Celebrating Blackness in Children's Books

"This celebration of family life exalts the blessings and hopes a mother and father feel for their new baby. The text consists of the baby's parents' simple declarations of reassurance, love, and inspiration."--Amazon.com.

"An autobiography about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life growing up in New York, becoming the basketball star he's known to be, and getting involved in the world around him as an activist for social change"--

This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.

A story celebrating a young African-American boy's first trip to the barbershop.

"When 14-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought in 2001, everyone's crops began to fail. His family didn't have enough money for food, let alone school, so William spent his days in the library. He came across a book on windmills and figured out how to build a windmill that could bring electricity to his village. Everyone thought he was crazy but William persevered and managed to create a functioning windmill out of junkyard...

Seven-year-old Lena and her mother observe the variations in the color of their friends' skin, viewed in terms of foods and things found in nature.

Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.

American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice.

When Grace discovers that there has never been a female U.S. president, she decides to run for school president.

"Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams brings his beloved hit song to the youngest of readers in a blend of illustrations and photos of children celebrating what it means to be happy."--Book jacket front flap.