Haitian Heritage Month is observed in May, and what a historic moment it was when Haitian American Karine Jean-Pierre was named the first Black person to serve as White House Press Secretary. In Jean-Pierre’s Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America (Hanover Square Press, 2019), she “shares what she’s learned about politics, offering a handbook for anyone who wants to take part, no matter how or where they grew up or how young or old they might be.” Moving Forward is an adult memoir, but older teens may be inspired to read about her remarkable journey from a Haitian immigrant to an influential American personality. Hopefully, a children’s biography of Karine Jean-Pierre’s life is coming soon. Until then, the 20 titles listed feature picture-to-young adult fiction and nonfiction stories by or about people of Haitian descent. Happy Haitian Heritage Month!
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1. Looking for a Jumbie*
Tracey Baptiste | Amber Ren | Balzer + Bray, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
2. A Day with the Panye
Tami Charles | Sara Palacios | Candlewick, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
3. Freedom Soup
Tami Charles | Jacqueline Alcántar | Candlewick, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
4. Auntie Luce’s Talking Painting
Francie Latour | Ken Daley | Groundwood Books, 2018 | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Javaka Steptoe | Little, Brown BYR, 2016 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
6. Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation
Edwidge Danticat | Leslie Staub | Dial Books, 2015 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
7. Eight Days: A Story of Haiti
Edwidge Danticat | Alix Delinois | Orchard Books, 2010 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
8. Running the Road to ABC
Denize Lauture | Reynold Ruffins | Simon & Schuster, 1996 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
9. Toussaint L’Ouverture: The Fight for Haiti’s Freedom
Walter Dean Myers | Jacob Lawrence | Simon & Schuster, 1996 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
10. Friday Stories Learning About Haiti: Haiti
Jenny Delacruz | Herrera Danko | Cobbs Creek Publishing, 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
11. Behind the Mountains
Edwidge Danticat | Scholastic Press, 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
12. The Year I Flew Away
Marie Arnold | Versify, 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
13. The Jumbies (Bk. 1 of 3)
Tracey Baptiste | Algonquin Young Readers, 2015 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
14. Haiti: The First Black Republic
Frantz Derenoncourt Jr. | Eminence System | Lightning Fast Book Publishing, 2016 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
15. Simone Breaks All the Rules
Debbie Rigaud | Scholastic, 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
16. Charming as a Verb
Ben Philippe | Balzer + Bray, 2020 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
17. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
Maika Moulite | Maritza Moulite | Inkyard Press, 2019 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
18. SHEROES of the Haitian Revolution
Bayyinah Bello | Kervin Andre | Thorobred Books, 2019 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
19. Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix
Ibi Zoboi | Balzer & Bray/Harperteen , 2018 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
20. American Street
Ibi Zoboi | Balzer + Bray, 2017 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
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*Tracey Baptiste, author of Looking for a Jumbie (Amber Ren, Balzer + Bray, 2021) is a native of Trinidad, not Haiti. BCBA apologizes for the error or any confusion concerning the author’s heritage. Her middle-grade series The Jumbies, however, is based on a Haitian folktale.
