African-American Experience Children’s Literary Reference Guide (2011-2016)
There were a couple things I left undone when I took my leave of NYPL. Of them, the one I probably regret the most is that I didn’t devote more energy towards getting NYPL’s landmark Black Experience in Children’s Literature list up and running. This historic list, started as early as the 1940s and possibly 30s, would be produced by NYPL every decade or so. I think there’s been a sixteen year lag at this point (due, in large part, to the seismic shifts in the organization) and I never created a new one in the interim. Last year I decided to take the bull by the horns and produce a list for this blog that would effectively be some of the best books by and about African-Americans produced in the last five years. Now I have updated it.
Again, I would like to stress that this is not everything out there. It’s limited in large part by what I’ve seen and read myself, after all. It is, in truth, a compendium of what has been published, and fantastic, since 2011. If there are books that you think were egregiously forgotten, mention them below (and bear in mind the pub date has to be 2011 or later, the books MUST be currently in print, and the books are for kids between the ages of 0-12).
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Picture Books
Don’t Throw It to Mo! by David Adler, illustrated by Sam Ricks, ISBN: 9780606368001
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier, ISBN: 9780316209175
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner, illustrated by John Parra, ISBN: 9781452125787
Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha, illustrated Nicole Tadgell, ISBN: 9780807547823
Beautiful Moon: A Child’s Prayer by Tonya Bolden illustrated by Eric Velasquez, ISBN: 9781419707926
My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, ISBN: 9780670012855
Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite by Anna Harwell Celenza, illustrated by Don Tate, ISBN: 9781570917004
Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9780399233425
Firebird by Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers, ISBN: 9780399166150
Mama’s Nightingale by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Leslie Staub, ISBN: 9780525428091
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson, ISBN: 9780399257742
Sunday Shopping by Sally Derby, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, ISBN: 9781600604386
A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9780399252846
Red, Yellow, Blue (and a Dash of White Too) by C.G. Esperanza, ISBN: 9781629146249
Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, ISBN: 9780312603267
Underground by Shane W. Evans, ISBN: 9781596435384
We March by Shane W. Evans, ISBN: 9781596435391
The Hula Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin, illustrated Vanessa Brantley-Newton, ISBN: 9781600608469
Bird & Diz by Gary Golio, illustrated by Ed Young, ISBN: 9780763666606
Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, ISBN: 9781620140277
My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, ISBN: 9780761458104
Lullaby (For a Black Mother) by Langston Hughes, illustrated Sean Qualls, ISBN: 9780547362656
Sail Away by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Ashley Bryan, ISBN: 9781481430852
Goal! by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by A.G. Ford, ISBN: 9780763658229
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, ISBN: 9780689873768
We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, ISBN: 9781423119548
Hope’s Gift by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated Don Tate, ISBN: 9780399160011
Tea Cakes for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, ISBN: 9780399252136
Ellen’s Broom by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter, ISBN: 9780399250033
Every Little Thing: Based on the Song ‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley and Cedella Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, ISBN: 9781452106977
One Love by Cedella Marley, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, ISBN: 9781452102245
These Hands by Margaret H. Mason, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9780547215662
New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, ISBN: 9780823425280
H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers, ISBN: 9781606842188
My Pen by Christopher Myers, ISBN: 9781423103714
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, ISBN: 9780761339434
Don’t Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, ISBN: 9781467742085
Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Bettye Stroud, Bettye, and John Holyfield, ISBN: 9780763640583
Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, a Young Artist in Harlem by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, illustrated by Christopher Myers, ISBN: 9780870709654
Under the Same Sun by Sharon Robinson, illustrated by A.G. Ford, ISBN: 9780545166720
Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by William Low, ISBN: 9780763643591
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison, ISBN: 9781600608988
I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison, ISBN: 9781619631786
As Fast As Words Could Fly by Pamela M. Tuck, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, ISBN: 9781600603488
Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown by Sally M. Walker, illustrated by Sean Qualls, ISBN: 9780060583101
Sugar Hill: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, ISBN: 9780807576502
A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9781590787120
Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, ISBN: 9781416961239
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson, Jacqueline, illustrated by James Ransome, ISBN: 9780399239861
Early Chapter Books
