Be Boy Buzz
Celebrates being Bold, All Bliss Boy, All Bad Boy Beast, Boy running, Boy Jumping, Boy Sitting Down, and being in Love With Being a Boy.
Black Joy
Though Black children contend with racism and oppression, they are children foremost, with all the laughter, friends, and school and family drama that entails. These books celebrate Black kids–from babies to middle schoolers–being kids.
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We’ve put together even more Kids & Teens African American Booklists.
A Beach Tail
When his father tells him not to leave the lion he is drawing on the beach, a little boy starts making a very, very long tail–and a trail to follow back. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on Hoopla.
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair. You can also check out this title as eBook on Hoopla, as video on Hoopla or as video on with read along on Hoopla.
From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Zoe has never met her father because he has been in prison since just before she was born. She’s busy pursuing her goal of being on the Food Network Kids Bake Challenge when she gets a letter from him, right before her twelfth birthday, throwing her emotions and plans into disarray. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby, as eAudio on Hoopla, as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eBook on Hoopla.
Hair Love
A little girl’s daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Jazz Baby
Baby and his family make some jazzy music.
Julián Is a Mermaid
A picture book celebration of self-love and individuality, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby, as eAudio on Hoopla or as video with read along on Hoopla.
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Ten middle-schoolers walk home from school. Ten lives, ten unique points of view, ten minds thinking of jokes, grandparents, boogers, money, fear, love, and skateboarding, among other things. And a school bus, falling from the sky. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby or as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
In the summer of 1984, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace of Huntsville, Alabama, visits her father in Harlem, where her fascination with outer space and science fiction interfere with her finding acceptance. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby or as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Saturday
When all of their special Saturday plans go awry, Ava and her mother still find a way to appreciate one another and their time together. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby, as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby, as video on Hoopla, as video with read along on Hoopla, as video in Spanish on Hoopla or as video with read along in Spanish on Hoopla.
The Season of Styx Malone
Caleb Franklin and his younger brother, Bobby Gene, spend an extraordinary summer with their new, older neighbor, Styx Malone, a foster boy from the city. You can also check out this title as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby or as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
The Sweetest Sound
Shy ten-year-old Cadence grapples with an overprotective father, a mother who’s skipped town to pursue stardom, and what to do when a recording of her amazing voice leaks before she’s ready to share it with the world.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy
Collection of poems with accompanying illustrations that celebrates the everyday life of Black boys.