black history children's booksDid you know...

February is Black History Month

February is Black History Month and it's a time to honor great African Americans like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It's also a good time to introduce yourself and your children to the many ordinary people who fought for civil rights and equality and to celebrate the contributions they made. The library has books about many of them. Here's a sampling of what can be found in our juvenile collections. Visit a much longer list for more titles.

Picture Books

Bessie Smith and the Night Raiders by Sue Stauffacher
The blues singer single-handedly scares off KKK members who are trying to disrupt her show

Circle Unbroken by Margot Theis Raven
The story of the art of the seagrass basket, brought from Africa and preserved in South Carolina and Georgia

Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House by Faith Ringgold
Dinner is special when twelve inspiring African American women step out of their portraits and join the family

Non-Fiction

ABC of African American Poetry edited by Ashley Bryan
A poem by an African American poet for each letter of the alphabet describes the African American experience

A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 by Diane McWhorter
Explores the sacrifices and triumphs of African Americans in their pursuit of social and political equality

Building a New Land: African Americans in Colonial America by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson
Discusses the changing roles, rights, and contributions of African Americans in the early United States

Check out an extensive list of Children’s Books for Black History Month