AGES 9-12 / GRADES 4-5

Epic Athletes: Serena Williams is an inspiring middle-grade biography of the most celebrated women’s tennis player ever from acclaimed sports journalist Dan Wetzel!

Featuring comic-style illustrations by Sloane Leong!

Serena Williams is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. From growing up in a tough neighborhood to combatting racism to weathering severe health issues,…

Frederick Douglass (A)

List Price: $6.00 (Paperback – Autobiography / Former Slave / Self Taught / Abolitionist – 1995)

Former slave, impassioned abolitionist, brilliant writer, newspaper editor and eloquent orator whose speeches fired the abolitionist cause, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) led an astounding life. Physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy plagued his early years, yet…

Tonya Bolden (A) and Ansel Pitcairin (ILT)

List Price: $13.99 (Paperback – African American History / Heroes -2005)

This is a stunningly beautiful book consisting of portraits-in pictures and words-of twenty outstanding African-Americans. The individuals range from historical to contemporary figures, such as the dancer Judith Jamison, and represent diverse…

The third installment of the action-packed Future Hero series–perfect for younger fans of Black Panther!

Jarell answered the call of his ancestors and proved that he’s a worthy defender of the kingdom of Ulfrika. But with time running out, will he find the tools he needs to defeat the evil wizard?

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…

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…

 The Manifestor of Prophecy Book 1 

Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool—like getting a pet…

Charles R. Smith Jr. (A) and Shane W. Evans (ILT)

List Price: $20.99 (Hardcover – History / 28 Important Days In History – 2015) 

Each day features a different influential figure in African-American history, from Crispus Attucks, the first man shot in the Boston Massacre, sparking the Revolutionary War, to Madame C. J. Walker, who…

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…

Alicia D. Williams (A) 

List Price: $17.99 ( Hardcover / Teen Racism and Abusive Family – 2019)

This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself.

There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about…

Jacqueline Woodson (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Foster Siblings – 2010)

The stunning companion to the National Book Award finalist–from a four-time Newbery Honor winning author

Twelve-year-old Lonnie is finally feeling at home with his foster family. But because he’s living apart from his little sister, Lili, he decides it’s his…

William Kamkwamba (A) and Bryan Mealer (A)

List Price: $18.99 (Hardcover) – Malawi / Young Inventor – 2014)

The New York Times bestselling memoir of the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village adapted for young readers. Now available in paperback!

When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village…

Ta-Nehisi Coates (A), Brian Stelfreeze (ILT) and Chris Sprouse (ILT)

List Price: $16.99 (Paperback – Graphic Novel / Black Super Hero – 2017)

The full truth of the People’s revolution – and the power players supporting it – has been revealed! Now, T’Challa must fight like never before for the fate of his…

Ann Cameron (A)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Benin / Young Prince / Captured –  2000)

Kidnapped at the age of 11 from his home in Benin, Africa, Olaudah Equiano spent the next 11 years as a slave in England, the U.S., and the West Indies, until he was able to buy…

Linda Williams Jackson (A)

List Price: $16.99 (Hardcover – Social Justice/ Decision Making – 2018)

After the murder of Emmett Till, thirteen-year-old Rose is struggling with her decision to stay in Mississippi. Torn between the opinions of Shorty, a boy who wants to meet violence with violence, and Hallelujah, her best friend who…

Jason Reynolds (A) and Kadir Nelson (ILT) 

List Price: $10.99 (Paperback – Graphic Novel / Super Hero – 2018) 

“Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.”

Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday…

Ronald L. Smith (A)

Doreen Rappaport (A) and Charles Lilly (ILT)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Slavery / Escape / Underground Railroad – 1998)

Eliza and her baby, running across the ice. Selena and Cornelia Jackson, masquerading as boys. Henry Box Brown, shipping himself north in a wooden crate. Jane Johnson, risking everything to testify against…

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…

Tiki Barber (A), Ronde Barber (A) and Paul Mantell (Contri)

Price: $7.99  (Paperback – Series / Sports / Football – Playoffs – 2013) 

The Hidden Valley Eagles have the championship in sight—but will chicken pox get in the way?

The Hidden Valley Eagles are on track to make the playoffs. Full of focus…

Andrea Davis Pinkney (A)

List Price: $8.99 (Paperback – Africa / Sudan / Refugee – 2016)

The powerful story of one girl’s triumphant journey, inspired by true tales of life in Sudan — now in paperback.

Life in Amira’s peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, unleashing unspeakable horrors. After losing…

Ibi Zoboi (A)

List Price: $16.99 (Hardcover – Coming of Age Strory – Loves Science – 2019)

National Book Award-finalist Ibi Zoboi makes her middle-grade debut with a moving story of a girl finding her place in a world that’s changing at warp speed.

Twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet has lived with her beloved…

Sharon M. Draper (A) and Jesse Joshua Watson (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Adventure / Lost In The Tunnel – 2011)

Ziggy, Rashawn, Jerome, and Rico — the Black Dinosaurs — are thrilled to discover that their hometown was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Even more exciting, their new…

Ilyasah Shabazz (A) and Renee Watson (A)

List Price: $17.56 (Hardcover – Biography / Young Activist – 2018) 

In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for…

Traci Todd (A) and Christian Robinson (ILT)

List Price $18.99 (Hardwood – Singer / Pianist / Activist – Civil Rights – 2021)

This illuminating and defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the story of little Eunice who grew up to become the acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her…

Monica Brown (A) and Rafael Lopez (ILT) 

List Price: $19.99 (Hardcover – Musician / Drummer – 2013)

