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2023 Preview (January-April): 50 Picture Books by Black Authors

The 50 titles on this preview list do not represent all the picture books being released from January-April. Publication dates may change. What books are you most interested in? Leave a comment below and pre-order today.

BCBA is an Amazon and Bookshop Affiliate. Clicking on the book links will direct you away from this site, and BCBA may earn a small percentage on purchases.



1. What Does Brown Mean to You?

Ron Grady | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


2. We Are Here

Tami Charles | Bryan Collier | Orchard Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


3. A Boy and His Mirror

Marchánt Davis | Keturah A. Bobo | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


4. All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Story from the Great Migration

Glenda Armand | Keisha Morris | ‎Scholastic Press | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


5. Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes

Traci N. Todd | Shannon Wright | Orchard Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



6. An American Story

Kwame Alexander | Dare Coulter | Little, Brown | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


7. A Flag for Juneteenth

Kim Taylor | Neal Porter Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


8. You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland

Carole Boston Weatherford | E. B. Lewis | Candlewick | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


9. Basketball Dreams 

Chris Paul | Courtney Lovett | Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan) | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


10. The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music

Roberta Flack | Tonya Bolden | Hayden Goodman | Anne Schwartz Books | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



11. Put On Your Shoes and Get Ready!

Raphael G. Warnock | Temika Grooms | Philomel Books | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


12. The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship

Ibtihaj Muhammad | Hatem Aly | S.K. Ali |  Little, Brown BYR | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


13. Lift Every Voice and Change: A Sound Book: A Celebration of Black Leaders and the Words that Inspire Generations 

Charnaie Gordon | Aeron Cargill | becker&mayer! Kids | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


14. You So Black

Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. | London Ladd | Millner/Simon & Schuster | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


15. Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement

Katheryn Russell-Brown | Kim Holt | Viking Books for Young Readers | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



16. Let’s Celebrate Juneteenth (Board Book)

Mudpuppy | Tonya Abari | Tabitha Brown | Galison | January 17, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


17. You Come from Greatness: A Celebration of Black History

Sara Chinakwe | Ken Daley | WaterBrook | January 17, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


18. To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights

Angela Dalton | Lauren Semmer | HarperCollins | January 17, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


19. Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better

Glenda Armand | Kim Freeman | Keith Mallett | Crown BYR | January 10, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


20. My Red, White, and Blue

Alana Tyson | London Ladd | Philomel Books | January 17, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



21. A is for Aretha (Board Book)

Leslie Kwan | Rachelle Baker | Kokila | January 24, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


22. Jump In! 

Shadra Strickland | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | January 31, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop 


23. Plátanos Go with Everything

Lissette Norman | Sara Palacios | HarperCollins | January 31, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


24. Nell Plants a Tree

Anne Wynter | Daniel Miyares | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | January 31, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


25. That Flag

Tameka Fryer Brown | Nikkolas Smith | HarperCollins | January 31, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



26. You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce

Chiquita Mullins Lee | Carmella Van Vleet | Jennifer Mack-Watkins | Kokila | January 31, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


27. Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll

Tonya Bolden | R. Gregory Christie | HarperCollins | February 14, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


28. Sugar Pie Lullaby: The Soul of Motown in a Song of Love

Carole Weatherford | Sawyer Cloud | Sourcebooks Explore | February 7, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


29. Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar: The Musical Story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll

Charnelle Pinkney Barlow |Doubleday BYR | February 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


30. The Story of the Saxophone 

Lesa Cline-Ransome | James E. Ransome |Holiday House | February 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



31. The Making of Butterflies (Board Book)

Zora Neale Hurston | Ibram X. Kendi | Kah Yangni | Amistad BYR | March 7, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


32. A Is for Ambitious 

Meena Harris | Marissa Valdez | Little, Brown BYR | March 14, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


33. Everything a Drum 

Sarah Warren | Camila Carrossine | Amicus Ink | March 14, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


34. Little Daymond Learns to Earn

Daymond John | Nicole Miles | Random House BYR | March 21, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


35. Mommy Time 

Monique James-Duncan | Ebony Glenn | Candlewick | March 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



36. Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince

Alliah L. Agostini | Shamar Knight-Justice | FSG | March 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


37. The Mermaid Princesses

Maya Cameron-Gordon | Mirelle Ortega | HarperCollins | March 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


38. Daddy Dressed Me

Ava Gardner | Michael Gardner | Nadia Fisher | Aladdin | March 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


39. Mary Can!: Nothing Is Impossible

Mary J. Blige |  Ashleigh Corrin | HarperCollins | March 28, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


40. The Coolest Beard

Betty Tekle | Nick Alexander | Albert Whitman | April 1, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



41. Dear Star Baby

Malcolm Newsome | Kamala Nair | Beaming Books | April 4, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


42. Mermaid and Pirate

Tracey Baptiste | Leisl Adams | Algonquin | April 4, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


43. Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?

Junauda Petrus | Kristen Uroda | Dutton BYR | April 4, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


44. Naming Ceremony 

Seina Wedlick | Jenin Mohammed  | Abrams BYR | April 11, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


45. How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee 

Carole Boston Weatherford | Frank Morrison  | Candlewick | April 11, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop



46. I Want to Be Big!

Tiffany Golden | Sawyer Cloud | Page Street Kids | April 11, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


47. Plátanos Are Love

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris | Mariyah Rahman | Atheneum | April 11, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


48. Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis

Melvina Noel | Cozbi A. Cabrera | Cameron Kids | April 18, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


49. Sam and the Incredible African and American Food Fight

Shannon Gibney | Charly Palmer | University of Minnesota Press | April 25, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


50. Hurry, Kate, or You’ll Be Late! 

Janice N. Harrington | Tiffany Rose | Margaret Ferguson Books | April 25, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop


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