African American Library

View our feature on Jacqueline Woodson's Feathers. “Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a...

"The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable."--(starred) School Library Journal...

A humorous, heartfelt, and fashion-filled contemporary novel about Macy Weaver, a young girl struggling with how to be her true self and make a best friend. Perfect for fans of From the Desk of Zoe Washington and Stand Up, Yumi Chung. Eleven-year-old Macy Weaver knows relationships are...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes an honest and touching depiction of friendship, first love, and everything in between. Perfect for fans of Love, Simon and What If It's Us. Courtney Cooper and Jupiter Sanchez (Coop & Jupe!) have been next-door neighbors and best...

In its first four months of operation, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture surpassed one million visits and quickly became a cherished, vital monument to the African American experience. And yet this accomplishment was never assured. In A Fool's Errand, founding director Lonnie Bunch tells his story of bringing his clear vision and leadership to realize this shared dream of many generations of Americans.

A heart-wrenching yet vividly hopeful novel about a Black girl's struggle to find the quiet beauty in life and friendship amid the chaos of grief and mental illness by New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling author Frederick Joseph. "Frederick is such a grounded and beautiful voice of...

#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica makes his return to the basketball court! There's a reason teammates call him "True." Because for basketball phenom Drew Robinson, there is nothing more true than his talent on the court. It's the kind that comes along once in a generation and is loaded...

"This book made me want to step aside, hand over the mic, and listen to Wes. A must-read." --Mariama J. Lockington, author of For Black Girls Like Me Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee-- Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That--and hanging out with his crew (his best...

A Newbery Honor Book The day D Foster enters Neeka and her best friend’s lives, the world opens up for them. Suddenly they’re keenly aware of things beyond their block in Queens, things that are happening in the world—like the shooting of Tupac Shakur—and in search of their Big Purpose...

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...

A wonderful new book is coming from Random House Children's Books...

Based on a viral video comes the story of one boy's positive energy and how a sunny outlook can turn everything around. It's a new day and Ayaan has woken up on the wrong side of the bed, where nothing feels quite right. What if he doesn't know the answer at school? What if he messes up? But as...

Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López's highly anticipated companion to their #1 New York Times bestseller The Day You Begin illuminates the power in each of us to face challenges with confidence. On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice...

Ada Ruth's mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. It's war time, and women are needed to fill the men's jobs. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time. They find strength in each other, and a stray...

Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the...

Winner of a Newbery Honor! Soonie's great-grandma was just seven years old when she was sold to a big plantation without her ma and pa, and with only some fabric and needles to call her own. She pieced together bright patches with names like North Star and Crossroads, patches with secret...

A speculative middle grade novel about three generations of Black girls connected across time and space through a wormhole in their school locker. A School Library Journal and Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year What if your locker was a wormhole to the past? On the first day of eighth...

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...

A tall tale inspired by the life and works of Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Young Toni knows that her stories are going to change the world. She's good at spinning a yarn, and in fact, she thinks she might be able to spin her stories into gold if she tries hard enough. Maybe her...

WINNER OF A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR AND THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE AWARD! Each kindness makes the world a little better This unforgettable book is written and illustrated by the award-winning team that created The Other Side and the Caldecott Honor winner Coming On Home Soon. With its powerful...