Achievers, Believers and Explorers

Yona Zeldis McDonough (A) and Jim Eldridge (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography / Evangelist / Feminist – 2015)

Almost 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, Sojourner Truth was mistreated by a streetcar conductor. She took him to court–and won! Before she was Sojourner Truth, she…

Carole Boston Weatherford (A) and Frank Morrison (ILT)

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – Soul Singer / Queen of Soul – 2020)

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award! From a New York Times bestselling author and an acclaimed illustrator comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this…

**AS SEEN ON CBS MORNINGS FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH**

Learn about the incredible story of Katherine Johnson! The trailblazer whose calculations changed the future of space exploration.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for…

Herb Boyd (A) and Shey Wolvek Pfister (ILT)

List Price: $14.95. (Paperback – Graphic Novel / African History – 2007)

African History For Beginners explores the rich history of this continent of contrasts. Discover the glory of the Pharaohs and Towers of Zimbabwe, the cosmology of the Yoruba, the courage of the Masai…

Marcus Garvey (A) and Lushena Books (CONTR)

List Price: $13.95 ( Paperback – 22 Lessons/ Course of Action -2017) 

In September 1937, three years before his death, Marcus Garvey assembled a small group of his most trusted organizers. For almost a quarter of a century he had led the Universal Negro Improvement Association, at its…

Toyomi Igus (A) and Michelle Wood (ILT)

List Price: $16.99 (Hardcover –  African American Culture and  Music – 2010) 

“We free now, baby,” mama whispers as we bounce and sway with the wagon’s twists and turns over roads of clay through the land that oppressed us to a new world, a…

Celebrate Remarkable Moments in Black History with this Uplifting Story

Inspire Black boys to imagine all the great things they can do while celebrating remarkable moments from Black history!

Dear boy, Black boy, I believe in you so.

Let’s start your story—ready, set, go.

From athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick to…

Doreen Rappaport (A) Shane Evans (ILT)

List Price: $9.99 (Paperback – History / Slave Resistance – 2005)

Ever since the first boatload of human cargo sailed to the New World, African Americans have waged a courageous struggle for dignity and freedom from slavery. Using true accounts, author Doreen Rappaport puts readers…

Yona Zeldis McDonough (A), Nancy Harrison (ILT) and Stephen Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography – Activist /Civil Rights Leader – 2010)

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned…

James Buckley Jr. (A) Who HQ (A) and Jake Murray (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Black Leader/ Business / Education  – 2020)

Learn how a slave became one of the leading influential African American intellectuals of the late 19th century.

African American educator, author, speaker, and advisor to presidents of the…

Dr. Mae Jemison (A)

A Collection of Moments in Dr. Mae’s Life

List Price: $23.95 (Hardcover – First Black Astronaut- 2021)

“The writing sings” says Publisher’s Weekly in this “inspiring autobiography.” Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, is truly a modern hero with a remarkable, inspirational story to tell.

…

“We cannot let this history die, nor can we let it fade away. As it has filled me with pride and given me understanding of one group of outstanding soldiers, so it should be passed on to all Americans to appreciate and honor” (from the introduction by coauthor and unit historian Bill Miles)

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Angela Johnson (A) and Loren Long (ILT)

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – Flying / Tuskegee Airmen – 2007)

All he ever wanted to do was fly. Three-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Angela Johnson and New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long invite readers to ponder a…

Helaine Becker (A) and Tiemdow Phumiruk (ILT)

List Price: $19.99 (Hardcover – Mathematician / NASA Genius – 2019)

The bold story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film Hidden Figures.

You’ve likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know…

Laurie Calkhoven (A) and Elizabet Vukovic (ILT)

List Price: $5.98 (Paperback – Biography / Sports / Track and Field – 2017)

Sprint around the track and get to know Jesse Owens in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series of biographies about people “you should meet.”

