Children's Books - African American Authors

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

Phyllisia eventually recognizes that her own selfish pride rather than her mother's death and her father's tyrannical behavior created the gulf between her and her best friend. Ages 12 and up

When his mother goes off to work one Saturday, ten-year-old Paris and two friends spend the day on the streets of New York having fun and some hair-raising adventures too. Ages 1 -14

Ten-year-old Dreenie feels both intrigued and frightened when she thinks about the girl nicknamed Bluish, whose leukemia is making her pale and causing her to use a wheelchair. Ages 8 to 12

Concerned that her grandmother may die, Cammy is unprepared for the accidental death of another relative. Ages 10-14

A huge, old house with secret tunnels, a cantankerous caretaker, and buried treasure is a dream-come-true for 13-year-old Thomas. The fact that it's reputedly haunted only adds to its appeal! As soon as his family moves in, Thomas senses something strange about the Civil War era house, which used to be a critical stop on the Underground Railroad. Ages 11 and up

Although the other animals also feel threatened by the encroachment of humans, only Rundi and Coati journey north in search of a safer place to live. Ages 9 and up

As a slag heap, the result of strip mining, creeps closer to his house in the Ohio hills, fifteen-year-old M. C. is torn between trying to get his family away and fighting for the home they love. Ages 8 and up

Pretty Pearl, a spirited young African god child eager to show off her powers, travels to the New World where, disguised as a human, she lives among a band of free blacks who have created their own separate world deep inside a vast forest. Ages 11 and up

Recounts the journey of Black slaves to freedom via the underground railroad, an extended group of people who helped fugitive slaves in many ways. Ages 9-14

Twelve-year-old Buhlaire, a "mixed" child who feels out of place in her community, struggles to unearth her past and her family history as she gradually discovers more and more about her long-missing father. Ages 11-13

Already a leader in New York's underground world of homeless children, Buddy Clark takes on the responsibility of protecting the overweight, emotionally disturbed friend with whom he has been playing hooky from eighth grade all semester. Ages 8 and up
Newbery Honor Medal

Fourteen-year-old Tree, resentful of her working mother who leaves her in charge of a retarded brother, encounters the ghost of her dead uncle and comes to a deeper understanding of her family's problems. Ages 8-12
Newbery Honor Medal

Mama Luka of Harlem had told Lee Edward many stories about Jahdu, including a story with a strong taste, a heavy story, and a story full of mischief, but not until the cool and fresh story does Jahdu assume even a temporary identity. Ages 8 and up

Greeder's summer at her uncle's farm is made special because of her friendship with a very tall, composed woman who raises hogs and who closely resembles the magazine photograph of a Watutsi queen. Ages 8 and up

When Kofi's father, an Ashanti chief, is killed, Kofi is sold as a slave and ends up in Massachusetts, where his fate is in the hands of Paul Cuffe, an African American shipbuilder who works to return slaves to their homeland in Africa. Ages 9-12

Doris becomes friends with Yellow Bird as she helps him with his studies and his part in the school play and discovers that he has a problem known as dyslexia. Ages 10-13

Various people at a backyard picnic offer their comments on a young girl's tightly curled, "nappy" hair.
Ages 3-7

A rift develops in the closeness shared by Todd and Ezekiel, two African-American cousins, when Ezekiel tries to single-handedly end the problem of gang violence in his Denver neighborhood. Ages 9 and up

A swing spiritual based on the proverb "God blessed the child that's got his own."
Ages 5-10

An illustrated story of children from diverse backgrounds who learn and celebrate the fact that we all have a heritage and that we have a lot in common. Ages 5-10

As a new sophomore at an exclusive boarding school, a young black man is witness to the persecution of another student with bad acne.
Ages 12-15