Great Reads To Celebrate Black History Month With Kids and Teens
by the Brightly Editors
From illustrated biographies to seldom-seen profiles to stunning prose, there are many wonderful and varied reads to help young readers celebrate Black History Month. Filled with important histories, timely narratives, and rich traditions, these books help bring history to life and into the now. These stories are great to share with kids and teens not only this month, but throughout the year.
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Picture Books
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I Look Up To... Michelle Obama
Available from:Use this little board book to share the influential words and values of the United States’ first African American First Lady so that even the littlest of readers can learn from her example.
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The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Available from:Mary Walker was born into slavery in 1848. She went on to live through the tenure of 26 presidents, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement. At the age of 116, she achieved her dream of learning to read. The Oldest Student captures Mary’s inspiring legacy.
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Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Available from:Inspired by an interview with Lillian Allen — who in 2008, at age 100, voted for Barack Obama — Lilllian's Right to Vote is a steely tribute to the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. As the Lillian in the story climbs the hill to her polling place, she reflects on the many hardships generations of African Americans have faced as well as the importance and the power of the right to vote. This book is a valuable introduction to the Civil Rights Movement and a wonderful tool for starting a dialogue with kids about this part of American history.
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Let’s Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin & Turn It Out!: Games, Songs, and Stories from an African American Childhood
Available from:A collection of McKissack's favorite childhood games, songs, poems, and stories, Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout is an informative and fun collection of cultural history. Clap along to "Miss Mary Mack" or read aloud the author's retelling of Aesop's fables, all while learning about the background of each. Parents and educators who recognize the games, songs, and stories from their own childhood will delight in passing them on to younger generations. The collection also makes for a great gift or treasured keepsake.
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A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day
Available from:Before he was the little boy in a red snowsuit, "Peter" was a photograph clipped from Life magazine that spent decades pinned to Ezra Jack Keats's wall. In this picture book, Andrea Davis Pinkney celebrates Keats's life, not as a simple biography, but instead by tracing Keats's "path to finding The Snowy Day's Peter." Keats made history by making Peter the first African American child to star in a mainstream book. Pinkney's book is a love story to Peter and an ode to what it meant and still means for kids to see themselves reflected within the pages of a book.
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Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis
Available from:We know John Lewis as a celebrated Freedom Fighter and respected U.S. Congressman, but in this book we get to see him as a young child "feeding the flock" on his family's farm. Young John dreams of being a preacher and soon finds that his family's flock of chickens makes for an attentive congregation. In caring for those chickens, rescuing them from dangers, and even speaking on their behalf, John learns how to become a voice for change.
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Middle Grade
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Brave. Black. First.
Available from:Girls and boys alike will feel inspired as they read about more than 50 incredible African American women in history. From historical legends like Harriet Tubman to modern role models like Serena Williams, these biographies will inspire kids to reach for the stars.
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Timelines from Black History
Available from:Explore more than 30 thematic timelines that illustrate the people and issues that have shaped Black history. From renowned individuals like Harriet Tubman and Lebron James to lesser-known but equally important Black figures, stunning visual designs take readers on an unforgettable journey through time.
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Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph
Available from:Get in the spirit of song with Jazz Day, a picture book based on Art Kane’s famous photograph, “Harlem 1958.” With the help of Orgill’s delightful poems and Vallejo’s gorgeous illustrations (plus a large foldout of Kane's picture at the back of the book!), kids will get to know each of the 57 musicians who appeared on a stoop in Harlem, home of the Harlem Renaissance, on that historic day.
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Flying Lessons & Other Stories
Available from:This diverse middle grade collection is simultaneously moving, heartbreaking, and laugh-out-loud funny, and features short stories by some of the biggest names in kids’ lit, including Kwame Alexander and Jacqueline Woodson. A Brightly Bookshelf Must-Have selection, Flying Lessons & Other Stories seeks to embody the principles that prolific author Walter Dean Myers represented.
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How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
Available from:Can’t take a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture? Well, not to worry — flipping through this book will transport you there in no time. Full of great visuals and lots of information, kids will learn how the first national museum dedicated to highlighting the vivid and rich history of African Americans was built, and discover many of the fascinating objects inside its collections.
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Young Adult
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All the Days Past, All the Days to Come
Available from:You won’t want to miss the long-awaited ending to the Logan family saga in this poignant young adult novel. As a young woman, Cassie Logan — first introduced in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry — travels to California and Boston before returning home to Mississippi during the civil rights movement.
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Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
Available from:Now available in paperback, with an all-new discussion guide, this beautifully illustrated memoir brings readers inside the Civil Rights Movement and shows us what it looked like from a young person's perspective. Lynda Blackmon Lowery was the youngest person to take part in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. She was jailed eleven times before her fifteenth birthday, fighting for the rights of African Americans alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others. Personal and accessible, this book provides an excellent teen-to-teen perspective for high school readers.
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American Ace
Available from:An engrossing novel in verse from three-time National Book Award Finalist Marilyn Nelson. Inspired by her father's experiences as a Tuskegee Airman, Nelson tells this compelling story of family, history, and identity. As Connor works to uncover his grandfather's identity, he discovers a new, richer understanding of his own.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2021.