Meet Jesse Owens,…

Meg Belviso (A), Pamela D. Pollack (A) and Stephen Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $5.57 (Paperback – Biography / South African / Leader – 2014)

As a child he dreamt of changing South Africa; as a man he changed the world. Nelson Mandela spent his life battling apartheid and championing a peaceful revolution. He…

Scott Reynolds Nelson (A) and Marc Aronson (A)

List Price: $18.95 (Hardcover – History / John Henry / Folk Hero – 2007)

Who was the real John Henry? The story of this legendary African-American figure has come down to us in so many songs, stories, and plays, that the facts are often lost.…

Chris Barton (A) and Eukua Holmes (ILT) 

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover –  Biography / Congresswoman Barbara Jordan – 2017) 

When Barbara Jordan talked, we listened.” —Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton

Congresswoman Barbara Jordan had a big, bold, confident voice—and she knew how to use it! Learn all about her…

Margot Lee Shettterly (A) 

List Price: $9.99 (Paperback – Biography / Science – Aerospace Engineer – 2015) 

This inspiring biography tells the story of Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician. An inspiring figure in the history of STEM, she eventually worked on the mission to send a man to the moon.  Her story…

Gary D. Schmidt (A) and Daniel Minter (ILT) 

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – Abolitionist/ Feminists / Leader – 2018)

From celebrated author Gary D. Schmidt comes a picture book biography of a giant in the struggle for civil rights, perfectly pitched for readers today.

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery but possessed a mind and…

Kelly Starling Lyons (A) and Laura Freeman (ILT)

List Price $20.95 (Hardcover – Builder / Designer / Architect – 2021)

The Story of Architect Philip Freelon

You’ve seen the building. Now meet the man whose life went into it.

Philip Freelon’s grandfather was an acclaimed painter of the Harlem…

Nico Medina (A) Who HQ and Gregory Copeland (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Legendary Singer – 2018)

There is only one QUEEN OF SOUL!  Discover why Aretha Franklin garners so much R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Aretha Franklin is a musical and cultural icon who created an amazing legacy spanning six decades! Born in…

Javaka Steptoe (A)

Sarah Fabiny (A) Who HQ (A) and Ted Hammond (ILT)

 List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Journalist / Activist- Exposed Lynching -2020) 

The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous black female journalist in nineteenth-century America.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida…

Laura Hamilton Waxman (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Biography / Science – Aerospace Engineer – 2015) 

Have you ever built a cool science project? In middle school, Aprille Ericsson won second place in a science fair. She knew she wanted to keep creating amazing science projects. As an adult, she became an…

Incredible stories of Black men who changed the course of science—for kids ages 8 to 12

All throughout history, Black men have made important contributions to scientific discovery. This collection of biographies for kids explores 15 of these intelligent men and the extraordinary scientific accomplishments they achieved—even when they faced huge challenges. You’ll…

Andrea Davis Pinkney (A) and Brian Pinkney (ILT)

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – Biography / African American Leader / Abolitionist and Feminist – 2009)

A dynamic portrait of the freed slave whose physical and spiritual strength made her one of America most powerful abolitionist voices.

Synopsis:She was big. She was black. She was…

The inspirational true story of Ruby Bridges.

Please, God, try to forgive those people. Because even if they say those bad things, They dont know what theyre doing. This is the true story of an extraordinary 6-year-old who helped shape history when she became the first African-American sent to first grade in an…

William A. Darity Jr. (A) and A. Kirsten Mullen (A) 

List Price:  $22.00 (Paperback – A Case for Reparations – 2022)

Racism and discrimination have choked economic opportunity for African Americans at nearly every turn. At several historic moments, the trajectory of racial inequality could have been altered dramatically.

But neither Reconstruction nor the…

Barack Obama (A)

List Price: $45.00 (Hardcover – Biography -President Barack Obama -2020)

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy
 
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable…

This collectible book by distinguished public historian Velma Maia Thomas offers an intimate look at black history in America with exclusive accounts, photographs, and interactive and removable artifacts.

Presented in three parts—Lest We Forget, Freedom’s Children, and We Shall Not Be Moved—the history comes to life…

Andrea Davis Pinkney (A) and Brian Pinkney (ILT)

List Price: $9.99 (Paperback – African American History / Free Black / Scientist Engineer / Genius – 1998)

Benjamin Banneker was born free when most blacks in this country were still enslaved. But it troubled him that not all blacks were not…

Discover the inspiring true story of extraordinary professional cyclist Major Taylor in this nonfiction picture book from Coretta Scott King Award winners Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome.

