Favorite Books for All Ages to Honor Black History Month

Reading is the perfect way to learn more about certain topics; Black history being no different. And February is Black History Month — a great time to pick up some new books, here are some reads (for all ages) to keep you busy year-round!

If you are buying new books remember to purchase from Black-owned businesses/bookstores!

Books for Black History Month

Babies/Toddlers:

M Is For Melanin: A Celebration of the Black Child, Tiffany Rose

Curls, Ruth Forman

Dream Big, Little One, Vashti Harrison

Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History, Vashti Harrison

Follow Your Dreams, Little One, Vashti Harrison

Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o

The Ring Bearer, Floyd Cooper

Hair Like Mine, LaTashia M. Perry

The Skin You Live In, Michael Tyler

 

Young Kids:

When I Am Old With You, Angela Johnson

I Am Enough, Grace Byers

In the Mirror, Fabian E. Ferguson

Blended, Sharon Draper

The Bell Rang, James E. Ransome

Overground Railroad, Lesa Cline-Ransome

D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet, Nancy I. Sanders

Goin’ Someplace Special, Patricia C. McKissack

In My Momma’s Kitchen, Jerdine Nolen

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past, Jacqueline Woodson

Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuant of a Dream, Deloris Jordan

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, John Steptoe

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, Ellen Levine

Your Dad was Just Like You, Dolores Johnson

Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride, Andrea Davis Pinkney & Brain Pinkney

The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague, Julia Finley Mosca

Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry

Follow the Drinking Gourd, Jeanette Winter

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman, Kathleen Krull

Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later), Elizabeth Fitzgerald

Where’s Rodney?, Floyd Cooper

Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment, Parker Curry & Jessica Curry

Not Quite Snow White, Ashley Franklin

A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation, Barry Wittenstein

The Undefeated, Kwame Alexander

Rebound, Kwame Alexander

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, Derrick Barnes

Mixed Me, Taye Diggs

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood, Kwame Mbalia

 

Older Kids:

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, James McBride

Beloved, Toni Morrison

You Should See Me In a Crown, Leah Johnson

Black Brother, Black Brother, Jewell Parker Rhodes

The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis

Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis

The Forgotten Girl, India Hill Brown

A Good Kind of Trouble, Lisa Moore Ramée

 

Teens/Adults:

Fudge, Pauline Nevins

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

More Than Enough, Elaine Welteroth

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, Mikki Kendall

When No One Is Watching: A Thriller, Alyssa Cole

Between The World And Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower , Brittney Cooper

Nice Racism, Robin DiAngelo

The Other Black Girl: A Novel, Zakiya Dalila Harris

Red at the Bone: A Novel, Jacqueline Woodson

Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid

The Mothers: A Novel, Brit Bennett

For more book recommendations, check out our Resource Guide to Teaching Our Children & Ourselves About Racism. 

What are some books you’re reading to celebrate Black History Month? Let us know in the comments below!