So Many Books Featuring Black Characters for All Children to Enjoy – February 3, 2022

[Troy]

This remarkable picture book, Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black, is a lyrical, inspirational exploration of growing up Black, written by award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola, and brought to life by some of the most exciting Black artists of today. Buy Now ▶

2022 Coretta Scott King Award Winning and Honored Books\

The Coretta Scott King Awards are presented annually by the American Library Association to honor African-American authors and illustrators who create outstanding books for children and young adults. “… an excellent start on your quest for the best in African-American literature for children.”   The award was established in 1969 to recognize authors. In 1979 it was expanded to include a separate award for illustrators. There are five categories of book awards; Author, Author Honor, Illustrator, Illustrator Honor, and the John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Check out the 2022 honored books and those going back to 1997 — most are still and print and new copies may be purchased.

African-American Children’s Books Galore!

Technically a website like AALBC can carry every book in print and let readers figure out the best ones to read or use algorithms to push the books that will generate the most profit.   AALBC is different. All of the books on our website, close to 20K titles, are curated by a wide variety of book professionals to ensure any book you find on AALBC will be an excellent one. This is probably more true for children’s books than any other genre. Below are a few, of many lists, of children’s books selected just for our visitors. The lists included books that were critically acclaimed, award winners, recommended booksellers, or resonated strongly with me. Enjoy!   ▪ Bestselling Children’s Book Authors You’ll Love ♥ ▪ 25 Bestselling Children’s Books for Full Year - 2021 ▪ Top 150 Recommended African-American Children’s Books: 1972 – 2020 ▪ The Most Critically Acclaimed Children’s Books of the Year ▪ Children’s Books by Target Age Group ▪ 110 Board Books Celebrating Black Culture ▪ The Best African American Children’s Picture Books for 2020 ▪ Our Latest Bestselling Children’s Books ▪ The John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished American Children’s Books ▪ The Children’s Africana Book Award-Winning Books

30th Annual African American Children’s Book Fair

Over 30 literary creators will participating in the book fair. Meet Ekua Holmes, Ibi Zoboi, EB Lewis, Jason Reynolds, Leah Henderson, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Paula Chase, Karyn Parson, Kekla Magoon, Tina Wells, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Gordon C. James, Torrey Maldonado, Schele Williams, C.J. Farley, Nancy Devard and Antwan Eady. For more information call (215) 878-BOOK.   Virtual Preview: Saturday, February 5, 2022 – 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST Face book Live. Get an inside look at the stellar lineup of some of the best and the brightest from the children’s literary community. Register Here ▶   Live Event: Saturday, February 26, 2022, from 1:00 to 4 p.m. EST Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th Arch Street on Hosted by the African American Children’s Book Project, the book fair is one of the oldest and largest single-day events for children's books in the country. Games, prizes, and promotional giveaways will highlight the afternoon. A wide selection of affordable Black children’s books will be available for purchase. Learn More ▶

Dear Reader,   Occasionally someone will tell me, “There are very few good books featuring Black children.” When I started AALBC, in 1997, this was true. Today, I can’t keep up with all the terrific books being published. If you are anywhere near Philly on February 26th, check out the African American Children’s Book Fair (mentioned above). I attended in 2020, was thoroughly impressed, and discovered some books that I now sell on AALBC.   Always remember Troy, you are why we’ve been able to make AALBC the premier online platform for books by, or about, people of African descent. Your paid subscriptions, book purchases, suggestions, engagement on the site, commenting, social sharing, and advertisements help support AALBC’s mission.   Peace and Love, Troy Johnson Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com

This message is sponsored by sponsored by Nancy Paulsen Books Consider sponsoring our eNewsletter or a dedicated email. ★ AALBC.com eNewsletter – February 3, 2022 - Issue #350