African/African American Reading List - Jane Addams Peace Association

They Call Me Teach

by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

(Winner, 2025)

Mascot

by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell

(Honor, 2024)

My Red, White, and Blue

by Alana Tyson, illustrated by London Ladd

(Finalist, 2024)

Because Claudette

by Tracey Baptiste, illustrated by Tonya Engel

(Finalist, 2023)

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise

(Finalist, 2023)

Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge

by Ray Anthony Shepard, illustrated by Keith Mallett

(Honor, 2022)

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone

by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson

(Finalist, 2022)

Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb

by Veronica Chambers, illustrated by Rachelle Baker

(Finalist, 2020)

Before She Was Harriet

by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

(Honor, 2018)

First Step, The: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial

The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial

by Susan E. Goodman, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

(Honor, 2017)

Book Itch, The: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem's Greatest Bookstore

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore

by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

(Honor, 2016)

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

by Kadir Nelson

(Honor, 2012)

Ruth and the Green Book

by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

(Honor, 2011)

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

(Honor, 2011)

Paul Robeson

by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by George Ford

(Winner, 1976)

Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos, The

The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos

by Lucia M. Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre

(Honor, 2009)

The Village That Vanished

by Ann Grifalconi, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

(Honor, 2003)

Band of Angels, A: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers

A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers

by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Raúl Colón

(Honor, 2000)

No More Strangers Now: Young Voices from a New South Africa

by Tim McKee

(Honor, 1999)

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman

by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz

(Winner, 1997)

All the Colors of the Race

by Arnold Adoff, illustrated by John Steptoe

(Commended, 1983)

Radiant

by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

(Finalist, 2026)

How Sweet the Sound

by Kwame Alexander and Charly Palmer

(Finalist, 2026)

Freedom Braids

by Monique Duncan and Oboh Moses

(Finalist, 2025)

The Last Stand

by Antwan Eady, Jerome Pumphrey, and Jarrett Pumphrey

(Finalist, 2025)

A Hero Like Me

by Jen Reid, Angela Joy, illustrated by Leire Salaberria

(Finalist, 2024)

How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee

by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison

(Finalist, 2024)

When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s Lost Generation and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

by Yolanda Gladden, Keisha Morris, illustrated by Tamara Pizzoli

(Finalist, 2023)

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

by Angela Joy and Janelle Washington

(Winner, 2023)

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

by Nikki Grimes

(Finalist, 2022)

Highest Tribute, The: Thurgood Marshall's Life, Leadership, and Legacy

The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy

by Kekla Magoon, illustrated by Laura Freeman

(Finalist, 2022)

Lizzie Demands a Seat!: Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights

by Beth Anderson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

(Finalist, 2020)

Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation

by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Leslie Staub

(Honor, 2016)

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families

by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

(Winner, 2012)

You and Me and Home Sweet Home

by George Ella Lyon and Stephanie Anderson

(Honor, 2010)

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai

by Claire A. Nivola

(Winner, 2009)

Birmingham, 1963

by Carole Boston Weatherford

(Honor, 2008)

Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights

by James Haskins, illustrated by Benny Andrews

(Winner, 2006)

Hot Day on Abbott Avenue

by Karen English, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe

(Honor, 2005)

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier

(Winner, 2002)

Through My Eyes

by Ruby Bridges and Margo Lundell

(Winner, 2000)

Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories

by Ellen Levine

(Winner, 1994)

Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs

by Mary E. Lyons

(Honor, 1993)

Middle of Somewhere: A Story of South Africa

by Sheila Gordon

(Honor, 1991)

Faith Takes the Train

by Kesi Augustine and Mokshini

(Finalist, 2026)

Let Us March On!: James Weldon Johnson and the Silent Protest Parade

by Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long, and Xia Gordon

(Finalist, 2025)

Barracoon

by Zora Neale Hurston, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, and Ibram X. Kendi

(Finalist, 2025)

Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution

by Sherri Winston

(Finalist, 2023)

Race Against Time: The Untold Story of Scipio Jones and the Battle to Save Twelve Innocent Men

by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace

(Finalist, 2022)

Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress

by Alicia D. Williams and April Harrison

(Winner, 2022)

Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea

by Meena Harris, illustrated by Ana Ramírez González

(Finalist, 2020)

Black Is a Rainbow Color

by Angela Joy and Ekua Holmes

(Honor, 2021)

The Day You Begin

by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López

(Winner, 2019)

Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

by Jonah Winter and Shane W. Evans

(Honor, 2016)

Each Kindness

by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis

(Winner, 2013)

Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary

by Elizabeth Partridge

(Winner, 2010)

Surrender Tree, The: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom

by Margarita Engle

(Winner, 2009)

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

by Larry Dane Brimner

(Winner, 2008)

I See the Rhythm

by Toyomi Igus, illustrated by Michele Wood

(Honor, 1999)

Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

by Chris Crowe

(Honor, 2004)

Long Hard Journey, A: The Story of the Pullman Porter

A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter

by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick McKissack

(Winner, 1990)

