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