Working in a school where 90+ percent of the student population is African-american, I am always on the hunt for great books that feature African-american themes.  This page includes the books that I have found that I think are very successful with my students or as teaching tools throughout the year.

The books listed below are:

• Fiction books featuring African-american characters
• Non-fiction picture books featuring African-americans
• Books that are biographies of African-americans, or
• Books by African-american authors
• Books about African-American history

Fiction chapter books:

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Garcia-Williams

Fiction picture books:

The Girl Who Spun Gold, by Virginia Hamilton (see my lesson idea)

Love Twelve Miles Long, by Glenda Armand

The stories of Ezra Jack Keats

Non-fiction picture books:

Langston’s Train Ride, by Robert Burleigh

My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris

Nelson Mandela, by Kadir Nelson

Richard Wright and the Library Card, by William Miller

Rosa, by Nikki Giovanni

Women of Hope: African Americans who Made a Difference, by Joyce Hansen

Biography:

Etched in Clay: the life of Dave, enslaved potter and poet, by Andrea Cheng

Story Painter: the life of Jacob Lawrence, by John Duggleby

African-american authors:

Of Thee I Sing, by Barack Obama