Second Daughter: The Story of a Slave Girl

by Mildred Pitts Walter

(Honor, 1997)

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

by Jacqueline Woodson

(Honor, 1996)

Now Is Your Time!: The African-American Struggle for Freedom

by Walter Dean Myers

(Honor, 1992)

Escape to Freedom: A Play about Young Frederick Douglass

by Ossie Davis

(Honor, 1979)

A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich

by Alice Childress

(Honor, 1974)

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze

by Derrick Barnes

(Finalist, 2026)

Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card—And Helped Change History

by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jerry Jordan

(Finalist, 2026)

Ceecee: Underground Railroad Cinderella

by Shana Keller and Laura Freeman

(Finalist 2026)

Dear You, Dream Big!

by Baptiste Paul and Toni D. Chambers

(Finalist, 2025)

That Flag

by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith

(Honor, 2024)

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader

by Michelle Duster, illustrated by Laura Freeman

(Honor, 2023)

Because of You, John Lewis

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown

(Finalist, 2023)

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book

by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

(Finalist, 2023)

Song for the Unsung, A: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington

A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington

by Carole Boston Weatherford, Rob Sanders, illustrated by Byron McCray

(Winner, 2024)

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

(Finalist, 2020)

Teachers March!, The: How Selma's Teachers Changed History

The Teachers March!: How Selma’s Teachers Changed History

by Sandra Neil Wallace, Rich Wallace, illustrated by Charly Palmer

(Finalist, 2020)

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon

by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Laura Freeman

(Finalist, 2020)

Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World

by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Erin K. Robinson

(Finalist, 2020)

When Stars Are Scattered

by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, and Iman Geddy

(Finalist, 2020)

Freedom Soup

by Tami Charles, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara

(Finalist, 2020)

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights March

by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Elspeth Leacock, Susan Buckley, illustrated by P.J. Loughran

(Winner, 2016)

The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement

by Teri Kanefield

(Winner, 2015)

Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights & Civil Rights Set the Stage for MLK Jr.’s Final Hours

by Ann Bausum

(Honor, 2013)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

by Phillip Hoose

(Honor, 2010)

Escape of Oney Judge, The: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom

The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom

by Emily Arnold McCully

(Winner, 2008)

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

by Tim Tingle, illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges

(Honor, 2007)

The Day Gogo Went to Vote

(Honor, 1997)

by Elinor Batezat Sisulu, illustrated by Sharon Wilson

I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This

by Jacqueline Woodson

(Honor, 1995)

Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky

by Faith Ringgold

(Winner, 1993)

Song of the Trees

by Mildred D. Taylor, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

(Honor, 1976)

Creaky Acres

by Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder

(Finalist, 2026)

The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit

by Kelly Crull

(Finalist, 2026)

I Heard: An American Journey

by Jaha Nailah Avery and Steffi Walthall

(Finalist, 2025)

To Boldly Go

by Angela Dalton, illustrated by Lauren Semmer

(Finalist, 2024)

Justice Ketanji: The Story of US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

by Denise Lewis Patrick, illustrated by Kim Holt

(Finalist, 2024)

¡Mambo Mucho Mambo!: The Dance That Crossed Color Lines

by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

(Finalist, 2023)

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

(Honor, 2022)

Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Sonja Cherry-Paul, illustrated by Rachelle Baker

(Finalist, 2022)

Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book

by Keila V. Dawson, illustrated by Alleanna Harris

(Finalist, 2022)

Talk, The: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth

The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth

by Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson, and Torrey Maldonado

The Day Saida Arrived

by Susana Gómez Redondo and Sonja Wimmer

(Finalist, 2020)

Steamboat School

by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Ron Husband

(Winner, 2017)

New Shoes

by Susan Lynn Meyer, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

(Winner, 2016)

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal

by Margarita Engle

(Honor, 2015)

We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song

by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

(Honor, 2014)

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March

by Cynthia Y. Levinson

(Winner, 2013)

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story

by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Bettye Stroud, illustrated by John Holyfield

(Honor, 2012)

Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry

by Scott Nelson and Marc Aronson

(Honor, 2009)

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

by Russell Freedman

(Honor, 2007)

Night Boat to Freedom

by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

(Honor, 2007)

Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope

by Beverley Naidoo and Desmond Tutu

(Winner, 2004)

Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues

by Harriette Gillem Robinet

(Honor, 2001)

The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963

by Christopher Paul Curtis

(Honor, 1996)

Middle Passage, The: White Ships/Black Cargo

The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo

by Tom Feelings

(Commended, 1996)

Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave

by Virginia Hamilton

(Winner, 1989)

TeachingBooks defines their category of “African/African American” as: “Books focusing on the histories, cultures, experiences, and perspectives of people of African descent living anywhere in the world.”

More Resources

February is Black History Month! Learn more here.

Children’s Africana Book Awards

Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association give annual awards to children’s and young adult books that give an accurate and balanced understanding of African societies and issues. Learn more here.

Coretta Scott King Award

Sponsored by the American Library Association, honoring African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. Learn more here.