Adoff, Arnold, Editor.
I Am The Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Negro Americans
. New York: McMillan, 1968.
This is an excellent pictorial anthology of poetry for young people.
Allen, Jerry.
The Adventures of Jimmy Poole
. Minneapolis: Dillon, 1976.
This little fiction book is a story about a black boy and a white boy growing up together as friends in the South.
Armstrong, William H.
Sounder
. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.
A Newberry Award winning book that tells of the life of a poor black sharecropper and his family. It is a story of courage about a boy and a dog. The sequel,
A Sour Land
, tells about the boy when he reaches manhood.
Brooks, Gwendolyn.
Bronzeville Boys and Girls
. New York: Harper & Row, 1956.
This is an excellent collection of Brooks’ poetry for young people.
Brown, Milton.
Jacob Lawrence
. New York: Dodd Mead, 1974.
This book has pictures with commentaries about the paintings on exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1974.
Burch, Robert.
Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain
. New York: Viking, 1980.
This novel tells the story of the Sutton children and how they survived the Great Depression in the South.
Carlson, Natalie.
The Empty Schoolhouse
. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
This contemporary story, set in the changing South, tells of the problems Lullah Royal had when she tried to enter a white school in Louisiana.
Da Salvia, Benjamin.
The African American in United States History
. New York: Globe, 1972.
This is a comprehensive social studies book used in sixth grade classrooms in the New Haven Public Schools.
Duffe, Marcelle.
Southern Colonial Days
. New York: Harper & Row, 1942.
This beautifully illustrated picture book gives an account of the luxurious life of a plantation owner’s son in Virginia.
Fox, Paula.
The Slave Dancer
. Boston: Bradbury Press, 1973.
This Newberry Award winning novel describes how a thirteen year old boy was kidnapped to make music on a slave ship. It gives depictions of living on a slave ship.
Goodrich, Lloyd.
Winslow Homer
. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1973.
The book contains many of Homer’s works with commentaries about the paintings.
Grenfield, Eloise.
Rosa Parks
. New York: Crowell, 1973.
The biography of Rosa Parks is readable, colorful and well illustrated.
Hamilton, Virginia.
The House of Dries Drear
and the sequel,
The Mystery of the Drear House
. New York: Greenwillow Press, 1987.
A black family living in the house of Dries Drear, long dead abolitionist, must decide what to do with his treasure hidden for one hundred years.
Hamilton, Virginia.
M.C. Higgins. The Great
. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
Mayo Cornelius Higgins must decide whether to do what he wants to do or what is best for his family.
Hamilton, Virginia.
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
This book contains a selection of retold African-American folktales of animals, fantasy and the sorrow and hope of the slaves.
Hamilton, Virginia.
The Planet of Junior Brown
. New York: MacMillan, 1971.
A story about Junior Brown, who lives with his mother, and how Junior takes care of a friend who has no family. A 1972 Newberry Honor Book.
Hamilton, Virginia.
Arilla Sun Down, The Gathering, Zeely,The Time Ago Tales of Jadhu, Paul Robeson: The Life and Times of a Free Black Man, The Writings of W.E. B. DuBoise
.
These titles are excellent suggested books for middle school students who are interested in reading more literature about African-Americans.
Hannaway, Patti.
Winslow Homer in the Tropics
. Richmond, Virginia: Westover Publishing Co., 1973.
This book is an excellent reference for Homer’s art during the period when he was in the tropics.
Harris, Joel Chandler. Jump,
Jump Again!
,
Jump On Over!
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986, 1987 and 1989.
A series of three books of the adventures of Brer Rabbit adapted by Van Dyke Parks. Each of the books tells the tales with beautiful watercolor illustrations.
Hooks, William.
The Ballad of Belle Dorcas
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
This picture book is a story about Belle, a freed slave who was in love with Joshua, a slave.
Hopkins, Bennett Lee,
Don’t Turn Your Back
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.
This is a young people’s book of poetry by Langston Hughes.
Hopkins, Bennett Lee.
On Our Way: Poems of Pride and Love
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974.
This is a poetry book containing poems on blackness, feelings, remembrances and love.
Hughes, Langston.
The Dreamkeeper and Other Poems
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1932.
This book contains selections of Hughes’ dream poems and other poetry.
Katz, William.
The Great Depression
. New York: Franklin Watts, 1978.
This pictorial book gives a chronology of events in the Great Depression. The photography adds so much to the depiction of the grim reality of that decade in history.
Lester, Julius.
To Be A Slave
. New York: Dial, 1968.
This book provides first hand accounts of life as a slave.
McElroy, Guy.
The Black Image in American Art (1710-1940).
Washington D.C.: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1990.
This is a beautiful source of African-American art from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries.
McKissack, Patricia.
Martin Luther Kina. Jr.: A Man To Remember.
Chicago: Regensteiner Publications, 1984.
This is a pictorial account of the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Meyers, Walter D.,
Scorpions
. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
This is a novel about life in a gang of African American young people.
Mintz, Steven.
Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life
. New York: The Free Press, 1988.
The book has an excellent selection of African-American photographs and art.
Monjo, F.N.
The Drinking Gourd
. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.
This illustrated book is about escaping from slavery to find freedom in the North.
Ringgold, Faith.
Tar Beach
. New York: Crown, 1991.
This beautifully illustrated book is a fictional biographical account of the author’s life in Harlem.
Smucker, Barbara.
Runaway to Freedom
. New York: Harper Row, 1978.
This is a fictional account of two black twelve-year old girls, one of whom is crippled, and their escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Taylor, Mildred D.
Roll of Thunder. Hear My Cry
. New York: Dial Press, 1976.
A Newberry Award winning book that tells how Cassie Logan, a black girl, learned about prejudice during the Great Depression. The sequel,
Let the Circle be Unbroken
, tells more about her experiences in later years.
Taylor, MiIdred.
The Friendship
. New York: Dial Press, 1987.
This illustrated picture book tells the story of life in the South during the Great Depression era.
Turner, Anne.
Nettle’s Trip South
. New York: McMillan, 1987.
A powerful and moving account of a girl’s reaction to slavery in the South that is based on a real diary of her great-grandmother. The illustrations which accompany the text make it suitable for any grade level.
Walker, Alice.
Langston Hughes: American Poet
. New York: McMillan, 1978.
This is an interesting biography of one of the most famous African American poets.
Walter, Mildred.
Ty’s One Man Band
. New York: Four Winds Press, 1980.
This is a story about making music in the rural South with emphasis on the African-American contribution.
White, Anne T.
North to Liberty. The Story of the Underground Railroad.
Chicago: Garrard Publishing. 1963.
This is a pictorial narrative tracing the history of the black Americans’ struggle for freedom as they escaped the bondage of slavery.
Whitmore, Amelia.
The Bread Winner
. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1990.
This novel tells how Sarah, a courageous 12 year old, survived losing her home and had to move into a shack during the Great Depression.
Woods, Harold.
The South Central States
. New York: Franklin Watts, 1984.
This book gives the factual geographical perspectives to the South Central states, especially Louisiana. A good reference source.