20 Bestselling Children’s Books

Period: March/April - 2020

AALBC Bestseller Seal

Celebrating books written by or about Black people, the African American Literature Book Club’s Bestsellers List has been published continuously since 1998. In 2026, we began publishing our list quarterly, focusing on The BLK Bestsellers.

Fiction: Both Evil Never Sleeps and The Nickel Boys made our list for the 4th time. Most of the other fiction titles are first-time bestsellers.

Nonfiction: Wealth Happens One Day at a Time: 365 Days to a Brighter Financial Future was originally published over 20 years ago and has never been out of print. It makes its first appearance on our list this period.

Children’s Books: Children’s Books continue to dominate sales of all genres this year. Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs and Illustrated by Shane W. Evans has has been a #1 AALBC Bestseller 5 times!

Poetry: The 100 Best African American Poems edited by Nikki Giovanni leads poetry sales and is an excellent sampling of the best work from classic and contemporary Black poets.

1
Chocolate Me!

Chocolate Me!

by Taye Diggs
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3
Black Brother, Black Brother

Black Brother, Black Brother

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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4
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

Out of Wonder

by Kwame Alexander
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5
One Love

One Love

by Cedella Marley
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7
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Schomburg

by Carole Boston Weatherford
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8
Please, Baby, Please

Please, Baby, Please

by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
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9
Black Mother Goose Book

Black Mother Goose Book

by Elizabeth Murphy Oliver
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10
New Kid

New Kid

by Jerry Craft
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12
Baby Says

Baby Says

by John Steptoe
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13
A Black Women’s History of the United States

A Black Women’s History of the United States

by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
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14
The Undefeated

The Undefeated

by Kwame Alexander
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15
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly
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16
Sing to the Moon

Sing to the Moon

by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl
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17
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

The People Could Fly

by Virginia Hamilton
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18
Woke Baby

Woke Baby

by Mahogany L. Browne
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19
Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Become Malcolm X

Malcolm Little

by Ilyasah Shabazz
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20
I Am Loved

I Am Loved

by Nikki Giovanni
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