A selected list of children's non-fiction books about African American history and the African American experience.


Book cover for 28 days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World

28 days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World

Smith, Charles R.
Call Number: x 920 S644 folio
Book cover for Brown Girl Dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming

Woodson, Jacqueline
Call Number: x 92 W8985
Grades 5 - 8. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world.
 
 
Book cover for The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage

Alko, Selina
Call Number: x 323.1 A415

Grades 1 -5

The story of interracial couple Mildred and Richard Loving, who got married in Washington, D.C., and were arrested after they returned to Virginia, and took their legal case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Book cover for The Doctor With an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath

The Doctor With an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath

Mosca, Julia Finley
Call Number: x 92 B331Mo
Book cover for Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life

Bryan, Ashley, .
Call Number: x 811 B915-2

Based on a real 1828 document appraising a home of a slaveholder and giving a monetary value for the 11 enslaved people. It pairs dramatic woodcut portraits of each individual with a poetic reimaging of their lives, struggles and aspirations.  

 
Book cover for Hey Black Child

Hey Black Child

Perkins, Useni Eugene
Call Number: x 811 P451
Book cover for Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

Shetterly, Margot Lee
Call Number: x 920 S5535-1
Book cover for Ice Breaker: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating

Ice Breaker: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating

Vina, Rose
Call Number: x 796.9 F164Vi
Book cover for Let's Clap, Jump, Sing, & Shout; Dance, Spin, and Turn it Out!: Games, Songs, and Stories From an African American Childhood

Let's Clap, Jump, Sing, & Shout; Dance, Spin, and Turn it Out!: Games, Songs, and Stories From an African American Childhood

McKissack, Pat
Call Number: x 790 M158
Book cover for Libba: the Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten

Libba: the Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten

Veirs, Laura
Call Number: x 92 C846Ve
Book cover for Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Harrison, Vashti
Call Number: x 920 H322
Book cover for Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Duncan, Alice Faye
Call Number: x 323.1 D911-1
Book cover for Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away

Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away

Dunbar, Erica Armstrong
Call Number: x 92 J92Du
Book cover for The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read

Hubbard, Rita L.
Call Number: x 92 H1824Hu

Grades K - 3

Mary Walker, born into slavery in 1848, had to wait a long time before tackling the challenge of literacy. She was 116 years old when she was declared the oldest student in the nation. Proof positive that it is never too late to accomplish something amazing.

Book cover for Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls

Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls

Bolden, Tonya
Call Number: x 920 B687-3
Book cover for A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation

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

Wittenstein, Barry
Call Number: x 323.1 W829
Book cover for Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis

Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis

Asim, Jabari
Call Number: x 92 L6739As
Book cover for The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop

The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop

Weatherford, Carole Boston
Call Number: x 784 W362
Book cover for Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Weatherford, Carole Boston
Call Number: x 92 S369 folio
Book cover for Struttin' With Some Barbecue: Lil Hardin Armstrong Becomes the First Lady of Jazz

Struttin' With Some Barbecue: Lil Hardin Armstrong Becomes the First Lady of Jazz

Powell, Patricia Hruby
Call Number: x 92 A7355Po
Book cover for Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy

Medina, Tony
Call Number: x 811 M491-3
Book cover for This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality

This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality

Boyce, Jo Ann Allen
Call Number: x 370 B789
Book cover for Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson

Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson

Schubert, Leda
Call Number: x 92 W687Sc
Book cover for The Undefeated

The Undefeated

Alexander, Kwame
Call Number: x 811 A376-1
Book cover for Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions

Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions

Barton, Chris
Call Number: x 92 J674Ba