Black History Month Picture Books

​I've been looking at incorporating many more diverse picture books into my home library since last year, so some of the books I'm sharing today have been on my radar for awhile now & are now part of our collection. Some of the books are newer, & very powerful in the messages they teach about black history. My favorites are the stories of women in black history, black basketball players (especially Michael Jordan's story & Swish), Ready to Soar (about Sylvia, the bookmobile ballerina) & Harriet Tubman.
  I hope you will enjoy this list of 21 black history books & share with me some of your favorites as well! 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PICTURE BOOKS FOR KIDS:   
1. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History 
by: Vashti Harrison
(From Bessie Coleman to Katherine Johnson, a fabulous encyclopedia of black women who are part of our history & have made a difference.)
www.amazon.com/Little-Leaders-History-Vashti-Harrison/dp/0316475114/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=little+legends&qid=1611449622&sr=8-2
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2. The Undefeated (Caldecott Medal Award, 2020) 
by: Kwame Alexander & Kadir Nelson
(Forewarning: this book, with its masterful illustrations, will likely bring tears to your eyes as you see all the black people, who through history, have stood for something-- social justice & change for an oppressed people.  It's a beautiful book with the message that black people will stand up again & again.) 
www.amazon.com/Undefeated-Kwame-Alexander/dp/1328780961/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+undefeated&qid=1611596415&sr=8-1

3. Overground Railroad
by: Lesa-Cline-Ransome
(Ruth Ellen climbs on a train in North Carolina that's bound for New York, where she & her family will start a new life after living as slaves. While they are still segregated on the train, the family has great hopes for the freedom they will experience once they leave the South behind.) 
www.amazon.com/Overground-Railroad-Lesa-Cline-Ransome/dp/0823438732/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=overground+railroad&qid=1611590392&sr=8-2
4. Martin's Big Words
by: Doreen Rappaport
(Starting with his life as a young boy, this book illustrates the kind of life Martin led, including that he was a reverend like his daddy before he became actively involved in the Civil Rights movement.) 
www.amazon.com/Martins-Big-Words-Martin-Luther/dp/0786807148/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1611725587&sr=8-2

5. Have you Thanked an Inventor Today? 
by: Patrice McLauriun & Dian Wang
(As a young boy goes throughout his day, he begins noticing how many inventions he makes use of & realizes all of them were created by African-Americans. In the book you'll find brief biographies of each inventor & a certain STEM theme as well!) 
www.amazon.com/Have-You-Thanked-Inventor-Today/dp/0997315202/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14D0Z74YHKQU8&dchild=1&keywords=have+you+thanked+an+inventor+today&qid=1611725620&sprefix=have+you+thanked+an+%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1

6. The Story of Ruby Bridges
by: Robert Cols & George Ford 
(Have you ever heard the story or seen the movie of little Ruby? An exceptionally smart African-American girl who was sent to an all-white school for her education in the 1960s, but she was scorned & rejected by the unkind parents who refuse to send the children in the community to school with her.) 
www.amazon.com/Story-Ruby-Bridges-Special-Anniversary/dp/0439472261/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+story+of+ruby+bridges&qid=1611775313&sr=8-1 

7. Salt In His Shoes
by: Deloris Jordan
(This is a story about Michael Jordan as a boy, who was always wishing desperately to grow, & how his mama helped him have some self-esteem & confidence in himself.) 
www.amazon.com/Salt-His-Shoes-Michael-Pursuit/dp/0689834195/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=salt+in+his+shoes&qid=1611702616&sr=8-1 

8. Counting on Katherine
by: Helaine Becker & Dow 
(One of the "computers" who worked at NASA & helped calculate the route to get Apollo 13 safely to & from Earth, Katherine always loved counting! She was always excited & curious about calculations in relation to math & the universe & was a very gifted young lady.) 
*Also check out Hidden Figures. This tells the story of all of the black women "computers" on Katherine's team who worked for NASA. by: Margot Lee Shetterly & Laura Freeman
www.amazon.com/s?k=hidden+figures&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
www.amazon.com/Counting-Katherine-Johnson-Saved-Apollo/dp/1250137527/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=counting+on+katherine&qid=1611725846&sr=8-1

9. Lizzie Demands a Seat
by: Beth Anderson & E.B. Lewis 
(Elizabeth Jennings was denied entry on a streetcar on her way to church one Sunday.  New York was a free state, but she was assaulted & not given a spot on the streetcar, so she took her case to court.) 
www.amazon.com/Lizzie-Demands-Seat-Elizabeth-Streetcar/dp/1629799394/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ERPT5RTDSOZL&dchild=1&keywords=lizzie+demands+a+seat&qid=1611860708&sprefix=lizzie+demands+a+%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-2

10. Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
by: Vashti Harrison & Kwesi Johnson 
(Biographies of men who range from aviators to athletes.) 
www.amazon.com/Little-Legends-Exceptional-Black-History/dp/0316475149/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QAEPNODW7DYB&dchild=1&keywords=little+legends+exceptional+men+in+black+history&qid=1611934870&sprefix=little+legends%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1

11. If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks 
by: Faith Ringold 
( 
www.amazon.com/If-Bus-Could-Talk-Story/dp/0689856768/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=if+a+bus+could+talk&qid=1611936337&sr=8-1 

12. The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne 
by: Lesa-Cline Ransome & John Parra 
(She earned her title "First Lady of the Black Press" after traveling to Japan during WWII & then ended up in the White House briefing room later on.  Her questions sought answers that were most significant in the battle for Civil Rights.) 
www.amazon.com/Power-Her-Pen-Groundbreaking-Journalist/dp/148146289X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+power+of+her+pen&qid=1611936392&sr=8-1

13. Above the Rim
by: Jen Bryant & Frank Morrison 
(The story of one of the first professional, African-American athletes to play the game of basketball.  He was still mistreated at restaurants & hotels because he was black, so Elgin staged a protest.)   
www.amazon.com/Above-Rim-Baylor-Changed-Basketball/dp/141974108X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=above+the+rim&qid=1611937317&sr=8-2

14. I Am Rosa Parks
by: Brad Meltzer & Christopher Eliopoulos
​(The story of short but spirited Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat for a white man who got on the bus after she had already been seated & was on the way home from work. Even though she was imprisoned, she started an important movement in the Civil Rights movement-- the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ended bus segregation.) 
www.amazon.com/Parks-Ordinary-People-Change-World/dp/0803740859/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=i+am+rosa+parks&qid=1611936777&sr=8-1

15. Ready to Fly
by: Lea Lyon & Alex LaFaye
(the true story of Sylvia Townsend, the ballerina who learned ballet from the books she checked out at the bookmobile that came through town. She taught herself so well from books that she eventually auditioned & was able to dance at a school run by a Russian woman, even though she'd been rejected for skin color in the past. And she goes on to run her own school of dance when she grows up; I just LOVED this book!) 
www.amazon.com/Ready-Fly-Townsend-Bookmobile-Ballerina/dp/0062888781/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ready+to+fly&qid=1611941833&sr=8-2
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16. Before She Was Harriet
by: Lesa-Cline Ransome & James E. Ransome 
(All about Harriet's life before she was Moses & a leader for the Underground Railroad, when she was "Minty" or Araminta. I really love this picture book biography because Harriet Tubman has long been a favorite historical figure of mine.) 
www.amazon.com/Before-Harriet-Coretta-Scott-Illustrator/dp/0823420477/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1611942643&sr=8-1

17. Mae Among the Stars 
by:  Roda Ahmed & Stasia Burrington
​(Sweet little Mae announces that she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up, when the teacher asks the kids what they want to be when they grow up. Mae is discouraged when her teacher suggest her being a nurse instead, because she has always grown up wondering what it will be like to fly to outer space....& one day, she does just that! And becomes the first African-American woman in space.)  
www.amazon.com/Mae-Among-Stars-Roda-Ahmed/dp/0062651730/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mae+among+the+stars&qid=1611942675&sr=8-1

18. Black Heroes: A Black History Book for Kids (51 Inspiring People) 
by: Arlisha Norwood
www.amazon.com/Black-Heroes-Inspiring-Modern-Day-U-S/dp/1641527048/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=10WJLPV8BW0NZ&dchild=1&keywords=black+heroes+a+black+history+book+for+kids&qid=1611726300&sprefix=kids+books+for+black+history%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVTdBQ1k2QUREOEFHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTM0MjM4MjcwTUVIWVZWOVZEWiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTU2NzQ5MVRYM1c4Nzg1SkU4UiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= 

19. Black Women in Science
by: Kimberly Brown Pellum
(Features 15 stories of female scientists from doctors, to mathematicians & astronauts, who helped advance the STEM movement.) 
www.amazon.com/Black-Women-Science-History-Book/dp/1641527072/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=black+history+month+books&qid=1611937055&sr=8-11 

20. All Because You Matter 
by: Tami Charles & Bryan Collier 
(A love letter to beautiful brown & black children everywhere, especially through the hardships of current events, to remind them of how much they DO matter.) 
www.amazon.com/All-Because-Matter-Tami-Charles/dp/133857485X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1611775478&sr=8-1
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21. The Girl With a Mind for Math: the Story of Raye Montague
by: Julia Finley Mosca & Daniel Rieley 
​(Written in prose, this is the story of young Raye, who dreamed of being an engineer, even though sexism & racism would both pose obstacles to her achieving that dream. She persisted, & eventually altered the course of ship design forever.) 
www.amazon.com/Girl-Mind-Math-Montague-Scientists/dp/1943147426/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+girl+with+a+mind+for+math&qid=1611942800&sr=8-1

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