors and a lot of them can also be found in eBook and/or audiobook format. Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list of everything available, so after you’ve read a few books, keep looking for more Black authors and stories.
Pre-K
For babies and toddlers, keep things simple with picture books that celebrate Black lives and culture:
Superheroes are Everywhere by Kamala Harris
Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Redd
The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes
Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Baby Says by John Steptoe
Whose Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim
Who Will You Be? by Andrea Pippins
The Night is Yours by Abdul-Razak Zachariah
Grades 1-3
Start by reading The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, then seek out these authors:
– Carole Boston Weatherford to learn about Aretha Franklin, Fannie Lou Hamer, Arturo Schomburg, John Coltrane, and Jesse Owens
– Andrea Davis Pinkney to learn about Alvin Ailey, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins
– Lesa Cline-Ransom to learn about Harriet Tubman, Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, and Major Taylor.
Continue the fun with MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks coloring pages, and read some Own Voices fiction:
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy
Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO by Tamara Pizzoli
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes
Grades 4-8
Start off with these books:
– The African American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Country by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
– Brave, Black, First: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World by Cheryl Willis Hudson
– The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World by The Undefeated.
Then look for books by Duchess Harris to learn more in-depth information about the 13th Amendment, The Harlem Renaissance, Black Lives Matter, and the history of hip-hop.
If you need homeschooling resources, Scholastic has an online history lesson about African American inventors, and the National Archives and Library of Congress have tons of useful material, including primary sources.
Continue celebrating the month by reading these works of fiction:
Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist
The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Keep learning and celebrating Black history all year!
– Cindy, Youth Services Assistant