Books: 10 award-winning African American books for kids
"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia. (Common Sense Media/Handout)
"Last Stop on Market Street," by Matt de la Pena. (Common Sense Media/Handout)
"The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander. (Common Sense Media/Handout)
All the excellent, award-winning books on this list celebrate African-American people and culture — and all are great picks for your kids.
’Last Stop on Market Street,’ by Matt de la Pena, ages 3 and older
“Last Stop on Market Street,” which won the 2016 Newbery Medal as well as a 2016 Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Book Award for illustrator Christian Robinson, is aimed at younger readers but holds valuable, uplifting life lessons for all ages. Without being heavy-handed or didactic, it teaches the value, and fun, of acceptance and generosity in a less than perfect world. Nana, a strong, graceful African-American grandmother, believes in finding beauty in the world around her. By answering her grandson’s questions, she gently imparts her wisdom to him on a crosstown bus trip that takes them from church to the soup kitchen where they help out each Sunday after church. This is a quiet book with an amazingly powerful message about learning to live comfortably amid the diversity of ordinary life.
’Trombone Shorty,’ by Troy Andrews, ages 4 and older
“Trombone Shorty” won the 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award. This picture-book autobiography follows the rise of a young trombone player in New Orleans and describes the support and encouragement he receives from friends and family.
’Henry’s Freedom Box,’ by Ellen Levine, ages 5 and older
This book is based on a true story from the Underground Railroad and is as riveting as the strong, straightforward stare of the young boy on its cover. It may disturb younger readers, as it should, that children are sold away from their families, and parents should be prepared to talk about this and the other harsh realities of Henry’s life. An author’s note at the end tells of the real Henry Brown and his Freedom Box on which this story was based.
’When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop,’ by Laban Carrick Hill, ages 6 and older
“When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop” is an excellent overview of hip-hop’s New York origin story. Tracing the life of Jamaican immigrant and highly influential turntable master and rapper Kool Herc, author Laban Carrick Hill sheds light on an underappreciated moment in American cultural history.
’Elijah of Buxton,’ by Christopher Paul Curtis, ages 9 and older
“Elijah of Buxton” isn’t as graphic as some books about slavery, it has its share of horrors, including beating deaths (only the aftermath described), lynching, scars from beatings and brandings, and adults and children shackled, starved, and deprived of water.
’The Crossover,’ by Kwame Alexander, ages 9 and older
Author and poet Kwame Alexander’s “The Crossover” is a poignant novel in verse that mixes basketball, family, and coming-of-age themes and includes serious issues regarding adult health and a parent’s life-threatening condition. It won the 2015 Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Book Honor, and may inspire a discussion about healthy lifestyle choices and the impact of those choices on people and their loved ones. There’s mild name-calling when characters are in the throes of sports-related trash-talking, and sexual content is limited to middle-school crushes and a kiss. The novel offers a positive example of a loving, intact family with active, involved parents and uses adult characters to provide a guiding influence.
’Brown Girl Dreaming,’ by Jacqueline Woodson, ages 10 and older
“Brown Girl Dreaming” won the 2014 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the 2015 Coretta Scott King Book Award and was named a 2015 Newbery Honor Book. It addresses growing up in the segregated South, racism, Christianity, divorce, sickness, and the deaths of relatives. There is discussion of violent reactions to 1960s-era civil rights marchers and their fears about traveling in the South at night because of violence against African-Americans. A woman becomes pregnant without mention of a husband or the child’s father, and there are descriptions of adults having drinks at parties. Still, for the most part the people depicted in the book are multidimensional and positively portrayed. Read by the author in the audiobook version, which the American Library Association named a 2015 Notable Children’s Recording.
’One Crazy Summer,’ by Rita Williams-Garcia, ages 11 and older
This book is a gem. Without violence, bad language, or sex, this story honestly explores the journey — both physical and emotional — made by three girls to visit their estranged mother. Delphine and her sisters are thoughtful, delightful characters. Cecile (the mother) abandoned her three daughters when they were infants and makes no apology for it — she doesn’t want them to visit her and she barely cares for them. But there is more to Cecile’s character than just being a deadbeat mom, as she represents changing times in America. The story is set in Oakland, Calif., 1968, and as such, civil action and unrest are part of the story, but are subtle and informational rather than direct and preachy.
’All American Boys,’ by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, ages 12 and older
“All American Boys” is an eye-opening view of a brutal assault by a police officer on an innocent 16-year-old boy as seen through the alternating perspectives of the abused and a teen witness to his beating. It was named a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book. There’s racial tension, and violence includes a boy beaten by an adult (with severe injuries described), fights between boys, and threats. There’s also positive activism in the face of brutality, which should inspire tweens and teens. Some strong language includes “s–t” and f–k.”
’Monster,’ by Walter Dean Myers, ages 13 and older
“Monster” is about a teen on trial for murder. While part of the story is told as a movie script, it employs highly realistic writing, with both poor and proper grammar used appropriately for each character. Grainy photographs contribute to the realistic atmosphere. There is some gritty material: characters are beaten up, the rape of inmates is implied, and Steve is terrified of being sent to prison. The high drama in this dialogue-driven story will appeal to even reluctant readers. And teens will appreciate debating whether Steve’s guilty or not, and related issues, such as the fairness of our judicial system.