Michelle Cook; illustrations by Cozbi Cabrera
Part historical, part poetry, and entirely inspirational, this unique picture book takes the reader through the cumulative story of the US Civil Rights Movement.
Tony Dungy; illustrated by Amy June Bates
Third-grader Linden is worried about his assignment to "think about his future." Unlike everybody else in his family, he can't decide what he wants to do--except make people happy
Tonya Cherie Hegamin; illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
An account of a little girl whose mother is a secret agent on the Underground Railroad, and how a handmade quilt helps the little girl leave home for freedom.
N. Joy; illustrations by Nancy Devard
Olivia has a BIG secret. It's a secret that she tells only to her very best friend. What happens when a trusted friend slips and the secret gets out?
Queen Latifah; illustrated by Frank Morrison
A self-confident young African-American girl explains why she is "queen of the scene" at the playground.
Kelly Starling Lyons; illustrated by Peter Ambush
A young girl accompanies her father to the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.
Patricia C. McKissack; illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera
As a young African-American girl pieces her first quilt together, the history of her family, community, and the struggle for justice and freedom in Gee's Bend, Alabama unfolds.
Walter Dean Myers ; illustrated by Christopher Myers
Jeremy sets out to discover all of the different "people" that make him who he is, including brother, son, writer, and runner.
Lori Nelson; illustrated by Jerry Craft
Hillary is a 5th-grader with four friends who each have a special talent. In this book, it's Hillary's talent for making money that takes center stage.
Marilyn Nelson ; photographs by Susan Kuklin
Young ballerinas from the Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrate the joy of movement.
Sandra L. Pinkney; photographs by Myles C. Pinkney; foreword by Maya Angelou
Photographs and poetic text celebrate reading as a means of encouraging African-American children to pursue their dreams.
Jacqui Robbins; art by Matt Phelan
Two African-American girls named Shakeeta and Mia become friends when Shakeeta boasts that she has a pet iguana.
Roni Schotter; illustrated by Bryan Collier
A school janitor teaches children to sing and have confidence in themselves.
Devin Scillian; illustrated by Chris Ellison
Young Moses and his family leave Baltimore in 1889 in quest of owning their own land and find themselves participating in the Oklahoma Land Run.
Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
A moving portrait of Harriet Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her North to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of slavery.
Christopher Paul Curtis
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
Elijah of Buxton won the Coretta Scott King Award for author in 2008.
Sharon M. Draper
Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
Sharon M. Draper
Fashion-savy Sassy does not like being the smallest student in her fourth-grade class, until a family emergency calls for a pint-sized hero.
Zetta Elliott; illustrated by Shadra Strickland
Bird, an artistic young African-American boy, expresses himself through drawing as he struggles to understand his older brother's drug addiction and death, while a family friend, Uncle Son, provides guidance and understanding.
Deborah Ellis
Jake and his older sister, Shoshonna, along with a busload of kids, visit their mother in prison regularly. But this time the journey turns into a series of misadventures, and the kids find themselves on their own, hatching a plan to find the Governor and plead with him to pardon their moms.
Karen English; illustrated by Laura Freeman
The girls have been planning the perfect birthday party for Deja, but now it's about to be ruined. This warm chapter book shines with emotional depth and humor, perfectly capturing the complexities and joys of elementary school girls' friendships.
Jonathon Scott Fuqua
In 1926, nine-year-old Darby Carmichael stirs up trouble in Marlboro County, South Carolina, when she writes a story for the local newspaper promoting racial equality.
Nikki Grimes; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Spunky third-grader Dyamonde Daniel misses her old neighborhood, but when she befriends a boy named Free, another new student at school, she finally starts to feel at home.
Patricia C. McKissack
In 1954, when desegregation comes to Kirkland, Missouri, ten-year-old Rosemary faces many changes and challenges at school and at home as her parents separate.
Jake Maddox; illustrated by Sean Tiffany; text by Bob Temple
Jamal's been asked to try out for the super elite youth basketball team. His dad makes him a deal: if Jamal makes the team, he gets new shoes. But will the new shoes really improve Jamal's game?
Gary Paulsen
Born into slavery, Bass Reeves became the most successful US Marshal of the Wild West.
Patricia Polacco
After a fellow slave is beaten to death, Sadie and her family flee the plantation for freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Jacqueline Woodson
Lonnie is in sixth grade now. The foster home he has lived in since his parents’ death is beginning to feel more like a family, but he needs to keep his connection with his sister.
Wade Hudson; illustrated by Sean Qualls; foreword by Marian Wright Edelman
A collection of speeches and writings by African-Americans, with commentary about the time period in which each person lived, information about the speaker/writer, and public response to the words.
