Children's Books by African American Authors

Four-year-old TJ spends his days on his lively Harlem block playing with his best friends WT and Blinky and running errands for neighbors. As he comes of age as a "Little Man" with big dreams, TJ faces a world of grown-up adventures and realities. Baldwin's only children's book, Little Man, Little Man celebrates and explores the challenges and joys of black childhood. Now available for the first time in forty years, this new edition of Little Man, Little Man--which retains the charming original illustrations by French artist Yoran Cazac--includes a foreword by Baldwin's nephew Tejan "TJ" Karefa-Smart and an afterword by his niece Aisha Karefa-Smart, with an introduction by two Baldwin scholars. In it we not only see life in 1970s Harlem from a black child's perspective, but we also gain a fuller appreciation of the genius of one of America's greatest writers.

A shark and a train compete in a series of contests on a seesaw, in hot air balloons, bowling, shooting baskets, playing hide-and-seek, and more

The death of Mattie's father throws her entire family into hard times. As Mother's Day approaches, Mattie becomes determined to buy her mother a gold pin.

Cat and Rat are friends, but when Rat tricks Cat into letting him play the cat drum, which only cats may play, Cat protects his drum in the only way he can, by swallowing it, and that is how he got his purr. Ages 5-7

For use in schools and libraries only. A trip to North Carolina in her Aunt Martha's new car gives a young girl and her aunt a chance to spend some time together.

When her teacher suffers health problems because of her weight, Nikki, who is always getting teased about her size, decides she wants to live a healthier lifestyle. Ages 6-8

Everett Anderson has a difficult time coming to terms with his grief after his father dies. Ages 5-8

In a debut historical novel about the Great Migration a boy discovers Chicago's postwar South Side and the poetry of Langston Hughes. A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves. It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything-- Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved. In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. At home he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy. But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston--a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.

Brief text and illustrations trace the journey of a colorful train as it goes through tunnels, by cities, and over trestles. Ages 4-8

Children taking a shortcut by walking along a railroad track find excitement and danger when a train approaches. Ages 4-8

Follows the journey of a truck from loading to unloading. Ages 2-4

The weather report says "Snow." Yet there is no sign of it on Monday, or on Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday. But oh, when it comes, it is as thick and white and wonderful (and perfect for snowballs) as the exuberant young narrator dreamed. Young fans who already love Nina Crews's striking photo-collage picture books will revel in this winter wonderland. Zip up your jacket and come outside. It's snowing!

In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.

Newbery Honor; Coretta Scott King Award

Even though it is now 1901, the people of Buxton, Canada (originally a settlement of runaway slaves) and Chatham, Canada are still haunted by two events of half a century before--the American Civil War, and the Irish potato famine, and the lasting damage those events caused to the survivors

Mr. Chickee, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9-year-old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar but startling face. Could it be aquadrillion dollar bill? Could it be real? Well, Agent Fondoo of the U.S. Treasury Department and his team of Secret Government Agents are determined to get that money back! But Steven and his best friends, Russell and Zoopy the giant dog, are more than a match for the Feds. After all, Steven is the president of the Flint Future Detectives Club, and the inventor of fantastic spying and detecting equipment such as the Snoopeeze 9000!

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree about an unforgettable family on a road-trip during one of the most important times in the civil rights movement. When the Watson family--ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron--sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don't realize that they're heading toward one of the darkest moments in America's history. The Watsons' journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything.   "A modern classic." --NPR "Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving." --The New York Times "One of the best novels EVER." --Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

Hit the road with Bud in this  Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy on a journey to find his father--from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963, a Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree.   It's 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase full of special things. 2. He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. 3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!   Bud's got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road to find this mystery man, nothing can stop him--not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself. "[A] powerfully felt novel." --The New York Times       

Sudan suffers from the general ridicule of his strange-looking hair, until he comes to accept and enjoy its enchantment. Ages 6-9

In this "searing work of historical fiction" (Booklist), Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Sharon M. Draper tells the epic story of a young girl torn from her African village, sold into slavery, and stripped of everything she has ever known--except hope. Amari's life was once perfect. Engaged to the handsomest man in her tribe, adored by her family, and fortunate enough to live in a beautiful village, it never occurred to her that it could all be taken away in an instant. But that was what happened when her village was invaded by slave traders. Her family was brutally murdered as she was dragged away to a slave ship and sent to be sold in the Carolinas. There she was bought by a plantation owner and given to his son as a "birthday present". Now, survival is all Amari can dream about. As she struggles to hold on to her memories, she also begins to learn English and make friends with a white indentured servant named Molly. When an opportunity to escape presents itself, Amari and Molly seize it, fleeing South to the Spanish colony in Florida at Fort Mose. Along the way, their strength is tested like never before as they struggle against hunger, cold, wild animals, hurricanes, and people eager to turn them in for reward money. The hope of a new life is all that keeps them going, but Florida feels so far away and sometimes Amari wonders how far hopes and dreams can really take her.

Teenage Gerald, who has spent years protecting his fragile half-sister from their abusive father, faces the prospect of one final confrontation before the problem can be solved. Ages 10 and up

Coretta Scott King Award

By the Coretta Scott King Honor author In an urban rooftop garden, a young African American boy named Jamal initiates an intriguing conversation with his grandmother when he asks her if she was ever a baby. Turns out Grandma was even once "the baby on the way," and she proceeds to tell the story of her birth, the tenth child in a poor farming family. As she discusses the events and traditions that accompanied her welcome to the world, from the fetching of the midwife to a folkways ritual of drinking water from a thimble, vivid, expressionistic paintings from a talented new illustrator evoke the past. A gentle and satisfying book that will inspire young readers to gather other stories about being the baby on the way.

Short stories about teenage love and angst. Ages 12 and up
Coretta Scott King Author Honors

elie, a young African American girl living in the South in the 1870's, wants desperately to win the costume contest at the All Hallows' Eve harvest festival. Ages 5-8

Tamika worries about her grandfather's reactions.

A boy learns to be a big brother in this award-winning picture book by the legendary author Eloise Greenfield and two-time Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator John Steptoe. Kevin asked his mother to bring him a little brother from the hospital, but she comes home with a little baby girl instead. Worse, Mama and Daddy look at her like she's the only baby in the world. It makes Kevin sick, until he begins to understand how important a big brother can be. Perfect for big brothers and sisters adjusting to their growing families! * ALA Notable Children's Book * Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book * IRA/CBC Children's Choices * Irma Simonton Black Award (Bank St. College of Ed.) *

When her mother moves the family to Harlem and enrolls her in the Nutcracker School of Ballet, reluctant dancer Alexandrea is picked to be the Sugar Plum Fairy in the big recital. Ages 1 and up

Illustrations and text welcome a new baby to some of life's delights, from "the glistening mystery of soap bubbles" to "the swish of leaves in the breeze." Ages 3-5

Billy's parents try to plan his life for him, including his choice of friends, but he has ideas of his own. Ages 5-8