26 Children’s Books That Celebrate Black Heroes From scientists and singers, to activists and artists: these books will teach children about black heroes.
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BuzzFeed
1. Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson, illustrated by Christian Robinson.
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Random House
Who: Florence Mills (a singer — with a voice like a bird — who was popular during the Harlem Renaissance, appeared in shows on Broadway, and became an advocate for black performers). Buy here.
2. A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
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Knopf Books for Young Readers
Who: Horace Pippin (an artist who overcame a war injury to his arm and went on to have his paintings displayed in museums all over the country). Buy here.
3. Dizzy by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Sean Qualls.
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Arthur A. Levine Books
Who: Dizzy Gillespie (a trumpeter, bandleader, and composer who popularized the bebop style of jazz). Buy here.
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4. Fly High!: The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, illustrated by Teresa Flavin.
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Aladdin
Who: Bessie Coleman (the first African American to have a pilot’s license — she went all the way to France to earn her license after every American school refused to teach her). Buy here.
5. Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter.
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Who: Wangari Maathai (an environmentalist who began her path to winning the Nobel Peace Prize by simply planting a few seedlings). Buy here.
6. Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan with Roslyn M. Jordan, illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
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Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Who: Michael Jordan (pretty much the most famous basketball player of all time — this story focuses on his childhood and is written by his mother and sister). Buy here.
7. Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jamey Christoph.
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Albert Whitman & Company
Who: Gordon Parks (a photographer who captured racism with his camera and eventually became the first black director in Hollywood). Buy here.
8. Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney.
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Jump At The Sun
Who: Sojourner Truth (a freed slave who used her strength to become an abolitionist and women’s rights activist). Buy here.
9. Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison.
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Lee & Low Books
Who: Melba Liston (a child prodigy trombonist who played with everyone from Count Basie to Billie Holiday).
Buy here.
10. Alvin Ailey by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
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Disney-Hyperion
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Who: Alvin Ailey (a choreographer whose work helped popularize modern dance, and whose company still exists today). Buy here.
11. I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos.
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Dial Books
Who: Jackie Robinson (the first black player in Major League Baseball). Buy here.
12. When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III.
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Roaring Brook Press
Who: DJ Kool Herc (hip-hop pioneer). Buy here.
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13. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, illustrated by George Ford.
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Scholastic
Who: Ruby Bridges (the first African-American child to integrate a New Orleans school). Buy here.
14. She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate.
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Balzer + Bray
Who: Effa Manley (a sports executive and the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame). Buy here.
15. Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
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Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Who: Booker T. Washington (educator, university founder, and advisor to President Theodore Roosevelt).
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Buy here.
16. If A Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold.
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Aladdin
Who: Rosa Parks (the civil rights activist who made her famous stand [or sit] when she refused to leave her seat on the bus).
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Buy here.
17. Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You A Pie by Robbin Gourley.
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Clarion
Who: Edna Lewis (a chef who participated in the “farm to table� movement many years before it became the trend it is today). Buy here.
18. Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
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Carolrhoda Books
Who: Bass Reeves (a former slave who became the first African-American deputy U.S. marshal). Buy here.
19. Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson.
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Chronicle Books
Who: Josephine Baker (a dancer, singer, and actress who was also devoted to fighting racism in the United States). Buy here.
20. Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
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Scholastic
Who: Henry Brown (a young slave who mailed himself to freedom). Buy here.
21. It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Trayler Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
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Lee & Low Books
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Who: Bill Traylor (a self-taught folk artist who didn’t start to draw until he was in his eighties). Buy here.
22. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz.
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HMH Books / Via cathyso3.wordpress.com
Who: Wilma Rudolph (a runner who had polio as a child and went on to win three Olympic gold medals in one year).
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Buy here.
23. Molly, by Golly! by Dianne Ochiltree, illustrated by Kathleen Kemly.
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Calkins Creek
Who: Molly Williams (America’s first female firefighter). Buy here.
24. A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki.
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Aladdin
Who: George Washington Carver (a professor, botanist and inventor who devised many ways to use peanuts — well beyond just for their butter). Buy here.
25. Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls.
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Candlewick
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Who: Ella Fitzgerald (the famous jazz singer, sometimes called “the first lady of song”). Buy here.
26. A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream by Kristy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper.
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Philomel Books
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Who: Janet Collins (the first African-American prima ballerina). Buy here.
Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mallorymcinnis/black-history-picture-books Futhermore: 26 Children’s Books That Celebrate Black Heroes
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