February 26, 2020
Page 9
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O PINION
Reflecting on the Black Experience
Books all children
should read
M arian w right e delMan
I encour-
age parents,
grandparents,
aunts, uncles,
and adults ev-
erywhere to
give children
the gift of
books. The right book can spark a
lifelong love of reading and open
up a whole new world for a child
or teenager.
Children of color and children
born with a rich diversity of spe-
cial characteristics and needs must
be able to see themselves in the
books they read and be exposed to
a wide range of books reflective of
the nation and world we all share.
The Children’s Defense Fund
has a special list to share of books
that every black child and, in fact,
every child should read. They
reflect the black experience and
reflecting the full rainbow of our
children’s faces, cultures, and
needs, including the history that
still shapes the present.
by
The books are part of the Chil-
dren Defense Fund’s Freedom
Schools programs. They come
from diverse authors and illus-
trators, including Latino, Native
American, Asian American and
white characters, those from oth-
er countries and cultures and all
mixes in between. Giving a book
can give a child a chance to un-
derstand and step into the shoes
of those who share our nation and
world.
Theresa Venable, librarian
at the Children Defense Fund’s
Langston Hughes Library, assem-
bled the list with the help of other
academics representing the Afri-
can American community. They
were chosen for meeting the fol-
lowing criteria:
Giving children a sense of self;
encouraging children to develop
positive attitudes about themselves
and others; reinforcing a sense of
black heritage and black history;
providing a platform by which
children can learn about and fall in
love with characters that look like
themselves; inspiring children to
be the best they can be; assisting
children in seeing the beauty, hu-
mor, and strength in their families
and in others around them; inspir-
ing children to seek new ways of
problem solving; and encouraging
pride in African heritage.
Primary Fiction:
• Aunt Flossie’s Hats
(and Crab Cakes Later)
by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
• Mirandy and Brother Wind
by Patricia C. McKissack
• Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
by Margaree King Mitchell
• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
• Mufaro’s Beautiful
Daughters: An African Tale
by John Steptoe
• I Love My Hair!
by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Primary Nonfiction:
• Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Primary Poetry:
• Meet Danitra Brown
by Nikki Grimes
• In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall
illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Primary Sing-a-Long:
• Let It Shine by Ashley Bryan
Intermediate Fiction:
• The Watsons Go to
Birmingham by Christopher
Paul Curtis
• Zeely by Virginia Hamilton
• M.C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
• Justin and the Best Biscuits in
the World by Mildred Pitts Walter
• One Crazy Summer by Rita
Williams-Garcia
• P.S. Be Eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Intermediate Nonfiction:
• We Are the Ship: The Story
of Negro League Baseball by
Kadir Nelson
• Heart and Soul: The Story
of America and African
Americans by Kadir Nelson
• Let It Shine: Stories of Black
Women Freedom Fighters
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
• Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou
Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights
Movement by Carole Boston
Weatherford
Intermediate Poetry:
• Honey, I Love
by Eloise Greenfield
Young Adult Fiction:
• The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander
• Like Sisters on the Homefront
by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Toning the Sweep
by Angela Johnson
Adult Non-Fiction:
• March: Book One
by John Lewis
• March: Book Two
by John Lewis
• March: Book Three
by John Lewis
• Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
All Ages:
• Many Thousand Gone:
African Americans from Slavery
to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton
• The People Could Fly:
American Black Folktales
told by Virginia Hamilton
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