116 Important Children’s Books

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  1. A Boy and His Mirror by Marchánt Davis
  2. A Child’s Introduction to Jazz: The Musicians, Culture, and Roots of the World’s Coolest Music by Jabari Asim
  3. A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney
  4. A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney
  5. A Family Prayer by Shay Youngblood
  6. A Flag for Juneteenth by Kim Taylor
  7. A Hero Like Me by Angela Joy and Jen Reid
  8. A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes
  9. All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration by Glenda Armand
  10. An American Story by Kwame Alexander
  11. An Earth Song (Petite Poems) by Langston Hughes
  12. Baby, Sleepy Baby by Atinuke
  13. Big by Vashti Harrison
  14. Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince by Alliah L. Agostini
  15. Birmingham, 1963 by Carole Boston Weatherford
  16. Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance by William Loren Katz
  17. Breaking to the Beat! by Linda J. Acevedo
  18. Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? by Junauda Petrus
  19. Cape by Kevin Johnson
  20. Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
  21. Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game by Colin Kaepernick and Eve L. Ewing
  22. Come Home Safe by Brian Buckmire
  23. Coretta’s Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King by Alice Faye Duncan
  24. Cornrows (2023) by Camille Yarbrough
  25. Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel) by Sharee Miller
  26. Dear Star Baby by Malcolm Newsome
  27. Dreamer by Akim Aliu and Greg Anderson Elysee
  28. Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson
  29. Fadya and the Song of the River by Laura Nsafou
  30. Figure It Out, Henri Weldon by Tanita S. Davis
  31. Flipflopi: How a Boat Made from Flip-Flops Is Helping to Save the Ocean by Linda Ravin Lodding and Dipesh Pabari
  32. Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker
  33. Fresh Juice by Robert Liu-Trujillo
  34. Garvey’s Choice: The Graphic Novel by Nikki Grimes
  35. Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford
  36. Happy with My Nappy by Gina Jarrell
  37. Harlem at Four by Michael Datcher
  38. Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! by Brian Pinkney
  39. History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes by Tracey Baptiste
  40. Honest June: Secrets and Spies by Tina Wells
  41. How Do You Spell Unfair?: Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford
  42. How to Be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone
  43. How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander
  44. Hurry, Kate, or You’ll Be Late! by Janice N. Harrington
  45. I Am Big by Itah Sadu
  46. I Want to Be Big! by Tiffany Golden
  47. Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better by Glenda Armand
  48. Invincible: Fathers and Mothers of Black America by Wade Hudson
  49. Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
  50. I’m Going to Have a Good Day!: Daily Affirmations with Scarlett by Tiania Haneline and Scarlett Gray Smith
  51. Jackie Ormes Draws the Future: The Remarkable Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist by Liz Montague
  52. Jelani’s Key by D. Amari Jackson
  53. Jump In! by Shadra Strickland
  54. Juneteenth by Van G. Garrett
  55. Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney
  56. Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Katheryn Russell-Brown
  57. Ketanji: Justice Jackson’s Journey to the U.S. Supreme Court by Kekla Magoon
  58. Little Daymond Learns to Earn by Daymond John
  59. Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar: The Musical Story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
  60. Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
  61. Looking for Happy by Ty Chapman
  62. Madam C. J. Walker Builds a Business by Denene Millner
  63. Mary Can! by Mary J. Blige
  64. Matchmaker #3 by Kelly Starling Lyons
  65. Mermaid and Pirate by Tracey Baptiste
  66. My Baba’s Garden by Jordan Scott
  67. My Red, White, and Blue by Alana Tyson
  68. Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas
  69. Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
  70. Not an Easy Win by Chrystal D. Giles
  71. Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Brahm Revel
  72. Once in a Blue Moon by Sharon G. Flake
  73. Plátanos Are Love by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris
  74. Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
  75. Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! by Raphael G. Warnock
  76. Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson
  77. Repeat After Me: Big Things to Say Every Day by Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill
  78. Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll by Tonya Bolden
  79. Rooting for Plants: The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector by Janice N. Harrington
  80. Salat in Secret by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
  81. Sandy Toes: A Summer Adventure by Shauntay Grant
  82. School Trip by Jerry Craft
  83. See You on the Other Side by Rachel Montez Minor
  84. She Persisted: Dorothy Height by Kelly Starling Lyons
  85. Simon B. Rhymin’ Gets in the Game by Dwayne Reed
  86. Stacey’s Remarkable Books by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery
  87. Sugar Plum Ballerinas Sugar Plums to the Rescue! #5 by Whoopi Goldberg
  88. Sun Keep Rising by Kristen R. Lee
  89. The (Young) Antiracist’s Workbook: Questions for Changemakers by Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone
  90. The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith
  91. The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
  92. The Bronx Is My Home by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris
  93. The Courage of the Little Hummingbird: A Tale Told Around the World by Leah Henderson
  94. The Enchanted Bridge by Zetta Elliott
  95. The Everlasting Rose (the Belles Series, Book 2) by Dhonielle Clayton
  96. The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music by Roberta Flack and Tonya Bolden
  97. The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship by Ibtihaj Muhammad
  98. The Making of Butterflies by Zora Neale Hurston and Adapted by Ibram X. Kendi
  99. The Mermaid Princesses: A Sister Tale by Maya Cameron-Gordon
  100. The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story by Glenda Armand
  101. The Noisy Classroom Goes to the Museum by Angela Shanté
  102. The Playbook by Kwame Alexander
  103. The Rhythm of Time by Questlove and S. A. Cosby
  104. The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, the Big Ways We’re the Same by Linsey Davis
  105. There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds
  106. To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights by Angela Dalton
  107. Track Star #4 by Kelly Starling Lyons
  108. Ty’s Travels: Camp-Out by Kelly Starling Lyons
  109. Wash Day by Tiffany Golden
  110. We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
  111. We Are Here by Tami Charles
  112. What Does Brown Mean To You? by Ron Grady
  113. You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland by Carole Boston Weatherford
  114. You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce by Carmella Van Vleet and Chiquita Mullins Lee
  115. You So Black by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.
  116. Young, Gifted and Black Too: 52 Black Heroes to Celebrate and Discover by Jamia Wilson