In this vibrant bilingual picture book biography of musician Tito Puente, readers will dance along to the beat of this mambo king’s life. Tito Puente loved banging pots and pans as a child, but what he really…

Megan Stine (A) and John O’Brien (ILT)

List Price: $5.99 (Paperback – Biography / First Lady – 2014)

Born into a close knit family inChicago, Michelle Robinson was a star student who graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law. Then in 1992, she married another promising young lawyer and the rest, as they say,…

John Lewis (A), Andrew Aydin (A) and Nate Powell (ILT)

List Price: $14.95 (Paperback – Graphic Novel / Biography /African American History – Civil Rights Era – 2015)

Declaration: Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence…

Sunbul Ali Karamali (A)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Introduction to Islam  for Teens – 2013)

Author Sumbul Ali-Karamali offers her personal account, discussing the many and varied questions she fielded from curious friends and schoolmates while growing up in Southern California from diet, to dress, to prayer and holidays and everything in…

Outgrow your piggy bank―an intro to investing for kids ages 8 to 12

Did you know that the sooner you understand money, the sooner you can make more of it? It’s true! Investing for Kids can help make you money savvy, showing you how to earn it, how to start a savings plan, and the…

Leon is an ordinary kid who becomes extraordinary when he fights a supervillain to save his school!

In the city where Leon lives, superheroes — and supervillains — are commonplace. So how does an ordinary kid like Leon, who has no superpowers himself, become the superhero he wants to be? When all his…

Jason Reynold (A)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Track and Field / Competition – 2019)

“Pure gold.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“The perfect anchor leg for a well-run literary relay.” —Kirkus Reviews

Lu must learn to leave his ego on the sidelines if he wants to finally connect with others in the…

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…

Varian Johnson (A) Who HQ (A) and Steven Marchesi (ILT)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Sports / Baseball Pioneers – 2020) 

This baseball league that was made up of African American players and run by African American owners ushered in the biggest change in the history of baseball.

In America during the early twentieth century,…

From the author of the critically acclaimed novel When Life Gives You Mangos comes a captivating journey of love, loss, and letters. Named a best book of the year by Waterstones!

When Brie was younger, her mama used to surprise her with treasure hunts around their island town. After she died three years…

Vashti Harrison (A and ILT)

Sharon M. Draper (A) and Jesse Joshua Watson (ILT)

List Price: $6.99 (Paperback – Adventure / Buried Bones Mystery – 2011)

With their neighborhood basketball court destroyed by vandalism, Ziggy, Rashawn, Jerome, and Rico don’t know how they’re going to spend summer vacation. Then Ziggy has a brilliant idea (Ziggy…

Langston Hughes (A)

List Price:$11.99 (Paperback – Poetry / Harlem Renaissance – 1996)

Illustrated in black-and-white. This classic collection of poetry is available in a handsome new gift edition that includes seven additional poems written after The Dream Keeper was first published. In a larger format, featuring Brian Pinkney’s scratchboard art on every…

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…

Tiki Barber (A), Ronde Barber (A) and Paul Mantell (Contri)

Price: $7.99  (Paperback – Series / Sports / Football- Grades/Probation – 2012) 

From NFL superstars Tiki and Ronde Barber, a story of teamwork and determination—in the classroom as well as on the field.

The eighth-grade season couldn’t be going better for the Barbers’…

Kadir Nelson (A and ILT)

List Price: $21.99 (Hardcover – Sports / Negro League Baseball – 2008)

2010 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor Award

We are the ship; all else the sea. Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League

The story of…

Ta-Nehisi Coates (A) and Brian Stelfreeze (ILT)

List Price: $16.99 (Paperback – Graphic Novel / Black Super Hero – 2016)

Description:  A new era begins for the Black Panther! MacArthur Genius and National Book Award-winning writer T-Nehisi Coates (BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME) takes the helm, confronting T’Challa with a dramatic upheaval in…

Jewell Parker Rhodes (A)

List Price: $7.99 (Paperback – Plantation / Friendship – 2014)

Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn’t make her feel very free. Thankfully, Sugar has a knack for finding her…

Montdrew Dunham (A)

List Price $7.99 (Paperback – Biography / First Black Supreme Court Justice -1998)

Whenever Thurgood Marshall got into trouble at school, the principal would make him sit in the basement and read the U.S. Constitution. By the time he was 12, he had most of it memorized and his interest…

The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965, when Eden’s cousin from Mississippi comes to visit her in L.A. just as the Watts Riots erupt, in this stirring new novel by Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods.

When Eden’s cousin Winter comes for a visit, it turns out he’s not…

Jamia Wilson (A) and Andrea Pippins (ILT) 

List Price:  $23.99 (Hardcover –  Biographies / Black Movers and Shakers –  2019)

“…to be revisited again and again…The candy-colored pages and straightforward stories are hard to resist…” –The New York Times

“…diverse collection of iconic figures…vibrantly illustrated…beautifully crafted volume…” –Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“…exuberant…exquisitely designed…a…

William Loren Katz (A)

List Price: $14.99 (Paperback – Native American /African American History – 1997)The compelling teen nonfiction account of how two heritages united in their struggle to gain freedom and equality in America.

The first paths to freedom taken…

American Medical Association and Amy B. Middleman (EDIT) and Kate Gruenwald (A)

List Price: $18.00 (Paperback – Teen Self Help / Girls / Puberty / Health – 2006)

Becoming a teen is an important milestone in every girl’s life. It?s even more important to…

Ashley Bryan (A and ILT)

List Price: $17.99 (Hardcover – The Lives of 11 African American Slaves – 2016) 

Newbery Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts…