A List of African American Children’s Books Lyrics
A recent article in The New York Times noted that out of "3,200 children’s books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people." That led us to wonder what books we might suggest for people to include in their personal libraries of children’s books featuring African Americans.
The following list was compiled by Maddyline Ligon, a student in our African American literature course entitled “Becoming A Rap Genius.” The list is not comprehensive, but it does serve as an entry or point of departure for those interested in reading and learning more.
Books for Grades 4-6
2010: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
2010: Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
2010: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
2008: Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith
2007: Chess Rumble by G. Neri
2003: No Laughter Here by Rita Williams Garcia
2003: The Way A Door Closes by Hope Anita Smith
1990: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton
1985: The People Could Fly: African American Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
1976: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
1974: M.C. Higgins the Great by Virginia Hamilton
Books for Grades 6-9
2009: Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
2009: The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
2006: Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
2004: Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson
2001: Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
1999: Monster by Walter Dean Meyers
1999: Dancer by Lorri Hewett
1998: The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
1993: Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson
The following list was compiled by Maddyline Ligon, a student in our African American literature course entitled “Becoming A Rap Genius.” The list is not comprehensive, but it does serve as an entry or point of departure for those interested in reading and learning more.
Books for Grades 4-6
2010: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
2010: Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
2010: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
2008: Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith
2007: Chess Rumble by G. Neri
2003: No Laughter Here by Rita Williams Garcia
2003: The Way A Door Closes by Hope Anita Smith
1990: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton
1985: The People Could Fly: African American Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
1976: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
1974: M.C. Higgins the Great by Virginia Hamilton
Books for Grades 6-9
2009: Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
2009: The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
2006: Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
2004: Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson
2001: Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
1999: Monster by Walter Dean Meyers
1999: Dancer by Lorri Hewett
1998: The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
1993: Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson
About
Genius Annotation
A recent article in the New York Times noted that out of 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, only 93 of them featured black characters. We found this statistic extremely problematic and decided to compile a list of children’s books that focused on African American characters. We hope this list will aid people, especially future educators, when adding to their personal and classroom libraries in order to present a more well rounded, literary experience.
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