All of the books listed in this bibliography contain some poems which are appropriate for use in this unit. Those marked with an asterisk are designed specifically for children.
Adoff, Arnold. “I Am the Darker Brother”. New York: Macmillan, 1968. Poems covering a wide range of subjects. Contains well-known poems and those less famous. Biographies on authors and information on poems included.
*Adoff, Arnold. “My Black Me”. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974. Contains biographies and information on some poems. Poems appropriate for all races but particularly capture people and experiences pertinent to African American youth.
Bontemps, Arna. “American Negro Poetry”. New York: Hill and Wagner, 1974.
Cooners, Orde. “We Speak as Liberators: Young Black Poets”. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1970.
*Giovanni, Nikki. “Spin a Soft Black Song”. New York: Harper Collins, 1985. Short poems. Easy to read and understand. Should appeal to children.
*Greenfield, Eloise. “Honey, I Love”. New York: Harper Trophy, 1978. Everyday events and joys of life from the eyes of a child.
*Gross, Linda and Barnes, Marian. “Talk That Talk”. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Primarily a book of African American stories, it also contains an excellent section on “rhymes”.
*Hudson, Wade. “Pass It On-African American Poetry for Children”. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1993. Wide variety of
poets. Information on authors. Excellent illustrations.
Hughes, Langston and Bontemps, Arna. “The Poetry of the Negro”. New York: Doubleday, 1970. Contains many poems including Tribute poems written by non-African Americans.
Hughes, Langston. “Selected Poems”. New York: Vintage, 1974. Excellent selection of poems by Langston Hughes.
Johnson, James Weldon. “The Book of American Negro Poetry”. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich, 1931. Contains biographical notes.
King, Woodie. “The Forerunners-Black Poets in America”. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1975. Contains poets bridging the gap between 20’s and 60’s.
Larrick, Nancy. “I Heard a Scream in the Street”. New York: M. Evans and Co., 1970. City poems from young people from twenty-three American cities.
Randall, Dudley. “The Black Poets”. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. Poems from folk poetry to 1960’s. Covers time span well.
*Slier, Deborah. “Make a Joyful Sound”. New York: Checkerboard Press, 1991. Poems for children by African American poets. Colorful illustrations. Biographical notes on poets.
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Comments to ynhti-helpyale.edu.
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