Dog Days by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman, ISBN: 9780547970448
Election Madness by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman, ISBN: 9780547850719
Skateboard Party by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman, ISBN: 9780544283060
Substitute Trouble by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman, ISBN: 9780544223882
Halfway to Perfect by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, ISBN: 9780399251788
Keena Ford and the Secret Journal Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson, illustrated by Frank Morrison, ISBN: 9780142419373
EllRay Jakes and the Beanstalk by Sally Warner, illustrated by Brian Biggs, ISBN: 9780670784998
EllRay Jakes the Dragon Slayer! by Sally Warner, illustrated by Brian Biggs, ISBN: 9780670784974
EllRay Jakes Walks the Plank! by Sally Warner, illustrated by Jamie Harper, ISBN: 9780670063062
EllRay Jakes Is a Rock Star by Sally Warner, illustrated by Jamie Harper, ISBN: 9780670011582
EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken! by Sally Warner, illustrated by Jamie Harper, ISBN: 9780670062430
Ellray Jakes Rocks the Holidays! by Sally Warner, illustrated by Brian Biggs, ISBN: 9780451469090
Ellray Jakes Is Magic! by Sally Warner, illustrated by Brian Biggs, ISBN: 9780670785001
Middle Grade Fiction
Sasquatch in the Paint by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld, ISBN: 9781423178705
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, ISBN: 9780544107717
How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen, ISBN: 9780061992728
The Zero Degree Zombie Zone by Patrik Henry Bass, illustrated by Jerry Craft, ISBN: 9780545132107
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth, ISBN: 9780545224963
Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg, ISBN: 9780545535649
Riding on Duke’s Train by Mick Carlon, ISBN: 9781935248064
Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet by Andrea Cheng, ISBN: 9781600604515
The Madman of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis, ISBN: 9780545156646
Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd, ISBN: 9780763650384
Unstoppable Octobia May by Sharon Flake, ISBN: 9780545609609
Winter Sky by Patricia Reilly Giff, ISBN: 9780375838927
Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes, ISBN: 9781599902845
Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes, ISBN: 9781629792620
The Perfect Place by Teresa E. Harris, ISBN: 9780547255194
Buddy by M.H. Herlong, ISBN: 9780142425442
The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson, ISBN: 9780545525527
Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana, ISBN: 9781452124568
Nightingale’s Nest by Nikki Loftin, ISBN: 9781595145468
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper, ISBN: 9781442494978
True Legend by Mike Lupica, ISBN: 9780399252273
Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon, ISBN: 9781416978053
The Sittin’ Up by Sheila P. Moses, ISBN: 9780399257230
Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, ISBN: 9780763649227
Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes, ISBN: 9780316224857
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, ISBN: 9780316043083
The Other Side of Free by Krista Russell, ISBN: 9781561457106
Animal Rescue Team: Gator on the Loose! by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont, ISBN: 9780375851315
Animal Rescue Team: Special Delivery by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont, ISBN: 978375851322
Animal Rescue Team: Hide and Seek by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont, ISBN: 9780375851339
Animal Rescue Team: Show Time by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Priscilla Lamont, ISBN: 9780375851346
Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile by Marcia Wells, illustrated by Marcos Calo, ISBN: 9780544238336
P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia, ISBN: 9780061938627
Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia, ISBN: 9780062215871
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods, ISBN: 9780399257148
Crow by Barbara Wright, ISBN: 9780375873676
Non-Fiction
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, and Ben Boos, illustrated by A.G. Ford, ISBN: 9780763645649
The Case for Loving by Selina Alko, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko, ISBN: 9780545478533
Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier, ISBN: 9781419714658
Ira’s Shakespeare Dream by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9781620141557
The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch, by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate, ISBN: 9780802853790
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, ISBN: 9780375867125
The Cart That Carried Martin by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Don Tate, ISBN: 9781580893879
My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey, by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome, ISBN: 9781481422215
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome, ISBN: 9781416959038
Ballerina Dreams: From Orphan to Ballerina by Michaela Deprince, Michaela and Elaine Deprince, illustrated by Frank Morrison, ISBN: 9780385755153
Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey by Gary Golio, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, ISBN: 9780547239941
I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery by Cynthia Grady, illustrated by Michele Wood, ISBN: 9780802853868
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale, ISBN: 9781419715365
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, ISBN: 9781596435407
I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier, ISBN: 9781442420083
The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement by Teri Kanefield, ISBN: 9781419707964
Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman: Olympic High-Jump Champion by Heather Lang, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9781590788509
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson, ISBN: 9781561456277
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Various, ISBN: 9781452101194
Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper by Ann Malaspina, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, ISBN: 9780807580356
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Will Allen, illustrated by Eric-Shabazz Larkin, ISBN: 9780983661535
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
by Kadir Nelson, ISBN: 9780061730740
Jazz Day by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Francis Vallejo, ISBN: 9780763669546
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls, ISBN: 9780763664596
Martin & Mahalia: His Words – Her Song by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Andrea Davis, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney, ISBN: 9780316070133
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney, ISBN: 9781423142577
Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound by Andrea Davis Pinkney, ISBN: 9781596439733
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson, ISBN: 9781452103143
Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by London Ladd, ISBN: 9781423114383
Jackie Robinson: American Hero by Sharon Robinson, ISBN: 9780545569156
Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige Vs. Rookie Joe Dimaggio by Robert Skead, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9780761366195
Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Floyd Cooper, ISBN: 9780061920820
28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans, ISBN: 9781596438200
Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934
by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Frank Morrison, ISBN: 9780689866388
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickels: America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone, ISBN: 9780763651176
It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, ISBN: 9781600602603
Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate, ISBN: 9781561458257
My Uncle Martin’s Words for America: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Niece Tells How He Made a Difference by Angela Farris Watkins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, ISBN: 9781419700224
Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, ISBN: 9781499801033
Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jamey Christoph, ISBN: 9780807530177
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, ISBN: 9780763665319
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, ISBN: 9780399252518
Filed under: Uncategorized
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Jazzy Miz Mozetta by Brenda Roberts and illustrated by Frank Morrison (Steptoe new talent for illustration)! Here is a review: http://www.amazon.com/Mozetta-Coretta-Steptoe-Talent-Illustrator/dp/0374336741
Ah, we had this discussion last year too, Ed. That’s pre-2011. I’m only looking for the last five years. But I friggin’ adore that book, you are right.
I know I am biased, but the Coretta Scott King honor book, Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes certainly should have a place on this list? Also by Nikki Grimes is Chasing Freedom?
That dang five year rule! But Words With Wings fits!
What a great list! One correction: The Book Itch is by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
D’oh! Good catch! Correcting now.
This is a great list! Thanks so much. I will share it with all my library friends.
Wow! What an undertaking! Thanks for putting this together. Just plucked “Great Greene Heist” off the shelf — this one had escaped my notice.
You have been busy!
Hello Betsy
Thank you for the list!
To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson, sequel to The Great Green Heist, just came out a week or so ago!
I’m reading To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson right now. Fans of the Great Green Heist will be thrilled to have another great book by Johnson featuring these characters.
Dear Bird:
I am sure it was Augusta Baker who iniitally sparked this list, probably early 1940’s.
THE GREAT MIGRATION: JOURNEY TO THE NORTH by Eloise Greenfied, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist (Amistad/HarperCollins, 2011) is on a former list. Were titles combined to form this current list?
They were indeed. Unfortunately the publication date for THE GREAT MIGRATION is December 21, 2010 according to Baker & Taylor. That would be why you don’t see it on the current list. It is an amazing book.
I see that Zetta Elliot’s WISH AFTER MIDNIGHT has a 2010 pub date as well. Can I persuade you to move your cut-off date back? I can see why you would want to start in the first year of a new decade, but as the decade 2001-2010 is otherwise languishing, maybe you could make allowances?
It’s tricky. Generally speaking a five year list makes a lot of sense. There are loads of amazing 2010 books, but what makes them any less worthy this year than next? Which is to say, why would I remove them next year if I didn’t this year? I think what’s clear is that we need more lists of this sort. A 2000-2010 list would be fantastic as well.
With all that in mind I turn your attention to the amazing African American Literature Booklist of 100+ Recommended African American Children’s Books that was recently released: http://aalbc.com/books/children.php
I think it’s just a typo, but the illustrator of Chris Barton’s book, The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch, is Don Tate (not State).
Zut! How has that not been caught before now? Well spotted. Changing now.