African American Library

Newbery Honoree Derrick Barnes tackles timely issues of race and prejudice in this powerful, nuanced novel about an accomplished Black boy who strives to be seen as human. A CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR HONOREE ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, The Week Junior...

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth about the Underground Railroad and Black Americans' struggle for freedom. Perfect for fans of I Survived! and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. Before the Civil War, there was a crack team of abolitionists who used quilts and signal lanterns to guide...

In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a “Whites Only” town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of This Is My America! WINNER OF...

Inspired by the recent wave of activism led by young people fighting for racial justice, civil rights icon Ruby Bridges--who, at the age of six, was the first black child to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans--shares her story and offers a powerful call to action with this...

Tight: Lately, Bryan's been feeling it in all kinds of ways . . . Bryan knows what's tight for him--reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama is every day where he's from, and that gets him tight, wound up. And now Bryan's friend Mike pressures him with ideas...

Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids...

For fans of Nina LaCour's We Are Okay and Adam Silvera's History Is All You Left Me, this heartfelt and ultimately uplifting novel follows one sixteen-year-old girl's friend breakup through two concurrent timelines--ultimately proving that even endings can lead to new beginnings. "Stunning."...

A searing debut YA poetry and essay collection about a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after being diagnosed with leukemia in their early twenties, for fans of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals and Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout. When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with...

Stealing a baby dragon was easy! Hiding it is a little more complicated, in this second book in the critically acclaimed Dragons in a Bag series. Jaxon had just one job--to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best...

Get Up, Stand Up! for the king of reggae music! Bob Marley was a reggae superstar who is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of all time. Born in rural Jamaica, this musician and songwriter began his career with his band, The Wailing Wailers, in 1963. The Wailers went on to...

From celebrity author Kevin Hart comes the laugh-out-loud sequel to Marcus Makes a Movie about a young boy who has big Hollywood dreams--and the hustle to make it happen. "Everybody, grab a ticket and run for a front row seat to Marcus Makes a Movie!" —Judd Winick, New York Times bestselling...

Jacqueline Woodson gives us a tender and moving story about two siblings who don’t know what to expect when they’re sent to live with an unfamiliar aunt, but soon discover that there’s plenty of love to go around when they need it most. Sometimes, even when a mama loves you, she can’t...

Bobby is a typical urban New York City teenager--impulsive, eager, restless. For his sixteenth birthday he cuts school with his two best buddies, grabs a couple of slices at his favorite pizza joint, catches a flick at a nearby multiplex, and gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes...

A charming audiobook about unconditional love from New York Times bestselling author Chasten Buttigieg, perfect for families who love each other the whole year through. Jojo and Rosie's papa has been away on a trip, and they can't wait to welcome him home! They make signs, they pick flowers, and...

National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby) returns with a new picture book, adapted for audio, that serves as a modern bedtime classic. As children all over the world get ready for bed, the moon watches over them...

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate comes the first book in a side-splitting illustrated series from comedian and film star Craig Robinson, #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Mansbach, and NAACP History Maker recipient and cartoonist Keith Knight. Jake can barely play an...

Another powerful story in the Logan Family Saga and companion to Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. A day of conflict and tragedy. Jeremy Simms watches from the porch of the general store as the weekly bus from Jackson comes through his town. His neighbor...

Renowned American astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi (born James Plummer) pens a gripping, gritty coming-of-age memoir, from young boy to graduate-school student, that will resonate with teenagers, especially those of color, who are facing many choices and obstacles as they navigate their young adult...

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) World Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed “The Greatest,”...

Chronicling the story of the last Africans brought illegally to America in 1860, African Town is a powerful and stunning novel-in-verse. In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and...