In 1891, Marshall Taylor could ride his bike forward, backward, even perched on the handlebars. When his stunts landed him a job at the famous…

Kathryn Lasky (A) and Nneka Bennett (ILT)

List Price: $5.99  (Paperback – Biography / Entrepreneur / Cosmetics – 2000)

A biography of Sarah Breedlove Walker who, though born in poverty, pioneered her genius ideas in hair and beauty care products for black women, and became a great financial success. (48…

Wade Husdon (A) and Ron Garnett ILT) 

List Price $3.99 (Paperback – Explorers – 1995)

With inspiring and educational stories, Scholastic’s Hello Reader series
caters to the spectrum of reading abilities among beginning readers. My
First Hello Readers use basic words to reinforce phonics and sight 
vocabulary. The books at this level offer…

Carole Boston Weatherford (A) and Eric Velasquez (ILT)

List Price: $9.99 (Paperback – Explorer / North Pole – 2007)

Matthew Henson was not meant to lead an ordinary life. His dreams had sails. They took him from the port of Baltimore, around the world, and north to the pole. No amount of fear,…

Gail Herman (A), Nancy Harrison (ILT) and John O’Brien (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography – Sports / Baseball – 2010)

As a kid, Jackie Robinson loved sports. And why not? He was a natural at football, basketball, and, of course, baseball. But beyond athletic skill, it was his strength of character…

Ellen Labrecque (A), Dede Putra (ILT), Nancy Harrison (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Biography / Author / Poet – 2016)

Born in Missouri in 1928, Maya Angelou had a difficult childhood. Jim Crow laws segregated blacks and whites in the South. Her family life was unstable at times. But much like her…

Kwame Alexander (A) and Kadir Nelson (ILT)

List Price: $19.99 (Hardcover – Poem / Achievements of Great African American  – 2019)

The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree.

Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem is…

Roberta Edwards (A), Nancy Harrison (ILT) and John O’Brien (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography / Leader / President of the United States – 2009)

As the world now knows, Barack Obama has made history as our first African-American president. With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this biography is perfect for primary graders looking…

In the same style as the New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series, What Was? focuses on compelling historical events, great battles, protests, and discoveries.

Learn about a pivotal time in American history and its momentous effects on civil rights in America in this enlightening…

Janice N. Harrington (A) and Theodore Taylor lll

List Price: $18.50 (Hardcover – First Black Entomologist – 2019)

Can spiders learn? How do ants find their way home? Can bugs see color? All of these questions buzzed endlessly in Charles Henry Turner’s mind. As the first Black entomologist, he was fascinated by plants and…

Faith Ringgold (A and ILT)

List Price: $19.99 (Hardcover – Biography / Activist / Civil Rights / Bus Boycott- 1999)

This Rosa Parks biography begins with an African American girl named Marcie. She is waiting for the bus to school when a strange bus pulls up; for some reason, she…

James Buckley Jr. (A), Who HQ (A) and Andrew Thomson (ILT)

Price: $6.50 (Paperback – Biography / Champion Tennis Players / Sisters – 2018) 

The dynamic story of the Williams sisters, both top-ranked professional tennis players.

Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most successful professional American tennis players of all…

Marne Ventura (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Biography / Science – Astro Physicist and Space Advocate – 2014)                                               

“Have you ever stared into the night sky, full of stars…

A powerful and vibrantly illustrated account of the resilience and dedication of the unsung Black heroines who played a major role in World War II. Perfect for fans of Hidden Figures, Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free, and Tyler Perry’s blockbuster film The Six Triple Eight.

In 1944, the United States was…

Louise Borden (A), Mary Kay Kroeger (A) and Teresa Flavin (ILT)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – First Black Aviator – 2004)

When Bessie Coleman was a child, she wanted to be in school — not in the cotton fields of Texas, helping her family earn money. She wanted to be somebody significant in…

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (A) and Ray Obstfeld (A) and A.G. Ford (ILT)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – African American History / Scientists – 2013)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball legend and the NBA’s all time leading scorer, champions a lineup of little-known African-American inventors in this lively, kid-friendly book.

Did you know that James West invented…

Megan Reid (A) and Laura Freeman (ILT) 

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover – Tennis Champion / First African American – 2020)

A spirited picture book biography about Althea Gibson, the first black Wimbledon, French, and U.S. Open tennis champion, from debut author Megan Reid and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning illustrator Laura Freeman. Althea Gibson:…