Lasting Impact: 25 Recent Picture Book Biographies for Black History Month

by Michelle Meadows; illustrated by Jamiel Law

This first-ever picture book biography of the legendary writer and activist introduces readers to this passionate Black man who discovered his true power in the written word, which opened the world to him as he used his voice fearlessly. 

by Nina Crews

Celebrating one of America’s most celebrated children’s book authors and the first African American to win the Newbery Medal, this beautiful picture book told through interconnected poems shows how she found her voice in her writing as she began a career defined by her roots.

by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illustrated by James E. Ransome

In a beautiful prose telling, the story of a groundbreaking civil rights leader, John Lewis. John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights. He was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a moment that changed a nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy will live on.

by Wade Hudson; illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Exploring the birth of Black America, an acclaimed Black author teaches readers about the little-known men and women who suffered and struggled to build a country, a culture and institutions, showing the slow process by which Black Americans fought for justice over the course of many generations.

by Charles R. Smith Jr.; illustrated by Leo Espinosa

One hundred years ago, one of the most popular spectator sports was bicycle racing, and the man to beat was Marshall “Major” Taylor, who set records in his teens and won his first world championship by age twenty. The first African American world champion in cycling and the second Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport, Major Taylor faced down challenge after challenge, not least the grueling Six-Day Race, a test of speed, strength, and endurance. 

by Dinah Johnson; illustrated by Jerry Jordan

Painting a vivid portrait of one of the most influential civil rights leaders and her critical role in the Women’s March of 1913, this picture book recounts how Ida B. Wells worked tirelessly to fight for an America that was fair to everyone, regardless of race and gender. 

by Breanna J. McDaniel; illustrated by April Harrison

This picture book biography chronicles the life of the beloved librarian, storyteller and the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library who championed books, writers and teachers centering around Black stories that were both educational and inspirational. 

by Chiquita Mullins Lee and Carmella Van Vleet; illustrated by Jennifer Mack-Watkins

Based on the true story of woodcarver Elijah Pierce and his community barber shop in Columbus, Ohio, this picture book follows a young boy who walks in for an ordinary haircut and walks out having discovered a lifetime of art. 

by Liz Montague

This inspiring picture-book biography of the first Black female cartoonist in America, who tackled racism, pollution and social justice—and made the world listen—chronicles her life and how her work inspires countless artists today.

by Janice N. Harrington; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

In this inspiring STEM/STEAM picture book biography, children will meet the Black botanist and mycologist, who, after witnessing firsthand the ecological devastation that WWI caused, made it his mission to make things grow, not destroy them. 

by Melvina Noel; art by Cozbi Cabrera

In this picture book biography, children are introduced to African American culinary legend Edna Lewis, who carried her Southern traditions to New York, where she became a celebrated chef and introduced the world to the flavors of her home. 

by Don Tate; illustrated by Cherise Harris

Introduces readers to Jerry Lawson, a Black engineer who changed the videogaming world forever by building a videogame console that allowed players to switch out cartridges and who founded the first African American-owned videogame company in the country.

by Alice Faye Duncan; illustrated by Keith Mallett

This never-before-told story of Black sprinter and long-jumper Willye B. White chronicles her journey to competing in and winning the 1956 and 1964 Olympics, showing how her mantra, "I believe in me," helped her overcome obstacles and the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement.

by Chris Raschka

Part biography, part celebration of imagination and the creative process, this picture book pays tribute renowned American jazz pianist and composer, Mary Lou Williams, who is often overlooked in the canon of American music because of her gender and skin color.

by Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman; illustrated by Keith Mallett

Spotlighting a little-known visionary, this inspiring picture book biography tells the story of African American entrepreneur Augustus Jackson, aka “the father of ice cream,” who, in the 1800s, created this frozen treat during his time as a White House cook. 

by Kekla Magoon; illustrated by Laura Freeman

This inspiring picture book biography traces the life of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is making history as the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, showing her incredible achievements as she fights for justice and equality. 

by Angela Joy; illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara

Before Prince became one of the bestselling musicians of all time, he was a boy named Prince Rogers Nelson. Often overlooked and abandoned, he found his own inspiration in the world around him—teaching himself how to play the guitar, the piano, the drums, and much more. And when he grew up, he used these small details of the everyday to make music, and make the world around him more colorful. 

by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

This warm, inspiring story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a pioneering Black artist whose rural roots inspired rock-and-roll, shows how she made her dream become reality through hard work and dedication. 

by Selene Castrovilla; illustrated by Laura Freeman

This is a story about tap dancing, a distinctly American art form that blended English-Scottish-Irish clog dancing with African tribal dancing.  And it’s about a boy, Savion Glover—who was born to feel the music—to dance and perform and invent. And to delight and awe audiences with the movements of his body.  

by Gary Golio; art by E.B. Lewis

This visually stunning portrait of Black photographer Roy DeCarava, a child of the Harlem Renaissance and an artistic collaborator of Langston Hughes, takes readers through 1940s Harlem where beauty is everywhere as he immortalizes and documents the lives of ordinary Black people.

by Roberta Flack with Tonya Bolden; illustrated by Hayden Goodman

Growing up in a Blue Ridge mountain town, little Roberta dreamed of having her own piano. When her daddy spies an old, beat-up upright piano in a junkyard, he knows he can make his daughter's dream come true. He brings it home, cleans and tunes it, and paints it a grassy green. And soon the little girl has an instrument to practice on, and a new dream to reach for—one that will make her become a legend in the music industry.

by Michael G. Long; illustrated by Bea Jackson

This powerful and triumphant picture book biography tells the story of Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civils rights leader, who, with the support of Dr. King and future congressman John Lewis, led 250,000 people to the doorstep of the U.S. government demanding change. 

by Coretta Scott King, with the Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds; illustrated by Ekua Holmes; adapted by Julia Sooy

This picture book adaptation of her critically acclaimed adult memoir paints a vivid portrait of the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a singular 20th-century American civil and human rights activist who fought for justice against all odds, becoming an unforgettable champion of social change. 

by Angela Dalton; illustrated by Lauren Semmer

To Boldly Go tells the true story of Nichelle Nichols and how she used her platform on Star Trek to inspire and recruit a new generation of diverse astronauts and many others in the space and STEM fields.

by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Frank Morrison

A true story of determination and groundbreaking achievement follows eighth grade African American spelling champion MacNolia Cox, who left Akron, Ohio, in 1936 to compete in the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., only to be met with prejudice and discrimination.