11 Bestselling Children’s Books

Period: January/February - 2024

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:
Sales for Voices of the Harlem Renaissance were boosted by it being showcased during the 2024 F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival. The #2 book Erasure by Percival Everett enjoyed a boost in sales due to the brilliant film, American Fiction, which was based upon Everett’s novel.

Nonfiction:
Reparations on Fire: How and Why it’s Spreading Across America by Nkechi Taifa is our top selling Adult Nonfiction Book published in the last 7 years. Marcus Anthony Hunter’s Radical Reparations was featured in our newsletter recently and really resonated with subscribers.

Children’s Books:
American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky by Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein, written for young adults top the chidlren’s book this period. It is followed closely in sales by the picture book Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin by Michelle Meadows, Illustrated by Jamiel Law

1
American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky

American Wings

by Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein
Add to Cart
2
Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin

Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues

by Michelle Meadows
Add to Cart
3
When I Wrap My Hair

When I Wrap My Hair

by Shauntay Grant
Add to Cart
4
You’re Breaking My Heart

You’re Breaking My Heart

by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Add to Cart
6
Big

Big

by Vashti Harrison
Add to Cart
9
See You on the Other Side

See You on the Other Side

by Rachel Montez Minor
Add to Cart
10
Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World

Brave. Black. First.

by Cheryl Willis Hudson
Add to Cart