Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List for Kids

41 Books Found

  • A Is for Activist

    Introduces the letters of the alphabet with terms related to social justice, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and other causes activists support.
    Cover of  A Is for Activist
  • Beautiful Blackbird

    Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan's adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia resonates both with rhythm and the tale's universal meanings - appreciating one's heritage and discovering the beauty within.
    Cover of Beautiful Blackbird
  • Betty Before X

    Raised by her aunt until she is six, Betty, who will later marry Malcolm X, joins her mother and stepfamily in 1940s Detroit, where she learns about the civil rights movement.
    Cover of Betty Before X
  • Black Is a Rainbow Color

    Illustrated by Ekua Holmes A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.
    Cover of Black Is a Rainbow Color
  • Blended

    Eleven-year-old Isabella's blended family is more divided than ever in this thoughtful story about divorce and racial identity.
    Cover of Blended
  • Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation

    A poignant, blues-infused tribute to Rosa Parks and the men and women of the Montgomery bus boycott, who refused to give up until they got justice.
    Cover of Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
  • Brown Girl Dreaming

    In vivid poems that reflect the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, Woodson shares what it was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s in both the North and the South.
    Cover of Brown Girl Dreaming
  • Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

    Illustrated by Gordon C. James | Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair.
    Cover of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
  • The Day You Begin

    Illustrated by Rafael López | A poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.
    Cover of The Day You Begin
  • Everett Anderson's Goodbye

    Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi | Everett Anderson has a difficult time coming to terms with his grief after his father dies.
    Cover of Everett Anderson's Goodbye
  • Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem

    Presents a collection of poems written to honor the life of Fortune, a slave in eighteenth-century Connecticut whose body was donated to science upon his death.
    Cover of Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem
  • Genesis Begins Again

    Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.
    Cover of Genesis Begins Again
  • Ghost

    Aspiring to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school's track team, gifted runner Ghost finds his goal challenged by a tragic past with a violent father.
    Cover of Ghost
  • Ghost Boys

    After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
    Cover of Ghost Boys
  • Hair Love

    Illustrated by Vashti Harrison | A little girl's daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self.
    Cover of Hair Love
  • Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

    Harriet Tubman was born a slave and dreamed of being free. She was willing to risk everything, including her own life, to see that dream come true. After her daring escape, Harriet became a conductor on the secret Underground Railroad, helping others make the dangerous journey to freedom.
    Cover of Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad
  • Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

    A simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama.
    Cover of Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
  • Hey Black Child

    Illustrated by Bryan Collier | A lyrical poem with bright images celebrates African American children and encourages them to realize their dreams and achieve their goals.
    Cover of Hey Black Child
  • Hurricane Child

    Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
    Cover of Hurricane Child
  • I Am Enough

    Illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo | A lyrical ode to self-confidence and kindness for girls from every background, written by the activist star of Empire, touches on themes of diversity, respecting others and loving oneself.
    Cover of I Am Enough
  • Juneteenth for Mazie

    Little Mazie wants the freedom to stay up late, but her father explains what freedom really means in the story of Juneteenth, and how her ancestors celebrated their true freedom.
    Cover of Juneteenth for Mazie
  • Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

    The women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them -- including abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash.
    Cover of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
  • Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History

    A companion to the best-selling Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History shares the true stories of history-shaping black men, including civil rights leader John Lewis, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and tennis champion Arthur Ashe.
    Cover of Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
  • Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood

    Illustrated by Yoran Cazac | Baldwin's only children's book traces the experiences of a 4-year-old boy and his friends as they encounter the social realities of being black in 1970s Harlem.
    Cover of Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood
  • Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color

    Illustrated by Floyd Cooper | Despite their water being poisoned and the building set afire, Miss Crandall kept her school for African-American women--several of whom were the daughters of freed slaves--running in order to give her students the education they knew they deserved.
    Cover of Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color
  • My Hair Is a Garden

    After being teased about her unruly hair, MacKenzie consults her neighbor, Miss Tillie, who compares hair care with tending her beautiful garden and teaches MacKenzie some techniques.
    Cover of My Hair Is a Garden
  • My Life As an Ice Cream Sandwich

    In the summer of 1984, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace of Huntsville, Alabama, visits her father in Harlem, where her fascination with outer space and science fiction interfere with her finding acceptance.
    Cover of My Life As an Ice Cream Sandwich
  • New Kid

    After his parents send him to a prestigious private school known for its academics, Jordan Banks finds himself torn between two worlds.
    Cover of New Kid
  • New Kid

    After his parents send him to a prestigious private school known for its academics, Jordan Banks finds himself torn between two worlds.
    Cover of New Kid
  • The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

    Illustrated by Diane Dillon | Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope.
    Cover of The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

    Facing a year of night riders and burnings, Cassie and her family continue their struggle to keep their land and hold onto what rightfully belongs to them, despite the difficult battles they must continue to endure.
    Cover of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
  • Ruth and the Green Book

    Illustrated by Floyd Cooper | When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them.
    Cover of Ruth and the Green Book
  • Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

    Illustrated by Eric Velasquez | Luminous paintings and evocative poems by two of the literary world's top African-American scholars trace the efforts of Afro-Puerto Rican legal clerk Arturo Schomburg's efforts to curate a collection of African books, letters, music, and art.
    Cover of Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
  • Some of the Days of Everett Anderson

    Illustrated by Evaline Ness | Nine poems about a boy who likes to play in the rain, who is not afraid of the dark, and sometimes feel lonely.
    Cover of Some of the Days of Everett Anderson
  • Sulwe

    Illustrated by Vashti Harrison | When five-year-old Sulwe's classmates make fun of her dark skin, she tries lightening herself to no avail, but her encounter with a shooting star helps her understand there is beauty in every shade.
    Cover of Sulwe
  • Tar Beach

    A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family.
    Cover of Tar Beach
  • This Is What I Know About Art

    Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky | An arts writer, curator, and activist reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.
    Cover of This Is What I Know About Art
  • The Undefeated

    Illustrated by Kadir Nelson | Presents an ode to black American triumph and tribulation.
    Cover of The Undefeated
  • Wings

    Ikarus Jackson, the new boy in school, is outcast because he has wings, but his resilient spirit inspires one girl to speak up for him.
    Cover of Wings
  • Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice

    Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III | A collection of poems to inspire kids to stay woke and become a new generation of activists.
    Cover of Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice
  • Young, Gifted, and Black

    Illustrated by Andrea Pippins | A collection of stories about changemakers to encourage, inspire, and empower the next generation of changemakers.
    Cover of Young, Gifted, and Black