One Plastic Bag, by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request from your local library!)

Hello, Crochet Friends!, by Jonah and Jennifer Larson and photographed by Erin Harris

 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

Serena: The Littlest Sister, by Karlin Gray and illustrated by Monica Ahanonu

 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library)

Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, by Gwendolyn Hooks

 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library)

WHOOSH! Lonnie Johnson's SUPER-SOAKING Stream of Inventions, by Chris Barton

We discovered this book when I was researching Black inventors to study that would catch my son's interest. Like most kids, he's obsessed with water guns and so a book about the inventor of the super soaker seemed perfect.

This book more than delivered! It manages to go through Lonnie Johnson's whole life -- from his childhood inventing rockets to his time at NASA, and finally to his invention of the super soaker and his struggles to find a toy company interested in his product -- with enough fun details to keep kids interested.  My son's favorite detail was that he "borrowed" his sister's walkie-talkie to finish up a robot he was building. 

The illustrations by Don Tate, a wonderful Black illustrator, which include a fold out page with water spraying all over toy company executives, were the icing on the cake.

            BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library)

Clubhouse Mysteries Series, by Sharon Draper

We're currently five books into the six book Clubhouse Mystery series written by Sharon Draper and my son is obsessed.  I wasn't sure how he'd take to these books - especially given their age (they're about 15 years old) - but he's taken with how "real life" they are.  The series follows four Black boys with distinct personalities and families as they form a club and go on various adventures - from attending a space camp together to finding a young fawn and raising him until he's old enough to go to a local wildlife center.  His favorite character is currently Ziggy, a charismatic and outgoing boy who is always putting together wacky outfits and eating odd food combinations, who he finds absolutely hilarious.  I think his obsession with the realism is that so many of the books we read have some form of magic or preposterous situation, while my son can actually envision himself in the situations in these books.  

Some of the books touch on slavery, in particular Lost in the Tunnel of Time (in which they boys stumble upon an old tunnel from the Underground Railroad).  And I did find myself changing some of the words in Shadows of Caesar's Creek, in which the children learn about the Shawnee tribe, as some of the language was outdated.  However, these books have been invaluable and I'm positive that my son will revisit them several times over the next few years.

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library)

The Bat Boy & His Violin, by Gavin Curtis

Reginald, a young black boy who excels at the violin, lives with a father who prefers baseball, and in fact manages the Dukes - a team in the Negro National League.  His father signs him up to be bat boy, a task Reginald is largely uninterested in.  However, it turns out that the players love Reginald's music and it even seems to inspire them to play better!

This book was a natural fit for my sports (and music) obsessed son.  It does require that your child have a basic understanding of discrimination - the book is set in 1948, when baseball teams are becoming integrated but at the same time the Dukes aren't able to find a hotel to sleep in the night before their big game (with one clerk stating "We don't exactly cotton to coloreds sleepin' in our beds").  If your child loves Jackie Robinson as much as mine, this will deepen their understanding of his bravery and historical significance.

An added bonus is that this book is both written and illustrated by black men!

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Sisters & Champions, by Howard Bryant

My son and I are both obsessed with the Williams sisters (and tennis), which is why I was so excited when I came across this children's book discussing their childhood and rise to fame!  The fact that it is written by Howard Bryant (a black author) and illustrated by Floyd Cooper (a black illustrator) is an added bonus.

The book does touch on the fact that Venus and Serena were raised in a rough neighborhood and have faced racism, but the focus is on their hard work, incredible talent, and close relationship.  The story doesn't have too much of a narrative arc, so I'd primarily recommend this book for tennis fans and those interested in exposing their children to important black historical figures.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, by Vashti Harrison

I'm always super ambitious about Black History Month, but never feel like I'm doing a good enough job.  This year, thanks to Little Leaders, our son is obsessed with reading about "amazing black people."  We stumbled onto a really fun and easy approach about a week ago when we bought this book, each day (or, more honestly, most days) we let our son page through the book and pick one person he wants to learn more about.  Then we read that page to him, along with a lot of discussion, and then supplement!  For example, when we read the Nina Simone entry we listened to her music during dinner.  The day we read about Dominque Dawes we watched her gymnastics routines on YouTube.  Some are more difficult to add to, but that hasn't decreased our son's interest so far.  His favorite entry was that of Mary Bowser (pictured below), in part because we have recently started to discuss slavery with him (and read him Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad for the first time), but more importantly because she was a SPY, which is like one step away from being a superhero.  

