This blog post is part of the Woodson Project—a series of events, posts, and book lists on subjects including empowering Black families, amplifying Black voices, exploring Black identity and intersectionality, and discovering Black influencers in STEAM. The project was created by branch staff from across NYPL to honor Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who in 1926 created Negro History Week—the precursor to Black History Month.

This booklist—with titles for children, young adults and adults—features just a small sampling of books written by Black authors. From a picture book biography of cowboy and "people's champion" George Fletcher, to speculative fiction about foreseeing the death of a brother, to a dual biography of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, these authors bring their experiences and perspectives to these fictional stories and nonfiction accounts in a way that only they can. We hope these books will inspire you to seek out more Black authors in our collection to read.

Children's Books

Let'er Buck!: George Fletcher, The People's Champion by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Shares the life of the cowboy, including his early life in Eastern Oregon, why he was so great with horses, and the time he unfairly lost the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up to a white man, but was declared the "people's champion."

 

 

Boonoonoonous Hair by Olive Senior, illustrations by Laura James

Young Jamilla hates her hair because it doesn't behave like the other girls' hair, but soon her mom shows her how wonderful it can be.

 

 

Let's Clap, Jump, Sing & Shout; Dance, Spin & Turn It Out!; Games, Songs & Stories From An African American Childhood collected by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

A Newbery Honor-winning author and a two-time Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator present a collection of classic, culturally inspired hand clap games, circle games, songs and poems, including "Eenie, Meenie Sassafreeny," "Little Sally Walker" and "Amazing Grace." 

 

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It: A Monologue Novel by Andrea Davis, illustrations by Brian Pinkney

Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B. Little relate their Mississippi family's struggles and triumphs from 1927 to 1968 while struggling as sharecroppers, living under Jim Crow, and fighting for Civil Rights.

 

 

 

Zara's New Eid Dress by Nafisah Abdul-Rahim

Zara wants to celebrate a special day in her culture with a special dress! 

 

 

 

 

 

Young Adult Books

The Cost Of Knowing by Brittney Morris

Dear Martin meets They Both Die at the End  in this gripping, evocative novel about a Black teen who has the power to see into the future, whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother's imminent death.

 

 

 

 

Love Is A Revolution by Renee Watson

Harlem teenager Nala is looking forward to a summer of movies and ice cream until she falls in love with the very woke Tye and pretends to be a social activist.

 

 

 

 

 

One Of The Good Ones: Shouldn't Being Human Be Enough? by Maritza Moulite

A shockingly powerful exploration of the lasting impact of prejudice and the indomitable spirit of sisterhood that will have readers questioning what it truly means to be an ally, from sister-writer duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, authors of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine.

 

 

 

 

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Raised in isolation, Tarisai yearns for the closeness she could have as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11, but her mother, The Lady, has magically compelled Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince.

 

 

 

 

Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall

Seventeen-year-old Frankie Green yearns to leave Jamaica and study in the United States, but when his father is shot he is forced to give up his scholarship and join his uncle Joe's gang.

 

 

 

 

 

Adult Books

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

An unambitious college graduate accepts a job at Sumwun, the hottest NYC startup, and reimagines himself as “Buck” a ruthless salesman and begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force. 

 

 

 

 

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

After completing her Ph.D. in astronomy, a young, straightlaced, Type A personality Black woman goes on a girls’ weekend to Vegas to celebrate and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t even know.

 

 

 

 

The Revolution Will Not Be Theorized: Cultural Revolution In The Black Power Era by Errol Anthony Henderson

The study of the impact of Black Power Movement (BPM) activists and organizations in the 1960s through '70s has largely been confined to their role as proponents of social change; but they were also theorists of the change they sought.

 

 

 

You'll Never Believe What Happened To Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar

A writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and her sister write with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism.

 

 

 

 

The Sword And The Shield: The Revolutionary Lives Of Malcom X And Martin Luther King Jr. by Peniel E. Joseph

The Sword and the Shield is a dual biography of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King that transforms our understanding of the twentieth century's most iconic African American leaders. Peniel E. Joseph reveals a nuanced portrait of two men who, despite markedly different backgrounds, inspired and pushed each other throughout their adult lives. This is a strikingly revisionist biography, not only of Malcolm and Martin, but also of the movement and era they came to define.

 

 

 

Contributors: Ramon Carela, Asuncion Cora, Whitney Davidson-Rhodes, Esther Jackson, Carolyn Lawerence, Dhariyah Luqman, Allison Nellis, Micheal Okoli, Rachel Roseberry, Wayne Walters

 

 

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.