David A. Adler; illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Whether marching, speaking, or simply going to school, these brave men and women fought to advance social justice so that others could enjoy their rights.
Sheila Hardy and P. Stephen Hardy
A look at the lives of some courageous Americans who worked hard for civil rights in America.
Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
An inspiring compilation of amazing women from Harriet Tubman to Shirley Chisholm, who helped change the face of the United States.
Russell Freedman
Freedman breathes life into the key personalities and events that contributed to the yearlong civil rights struggle known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
John A. Stokes with Lois Wolfe and Herman J. Viola
Told in John Stokes' own words, the story vividly conveys how his passion for learning helped set in motion one of the most powerful movements in American history, resulting in the desegregation of schools--and life--in the United States.
Leo & Diane Dillon
The authors use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip off the page, in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats. Learn about this popular music form and read a biography of each player pictured--and then hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD.
Nikki Giovanni; foreword by Arthur C. Jones
Giovanni tells the story of Africans in America through the glorious words of 46 spirituals.
Kadir Nelson
Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
We Are the Ship won the Coretta Scott King Award for author in 2009.
Nikki Giovanni, editor; advisory editors Tony Medina, Willie Perdomo, Michele Scott
A book of poems with a soundtrack! Listen to the performances and read along in this colorful, high energy collection.
Walter Dean Myers; paintings by Javaka Steptoe
Presents a modern, urban retelling in verse of the ballet in which brave Amiri falls in love with beautiful Odette and fights evil Big Red for her on the streets of the Swan Lake Projects.
Marilyn Nelson; illustrated by Philippe Lardy
Uses poetry to describe the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till, an African-American schoolboy accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.
Tonya Bolden
Memorabilia, first-person accounts, and archival photos allow readers to put names, voices, and images to the experiences of black children throughout American history.
drawings by Kadir Nelson; with the words of Barack Obama
The black and white images throughout are personal reflections, uniquely felt and rendered by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson. They are accompanied by the uplifting words of Barack Obama and commemorate the movement and the moment that have changed our history.
Nikki Giovanni; illustrated by Bryan Collier
In an account of the friendship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, readers get a glimpse into the shared bond between two great American leaders during a turbulent time in history.
Walter Dean Myers
Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers presents the amazing story of Muhammad Ali's childhood, his rise as a champion, his politics, and his battles against Parkinson's disease.
Pam Muñoz Ryan; illustrations by Brian Selznick
An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, whose life and career encouraged social change.
Judith Bloom Fradin & Dennis Brindell Fradin
In 1957, after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools to integrate, Daisy Bates was the mentor of the nine black students who attended Little Rock's Central High School.
Reeve Lindbergh; illustrated by Pamela Paparone
A rhymed telling of the life of the first African-American aviator, who dreamed of flying as a child in the cotton fields of Texas, and persevered until she made that dream come true.
Deborah Hopkinson; illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
This biography of Matthew Henson, the African-American explorer who discovered the North Pole alongside Admiral Robert Peary, is beautifully illustrated and appropriate for all ages.
Roxane Orgill
Born poor in New Orleans in 1911, Mahalia found her voice singing in church. Her soulful delivery eventually helped introduce gospel music to the world and brought hope to civil rights workers in the 1960s.
Michelle Y. Green; introduction by Mamie Johnson
Motivated by her love for the game and inspired by the legendary Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. But in a sport that's determined by white men, there is no place for a black woman--until Mamie proves them wrong.
Tonya Bolden; photography editor, Bob Adelman
Coretta Scott King Honor winner Tonya Bolden focuses her critical eye on Martin Luther King, Jr., bringing words and pictures together to tell the life story of one of America's greatest figures in an inspirational, one-of-a-kind biography.
George Sullivan
Joe Louis was one of the first African-Americans to overcome the blatant discrimination of the times, and became a hero to both blacks and whites.
Donna Jo Napoli; Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
The true story of Wangari Muta Maathai, who founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has changed Kenya's environment tree by tree.
Nikki Grimes; illustrated by Bryan Collier
A boy living in a tenement asks his mother about Barack Obama, and she tells him a simplified version of the man's life story.
Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrations by Eric Velasquez
Jesse Owens grew up during an age when segregation laws forced him to eat at separate restaurants and stay at different hotels. But Jesse never let it slow him down while setting world records and winning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Nikki Giovanni; illustrated by Bryan Collier
More than 50 years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is the subject of this picture-book tribute to her courageous action and the events that followed.
Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
This is the story of Jackie Robinson, a man who not only did the unbelievable--steal home--but also what no one thought possible, which was cross the color line of major league baseball.
