Kid Lit Picks for Black History Month
February is Black History Month
What better way to celebrate black history month than with some wonderful read-alouds with your students and/or children?
Check out my favorite books for Black History Month.
C is for Country
C is for Country written by Lil Nas X and illustrated by Theodore Taylor III is a vibrantly diverse alphabet book that will help teach your child new literacy concepts as well as aspects of country music and living. This book is ideal for children ages 3 and up.
From sunrise to sunset, author Lil Nas X and illustrator Theodore Taylor II will take your child on a literacy journey of running with mustangs to looking at a starry sky.
To read more about this book, click here.
I am Martin Luther King Jr.
I am Martin Luther King Jr. written by Brad Meltzer is a wonderful book for young elementary school students.
How do you explain the complex changes that Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished in a children’s book? It’s quite a challenging task, but the author succeeded in creating a book that helps explain the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The book also takes the reader on a journey of how MLK Jr. succeeded in making such significant changes in our country. From when Martin Luther King Jr. was a child, he knew “there was a power in words”. He experienced injustice and prejudice at a young age when his friend stopped playing with him due to the color of his skin. To read more about this book and access carryover activities, click here.
I am Harriet Tubman
I am Harriet Tubman takes the reader on an adventure by learning about the fascinating life of Harriet Tubman. The author takes you through her many hardships in childhood during the time of slavery and how she used this time to shape the accomplishments she achieved as an adult. When reading this book, your child will learn about Harriet’s bravery, the Underground Railroad, and how she risked her own life to save others. By the end of the story. your child will have a true appreciation for the amazing risks that Harriet took to free her people from slavery. This book is perfect for Black History Month because it can lead to many stimulating conversations about Harriet Tubman and the world she lived in at the time. Discuss the Civil War, the Underground Railroad, and the hardships of the people living in the South. As I read this book, I noticed the opportunity to expand vocabulary through the use of a vocabulary expansion activity. To access the free carryover activity, click here.
The Water Princess
The Water Princess written by Susan Verde and Georgie Badiel and illustrated by Peter H Reynolds is a thoughtful, poetic, and beautiful book about the efforts of a young girl named Princess Gie Gie. This book is written and illustrated based on the childhood experience of Georgie Badiel. As a young girl, Georgie Badiel would have to walk for miles to get water in the village of Koffi Kro. After working in the modeling industry for many years, she went back home to visit her pregnant sister. They both had the wake up every morning between 3 am and 4 am to go get water. This broke Georgie’s heart and from that day on she decided to make a change. To learn more about Georgie Badiel Foundation, click here.
Darius Daniels: Game On!
Darius Daniels: Game On! is a middle-grade rhythmic novel about an 11-year-old boy, a video game, and a great and scary adventure the book cannot escape-until he hurts somebody. This book is very unique because it’s written in rhythm and can be read both aloud, through partner reading, or independent reading. What is a rhythmic novel?
To learn more about this book and listen to my podcast with author and literacy activist, Caroline Brewer, click here.
