Black History Month & Diverse Book Resources

BLACK HISTORY MONTH & DIVERSE BOOK RESOURCES

Looking for diverse books for the children you love or teach? Trying to find books about celebrating racial diversity, cultural diversity, religious diversity, gender diversity, economic diversity...and more? We cannot begin to feature them all! But here are a few links to get started. If you have a diverse book site to suggest for this page, please contact us at rifnova@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!

Credit -- Publisher: Penguin/Paulsen; Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Before the Ever After, by Jacqueline Woodson, won the 2021 Coretta Scott King Author Book Award. It's a novel in verse narrated by a 12-year-old boy who witnesses his professional football player father's physical and mental decline from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative condition that can result from repeated blows to the head. The book explores the boy's feelings of confusion and worry and could be helpful for any child going through a family health crisis. This book is geared to children 10 and up.

Jacqueline Woodson has authored dozens of award-winning books for young adults, middle graders, and children, including her memoire Brown Girl Dreaming. Learn more about Woodson here!

Credit -- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Author: Carole Boston Weather; Illustrator: Frank Morrison

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul -- illustrated by Frank Morrison -- is the 2021 Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator winner. Written by NYT bestselling author Carole Boston Weather, the book recalls the life of Aretha Franklin. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church, where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha Franklin didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights. The book is appropriate for ages four to eight.

A full list of 2021 Coretta Scott King honoree books may be found here.

Black History Month Resources

• Scholastic Parents offers a list of 16 Black History Month books that pay tribute to African-American heroes and thought leaders, culture, and history.

• Beyond the Bookends bills itself as a blog for moms who love to read and wish to inspire a love of reading in their children. The site has prepared a list called 25+ Important Black History Month Books for Kids in 2021.

• Save the Children has a list of 10 children's books that celebrate Black History Month that it notes "make for excellent reads all year long."

• Chicago Parent has prepared a new list of 13 Black History Books for children. Some are mini-biographies, some are works of fiction, and some teach about life as a slave or during the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of youngsters.

• The DC Public Library has curated several lists of books at all levels for Black History Month. Find that here.

• The Children's Book Review offers a Black Lives Matter book list for kids and teens to get conversations started. The site also offers a list of Black History Month books, good for any time of the year!

• Family Education features a list of 15 stories for Black History Month about African Americans overcoming adversity and making their multicultural mark on the world. The site has also put together a list of 25 children’s books to teach kids about race and racism.

• MahoganyBooks, a Washington D.C. bookstore, has curated two lists that will be of interest. One features a general list of books for young children through young adult readers. Find that here. Another list focuses on books for Black boys. Find that by clicking here.

• Today's Parent offers a list, too. The listing notes 28 books for Black History Month that discuss challenging topics to read and discuss.

• Bright Horizons has several book recommendations for kids to note Black History Month ranging from preschool to older school-age children. Find that curation here.

• A Mighty Girl, a site with great book ideas for raising confident girls, offers a list of 99 books about "Extraordinary Black Girls and Women." The site also offers a special focus on the critical and often neglected role that girls and women played in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement: 50 Inspiring Books on Girls & Women of the Civil Rights Movement.

• The GrassROOTS Community Foundation features a 1000 Black Girl Resource Guide. All titles on the list fit the criterion of having a black girl as the main character. Books are catalogued by reading level.

• Feminist Books for Kids has curated a list of 19 books for children about Rosa Parks. These books introduce young readers to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and to Parks's life of action.

Resources about Diversity, Multi-Culturalism, and Social Justice

• We Need Diverse Books features a clickable list of resources to find all kinds of diverse children's books. This is a great go-to curation! Find it here.

• Multicultural Children's Book Day has also curated a list of diverse book links. Find that here.

• Brightly, a website geared to raising children who love to read, features several lists of diverse books. Find one for tweens and teens here. Brightly has also curated a list of books to help children understand the fight for racial equality. Find that here. Another list features 15 books for Pre-K through teens that celebrate Native American Heritage. And yet another list focuses on 21 books about lesser known African Americans and their contributions to history.

• Embrace Race, a multicultural community of parents, teachers, experts, and other caring adults, features a list of 20 picture books to "embrace race, provide solace, and do good." That's here.

• Vogue.com published a list of 17 about racial inequality for young readers. Look here.

• Colours of Us has curated a number of lists that feature multicultural and multiracial books. One focuses on Hispanic multicultural children's books for kids from five to 10. Find that here. The site also features a picture book list about inspiring women and girls. That's here.

• Biracial Bookworms LLC focuses on teaching children to be readers, activists, and leaders. Find 50 diverse children's books about strong girls here.

• BookRiot, which bills itself as the largest independent editorial book site in North America, features a list of 30 books about diversity that celebrate our differences.

• Goodreads has curated a list of children's books that teach tolerance. Find that here.

• Social Justice Books, a project of Teaching for Change, has curated what it calls the "best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators." It also features a list of blogs and websites on multicultural and social justice children's books.