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Picture books by Black authors and illustrators for Black History Month

2/5/2026

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We've had the privilege of featuring many Black books on the KidLit in Color blog written and illustrated by Black creatives. Below are some of our features and favorites in picture books. We hope you'll check out the author interviews for those we've featured to learn about the inspiration and writing process behind these remarkable titles. 

We also hope you'll help readers find these titles and more to curate a diverse home and school library.  
Black history month picture book collage

Brown Baby Lullaby by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrator AG Ford

Together We Ride by Valerie Bolling, illustrator Kaylani Juanita


Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, illustrator Luisa Uribe

Jayden’s Impossible Garden by Mélina Mangal, illustrator Ken Daley

Better Together Cinderella by Ashley Franklin, illustrator Ebony Glenn

Under the Clam Moon by Kaitlyn Wells, illustrator Mariyah Rahman


Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter, illustrator Oge Mora

Prince: A Little Golden Book Biography by Nikki Shannon Smith, illustrator Don Tate


Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit by Esau McCaulley, illustrator LaTonya Jackson

Fly by Brittany J. Thurman, illustrator Anna Cunha

Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Fay Duncan, Keturah A. Bobo, illustrator


The Bronx is My Home by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, illustrator Kim Holt

Not Done Yet by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrator Nina Crews

Stella Keeps the Sun Up by Clothilde Ewing, illustrator Lynn Gaines


The March of Hope by Valerie Bolling, illustrator Monica Mikai 

The Juneteenth Story by Alliah L. Agostini, illustrator Sawyer Cloud


All Aboard the Schooltrain by Glenda Armand, illustrator Keisha Morris

All Because You Matter by Tami Charles, illustrator Bryan Collier

Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, Patrick Dougher, photography Jamel Shabazz

Six Triple Eight by Tonya Abari, illustrator Lance Evans

Keyana Loves Her Family by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

The ABC’s of Black History by Rio Cortez, illustrator Lauren Semmer

Big Tune by Alliah L. Agostini, illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice

Peaches by Gabriele Davis, illustrator Kim Holt


Elijah’s Easter Suit by Brentom Jackson, illustrator Emmanuel Boateng

Zara In the Middle by Erika Lynne Jones

Miles of Style by Lisa D. Brathwaite, illustrator Lynn Gaines

They Built Me for Freedom by Tonya Duncan Ellis, illustrator Jenin Mohammed

Old to Joy by Anita Crawford Clark


A Season for Fishin’: A Fish Fry Tradition by Pamela Courtney, illustrator Toni D. Chambers

Leo Wakes Up Grumpy by Corlette Douglas

William Still and His Freedom Stories by Don Tate


Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo, illustrator Carlos Vélez Aguilera

Dear Star Baby by Malcolm Newsome, illustrator Kamala Nair

Jump In! By Shadra Strickland


Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrator Floyd Cooper

Locs Not Dreads by Tonya Abari, illustrator Chasity Hampton

BIG by Vashti Harrison

The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll) by Winsome Bingham, illustrator E.B. Lewis


There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey

A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes, illustrators Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney

Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller, by Breanna J. McDaniel, illustrator April Harrison

Our Joyful Noise by Gabriele Davis, illustrator Craig Stanley

A Voice of Hope: The Myrlie-Evers Williams Story by Nadia Salomon, illustrator London Ladd

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrator James Ransome

Blues Boy: The B.B. King Story by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrator Carl Joe Williams

I Love My People by Kim Singleton, illustrator Kim Holt

Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin, illustrator Ebony Glenn

Sing A Song: How "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Inspired Generations by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Keith Mallett

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste, illustrated by Tonya Engel

You So Black by by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., illustrated by London Ladd

CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman

The Story of We by Nikkolas Smith

Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling life of Virginia Hamilton by Nina Crews

Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark by Allen R. Wells, DeAndra Hodge illustrator

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights
Movement by Angela Joy, Janelle Washington, illust.


Sparrow Loves Reptiles by Murry Burgess, Tamisha Anthony, illustrator

A Cup of Quiet by Nikki Grimes, Cathy Ann Johnson, illustrator

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, illustrator

The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, Jerome Pumphrey (Illustrator), Jarrett Pumphrey (Illustrator)

​A Place For Us by James Ransome
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