BUY HERE

(And if you're looking for other books about black history, 

our favorite remains Ron's Big Mission, which I wrote 

about previously here.

The Story of Martin Luther King Jr., by Johnny Ray Moore

I looked hard to find a book about Martin Luther King Jr. appropriate for a young child.  At first, I didn't think this was it - at age 3 this book was a bit beyond my son given the topic matter.  But when we pulled it out to read this year for MLK Day, my now 4 year old son was engrossed and it lead to a lengthy discussion.  It's good for younger children in that it doesn't touch on how he died, but is clear about some of the wrongs Mr. King was seeking to right (segregated schools, restaurants, water fountains) and shows him experiencing discrimination as a young child.  My only complaint is that it doesn't touch any of the actions that Mr. King took to to achieve his goals, aside from referencing his 'I Have A Dream' speech - though we typically supplement and discuss his marches and meetings with politicians.  This is a board book and is therefore very short, but given that we ended up having a discussion about nearly every page is a great length for somewhat older children.

BUY HERE

Ron's Big Mission, by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden

Ron's Big Mission strays from the primary mission of this site, in that rather than being a book that just happens to be about a child of color going about his life, it's a book that is that centers on race.  We generally avoid children's books about race.  They're frequently just bad books.  Preachy and boring with no real plot, they're not books that anyone would reach for if reading purely for pleasure. We have many, and my son never wants to read them (and I don't blame him).  I also dislike using children's books as a crutch for discussing race with children.  Discussions about race need to be frequent, frank, and ongoing - but all too often when parents are urged to discuss race and racism with their children they ask for a book recommendation.

All that said, Ron's Big Mission is an incredible book.  Ron McNair wakes up and bravely heads to South Caroline's Lake City Library - which bans black patrons from obtaining library cards.  Once there, he single-handedly stages a protest and refuses to leave until he is allowed to check out a book.  The head librarian realizes that the library's policy is wrong, and Ron becomes the first black person to check out a book from the library.  Ron's Big Mission is based on a true story, and the real Ron McNair went on to become an astronaut.

There are so many reasons we love this book.  For one, it's actually a good book, with beautiful pictures and an engaging fast-moving story that we've read over and over.  My son has pretended to be Ron McNair during several readings - standing on our coffee table and refusing to leave until he is allowed to check out a book.  Ron's bravery and intelligence is tied to his later accomplishments, and we've poured over the Author's Note detailing Ron's career as an astronaut.  Finally, while in our family we openly acknowledge racism is ongoing and protests are often long and violent and not always successful, this book provides a clear and easy to understand portrait of a single protest and it's a joy to revel in Ron's victory with our son.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Edited to add that we recently discovered the book Mae Among the Stars, by Roda Ahmed (a black author).  Although we're not quite as into this story as we are Ron's Big Mission, it's a solid book about Mae Jemison - the first black female astronaut.  And if you have a child interested in space, you should check it out.  

Jackie's Gift, by Sharon Robinson

This book is based on a true story, where Jackie Robinson and his family move into a predominantly white neighborhood and befriend a young neighbor - upon discovering that he doesn't have a Christmas tree at home, the Robinsons surprise him with a Christmas tree as a gift, only to discover that his family is Jewish.  Highly recommended, with the caveat that this does discuss a neighborhood petition against the Robinsons moving in, and compares this to Jewish persecution.  I'm normally a big advocate of open discussions about race with children, but in this case I didn't feel like getting into it in the middle of a holiday story - as my son doesn't read yet I skipped over the two pages where this is discussed and he didn't notice so it wasn't a big deal, but perhaps something to think about if your child is a reader.

BUY HERE

The Nutcracker in Harlem, by T.E. McMorrow

Parents will find this retelling of The Nutcracker with an all black cast (except for the mouse army, of course) particularly appealing.  My son enjoys it as well, though not as much as my husband and me.  The story is set during the Harlem Renaissance with references to musicians Cab Calloway and Adelaide Hall, and focuses on the main character Marie gaining confidence as a singer and drummer.

BUY HERE