Black History Month and Beyond

As part of The Brown Bookshelf team, I've learned so much about the many African-American authors and illustrators creating books for children. My pride swells with each story I read. Our Black History month celebration, 28 Days Later, kicked off Feb. 1 with a spotlight on Newbery Medal winner, Christopher Paul Curtis. Each day, we bring you another interview with African-American children's book authors and illustrators both vanguard and under-the-radar. Please help us celebrate their amazing work by reading their profiles at http://www.thebrownbookshelf.com/ and spreading the word. You can also download a color poster featuring all of our honorees for your school, home or library: http://www.dontate.com/BBS28Poster.pdf.

I spoke to a Chicago educator recently and was reminded why what we're doing is necessary. He runs a program that brings male volunteers into elementary schools to read to children. He's hoping to feature more stories with boys of color. But it can be hard to find them. Through The Brown Bookshelf and our 28 Days Later campaign, we're hoping to make searches for books by black children's book authors and illustrators a little easier. Below, I compiled a list of picture books featuring African-American boys and a few sites where you can find recommendations of other quality books that feature African-American children as main characters.

Happy Black History Month! Let's salute the work of African-American children's book authors and illustrators not just in February, but year-round. Thank you for your support.

PICTURE BOOKS FEATURING AFRICANAMERICAN BOYS:

Creativity (Clarion, 1997) by John Steptoe, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Keepers (Lee & Low, 2000) by Jeri Hanel Watts, illustrated by Felicia Marshall

Joe-Joe's First Flight (Knopf, 2003) by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

The Bat Boy and His Violin (Simon & Schuster, 1998) by Gavin Curtis, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

I Dream of Trains (Simon & Schuster, 2003) and Wind Flyers (Simon & Schuster, 2007) by Angela Johnson, illustrated by Loren Long

Wings (Scholastic, 2000) by Christopher Myers

The Jones Family Express (Lee and Low, 2003) by Javaka Steptoe

I Told You I Can Play (Just Us Books, 2006) by Brian Jordan, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

Young Pele: Soccer’s First Star (Schwartz & Wade, 2007) by Lesa Kline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

Bippity-Bop Barbershop (Little, Brown, 2002) by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Jamal’s Busy Day (Just Us Books, 1991), by Wade Hudson, illustrated by George Ford

Uptown (Henry Holt & Co, 2000) by Bryan Collier

Little Cliff's First Day of School (Dial, 2001), by Clifton L. Taulbert, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

For more wonderful reads featuring African-American children as main characters, please visit sites like http://www.justusbooks.com/ and http://www.blackbooksgalore.com/.

Here are a few more resources for finding recommended books:

http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Programs/African_American_Readin/Booklist2-2008.pdf

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6527344.html

http://kids.nypl.org/reading/black_experience_list_2004.pdf

http://www.library.uiuc.edu/blog/esslchildlit/

http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/books/c384

http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/afambooks.html