34 Bestselling Children’s Books

Period: November/December - 2020

AALBC Bestseller Seal

The African American Literature Book Club’s Bestsellers List has been published continuously since 1998. It celebrates the bestselling titles from our curated selection of books written by or about Black people. Learn More below.

★ New: The BLK Bestsellers: America’s Bestselling Books

Fiction: The 2020 National Book Award Finalist, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw was the bestselling book across all genres this period.

Nonfiction: Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents was the top-selling nonfiction book and the #2 best-selling book overall.

Children’s Books: Children’s book dominated sales this period, perhaps because of the gift giving season. The 9-time AALBC.com bestselling board book Whose Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim outsold all other children’s books.

Poetry: Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose by Nikki Giovanni, was the only book of poetry to make our bestsellers list and marks Giovanni’s 9th time, making her one of AALBC’s most popular poets.

3
Cover for I Am Loved

I Am Loved

by Nikki Giovanni
Add to Cart
4
Cover for I Love My Hair!

I Love My Hair!

by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Add to Cart
5
Cover for Baby Says

Baby Says

by John Steptoe
Add to Cart
7
Cover for Different and the Same

Different and the Same

by Adijah & Atiya Brabham
Add to Cart
8
Cover for Beautiful Moon: A Child’s Prayer

Beautiful Moon

by Tonya Bolden
Add to Cart
10
Cover for Barack Obama: Son Of Promise, Child Of Hope

Barack Obama

by Nikki Grimes
Add to Cart
11
Cover for Peekaboo Morning

Peekaboo Morning

by Rachel Isadora
Add to Cart
12
Cover for I Love My Haircut!

I Love My Haircut!

by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Add to Cart
14
Cover for Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof

Epoca

by Ivy Claire Pochoda
Add to Cart
16
Cover for You Are Wonderfully Made: 12 Life-Changing Principles for Teen Girls to Embrace

You Are Wonderfully Made

by Gwen Richardson and Sylvia Richardson
Add to Cart
17
Cover for Black Mother Goose Book

Black Mother Goose Book

by Elizabeth Murphy Oliver
Add to Cart
18
Cover for Please, Baby, Please

Please, Baby, Please

by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
Add to Cart
19
Cover for Daddy Calls Me Man

Daddy Calls Me Man

by Angela Johnson
Add to Cart
21
Cover for A is for Activist

A is for Activist

by Innosanto Nagara
Add to Cart
23
Cover for New Kid

New Kid

by Jerry Craft
Add to Cart
24
Cover for Sulwe

Sulwe

by Lupita Nyong’o
Add to Cart
25
Cover for Let the Children March

Let the Children March

by Monica Clark-Robinson
Add to Cart
26
Cover for Sing to the Moon

Sing to the Moon

by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl
Add to Cart
27
Cover for These Hands

These Hands

by Hope Lynne Price
Add to Cart
29
Cover for Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly
Add to Cart
30
Cover for Geese Are Never Swans

Geese Are Never Swans

by Eva Clark and Created by Kobe Bryant
Add to Cart
31
Cover for We Came to America

We Came to America

by Faith Ringgold
Add to Cart
33
Cover for Class Act

Class Act

by Jerry Craft
Add to Cart
34
Cover for Through My Eyes

Through My Eyes

by Ruby Bridges
Add to Cart

More About our Bestsellers List

View a printer-friendly version or a collage of the book covers.

You will learn about books selling well in the Black community that may never show up on lists published by corporate entities. Spread the word about our list; don’t let one or two lists, which we don’t control, determine which books are important.

We collect our bestselling titles from all our sales channels. The majority of our sales come from this website and our in-person events. We also include sales generated through our affiliate relationships, including Bookshop.org, Libro.fm (audiobooks), and Amazon.com*.

*For a few years, we actively boycotted Amazon but have discontinued this practice to ensure we do not exclude authors who are exclusive to that platform. We still discourage exclusivity but support all Black authors.