When I started this list of Black nonfiction books, I asked Black children’s book creators to contribute and categorize their titles. Some of the submitted titles were historical fiction, and thus did not make the final cut. However, these categories could well be applied to Black children’s and young adult literature in the genres of historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, and even poetry.

Testaments to Tradition (family, the arts, culture, cuisine, and community)

All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African American Spirituals by Ashley Bryan (Atheneum, 1991)

Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions by Margaret Musgrove, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon (Dial, 1980)

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated Christopher Myers (Holiday House, 2000)

Juneteenth: Freedom Day by Muriel Miller Branch, illustrated by Willis Branch (Cobblehill, 1998)

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Roaring Brook, 2015)

Rock of Ages: A Tribute to the Black Church by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Knopf, 2001)

The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip Hop by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Little Bee, 2019)

The Sound that Jazz Makes by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Walker, 2000)

Sugar Hill: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Albert Whitman, 2014)

[Read: Black Nonfiction: Truth, Testament, and Good Trouble]

Testaments in Tribute (full and partial biographies)

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda, 2009)

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Henry Holt, 2008)

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome (Holiday House, 2017)

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Greenwillow, 2008)

Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Erin K. Robinson (Crown, 2020)

By and By: Charles Albert Tindley, the Father of Gospel Music by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Atheneum, 2020)

The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Dragonfly, 2007)

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Lee & Low, 2020)

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Hyperion 1998)

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown, 2005)

Fearless Mary by Tami Charles, illustrated by Claire Almon (Albert Whitman, 2019)

Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight by Karyn Parsons, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Little, Brown, 2020)

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown, 2012)

Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Random House, 2012)

The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy by Kekla Magoon, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Quill Tree, 2021)

It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Lee & Low, 2012)

Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by Jaqueline Alcantara (Atheneum, 2021)

Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Atheneum, 2020)

The Legendary Miss Lena Horne by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon (Atheneum, 2018)

Let ‘er Buck! George Fletcher, the People’s Champion by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison (Little, Brown, 2017)

Love to Langston by Tony Medina, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Lee & Low, 2002)

Martin & Mahalia by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown 2013)

Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Scholastic, 2018)

Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (Katherine Tegen, 2012)

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021)

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller

by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Gregory Christie*

No Small Potatoes by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Don Tate (Knopf, 2018)

The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard, illustrated by Oge Mora (Schwartz & Wade, 2020)

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Candlewick, 2017)

She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Lee & Low, 2020)

Shirley Chisholm Dared by Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by April Harrison (Anne Schwartz, 2021)

Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown, 2009)

Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! by Andrea J. Loney, illustrated by Keith Mallett (Lee & Low, 2017)

Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by E. B. Lewis (Orchard, 1998)

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Candlewick, 2015)

William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate (Peachtree, 2020)

Testaments of Trials and Trauma (memoirs & histories of oppression)

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Lee & Low, 2005)

Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan (Atheneum, 2016)

Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Calkins Creek, 2018)

The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo by Tom Feelings (Dial, 1995)

Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes (Wordsong, 2019)

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Sonja Cherry-Paul, Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi (Little, Brown 2021)

Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Little, Brown, 2020)

To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, Illustrated by Tom Feelings (Dial, 1968)

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Carolrhoda, 2021)

Testaments of Triumph and Transformation (events/episodes from the struggle; collective action)

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by

R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda, 2015)

A Negro League Scrapbook by Carole Boston Weatherford (Wordsong, 2005)

Parker Looks Up by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry, illustrated by Brittany Jackson (Aladdin, 2019)

Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown, 2010)

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Versify, 2019)

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion, 2008)

Testaments to Train Up a Child (concepts, affirmations, odes, wisdom, quotations, how-to/self-help)

Afro-Bets ABC and Afro-Bets 123 by Cheryl Willis Hudson (Just Us Books, 1988)

All Because You Matter, by Tami Charles, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Orchard, 2020)

Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings, illustrated by Tom Feelings (1974)

Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book by Muriel Feelings, illustrated by Tom Feelings (1971)

Powerful Words: More Than 200 Years Of Extraordinary Writings by African Americans by Wade Hudson, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Scholastic, 2004)

Pretty Brown Face by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (HMH, 1997)

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson (Crown, 2018)

This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell, illustrated by Aurelia Durand (Frances Lincoln, 2020)

Carole Boston Weatherford’s 60 books include a Newbery Honor, three Caldecott Honors, and 2021 release Unspeakable.

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