Stories for African American History Month

I think history is best taught through stories. Facts and dates are fine for knowing, but it is through story that we can best come to a deeper understanding of what those facts and dates mean. I think that’s why genealogy is such an addictive hobby—the facts are easier than ever to track down with all the tools available on the Internet (sites such as  Heritage Quest, Ancestry and Rootsweb) but it takes going to the place, finding the people who know the stories that go with those facts, for the facts to matter—at least that’s how it works for me. In honor of the month, I’ve pulled together a list of children’s titles that I think give heart and that deeper understanding to various points of African American history.  Most of these are picture books, a few are novels. This list is by no means comprehensive, just some things I’ve loved over the years.   The DCPL collection is loaded with lots of wonderful non-fiction for children, as well as for adults,  so once you’ve cruised through my list, type  “African americans literature” in the keyword search section of the catalog and browse the collection.  Don’t forget to use the word juvenile in the keyword search to narrow the selection down to children’s materials.

• Molly Bannaky by Alice McGill
• Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom by Veronica Chambers
• Middle Passage by Tom Feelings
• In the Time of the Drums by Kim Siegelson
• To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
• Honey Bea by Kim Seigelson
• Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
• Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
• Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
• Black Cowboy by Julius Lester
• Ragtime Tumpie by Alan Schroeder
• Nobody Owns the Sky by Reeve Lindbergh
• Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor
• Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia C. McKissack
• Wind Flyers by Angela Johnson
• Play Ball, Jackie! by Stephen Krensky
• Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
• Freedom Summer by Debbie Wiles
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
• A Tugging String by David T. Greenberg
• Blues Journey by Walter Dean Myers
• What a Wonderful World by George Weiss and Bob Thiele
• My America by Jan Spivey Gilchrist

Related posts:

1. Great African-American Movies This Month at the Library
2. Family Stories Month
3. WE NEED YOUR HELP! African-American Homework Help
4. Celebrating Black History Month in America
5. March is Women’s History Month

Tagged as: African-Americans, children's books, genealogy, history