Wallingford Public Library Children’s Room 2020 These books are available in the Children’s Library and/or online. This is not a definitive list. Please let us know if there are books that you love by Black authors you would like to see represented! Black Lives Matter #OwnVoices #OwnVoices is a term coined by the writer Corinne Duyvis, and refers to an author from a marginalized or under-represented group writing about their own experiences/from their own perspective, rather than someone from an outside perspective writing as a character from an underrepresented group. (Seattle Public Library, Bibliocommons, May 21, 2020) PICTURE BOOKS B is for Baby | by Atinuke B is for Baby. B is for Brother. B is for going to see Baba! One morning after breakfast, Baby's big brother is getting ready to take the basket of bananas all the way to Baba's bungalow in the next village. He'll have to go along the bumpy road, past the baobab trees, birds, and butterflies, and all the way over the bridge. Granddaddy's Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box | by Michael S. Bandy Based on the true story of one family's struggle for voting rights in the civil rights-era South, this moving tale shines an emotional spotlight on a dark facet of U.S. history. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut | by Derrick Barnes Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair. King of Kindergarten | by Derrick Barnes Starting kindergarten is a big milestone--and the hero of this story is ready to make his mark! He's dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can't wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. I am Enough | by Grace Byers Shares a story of loving who you are, respecting others and being kind to one another. I Believe I Can | by Grace Byers I Believe I Can is an affirmation for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves. My Hair is a Garden | by Cozbi A. Cabrera After a day of being taunted by classmates about her unruly hair, Mackenzie can’t take any more and she seeks guidance from her wise and comforting neighbor, Miss Tillie. Using the beautiful garden in the backyard as a metaphor, Miss Tillie shows Mackenzie that maintaining healthy hair is not a chore nor is it something to fear. Most importantly, Mackenzie learns that natural black hair is beautiful. Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice | by Marianne Celano After discussing the police shooting of a local Black man with their families, Emma and Josh know how to treat a new student who looks and speaks differently than his classmates. Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers that provides general guidance about addressing racism with children, child- friendly vocabulary definitions, conversation guides, and a link to additional online resources for parents and teachers. 2 | P a g e Hair Love | by Matthew Cherry A little girl's daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self. Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment | by Parker and Jessica Curry This book is based on the viral photograph of African American toddler Parker Curry, who, during a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, became mesmerized by Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, who she thought was a queen. The Big Bed | by Bunmi Laditan The Big Bed is a humorous picture book about a girl who doesn't want to sleep in her little bed, so she presents her dad with his own bed--a camping cot!--in order to move herself into her parents' big bed in his place. Hands up! | by Breanna McDaniel A young girl lifts her hands up in a series of everyday moments before finally raising her hands in resistance at a protest march. Don’t Touch My Hair! | By Sharee Miller Aria loves her soft and bouncy hair but doesn’t like it when people touch it without permission. Saturday | by Oge Mora Author-artist and Caldecott Honor for Thank You Omu! Oge Mora's second book is a warm and uplifting mother-daughter story about treasuring time spent with loved ones that proves it's not what you do for fun, it's who you do it with that counts! When all of their special Saturday plans go awry, Ava and her mother still find a way to appreciate one another and their time together. Sulwe | by Lupita Nyong’o When five-year-old Sulwe's classmates make fun of her dark skin, she tries lightening herself to no avail, but her encounter with a shooting star helps her understand there is beauty in every shade. NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children’s 2020 M is for Melanin: A Celebration of the Black Child | by Tiffany A. Rose Each letter of the alphabet contains affirming, Black-positive messages, from A is for Afro, to F is for Fresh, to W is for Worthy. This book teaches children their ABCs while encouraging them to love the skin that they're in. I Got the Rhythm | By Connie Schofield-Morrison On a trip to the park with her mother, a young girl hears a rhythm coming from the world around her and begins to move to the beat, finally beginning an impromptu dance in which other children join her. Each Kindness | by Jacqueline Woodson When her teacher presents a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends were wrong to make fun of a new student. 200 N. Main Street Wallingford, CT 06492 | 203-284-6436 | www.wallingfordlibrary.org 3 | P a g e ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOKS Finding Langston | by Lesa Cline-Ransome Discovering a book of Langston Hughes' poetry in the library helps Langston cope with the loss of his mother, relocating from Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and being bullied. The Only Black Girls in Town | by Brandy Colbert In a predominately white California beach town, the only two black seventh-graders, Alberta and Edie, find hidden journals that uncover family secrets and speak to race relations in the past. New Kid | by Jerry Craft Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Newbery Medal Winner 2020 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Author Winner 2020 Stella by Starlight | by Sharon M. Draper When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth- grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town. Midnight Without a Moon | by Linda Williams Jackson Rose Lee Carter, a thirteen-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955, but when Emmett Till is murdered and his killers are unjustly acquitted, Rose is torn between seeking her destiny outside of Mississippi or staying and being a part of an important movement. The Parker Inheritance | by Varian Johnson When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor 2019 For Black Girls Like Me | by Mariama Lockington Eleven-year-old Makeda dreams of meeting her African American mother, while coping with serious problems in her white adopted family, a cross-country move, and being homeschooled. From the Desk of Zoe Washington | by Janae Marks Avid baker Zoe Washington receives a letter on her twelfth birthday from her biological father, who is in prison for a terrible crime. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky | by Kwame Mbalia Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm in Alabama, where he's being sent to heal from the tragedy. Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor 2020 200 N. Main Street Wallingford, CT 06492 | 203-284-6436 | www.wallingfordlibrary.org 4 | P a g e The Stars Beneath Our Feet | by David Barclay Moore Unable to celebrate the holidays in the wake of his older brother's death in a gang-related shooting, Lolly Rachpaul struggles to avoid being forced into a gang himself while constructing a fantastically creative LEGO city at the Harlem community center. A Good Kind of Trouble | by Lisa Moore Ramée After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks | by Jason Reynolds Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and weaves them into one funny, poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.