Happy New Year! Welcome to a new year of bold, fantastic, funny, romantic, thrilling, thought-provoking, historical, colorful, educational, lovely, and invariably creative stories by Black authors. It’s always exciting to showcase new releases each month, and January 2026 is starting with a big bundle of 66 books. From picture to YA, fiction and nonfiction, you can explore them all now. All are available for pre-order.
This year will also mark the 40th Anniversary of the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. Stay tuned for a list of books for classroom, home, or community reading.
Clicking on the book links will direct you to a different site. BCBA may earn a small percentage on purchases.
Picture Books (PB)
Ruth Forman | Raissa Figueroa | Little Simon | January 6, 2026 | PB
Prince: A Little Golden Book Biography
Nikki Shannon Smith | Don Tate | Golden Books | January 6, 2026 | PB
Jaylene Clark Owens | Brittney Bond | Penguin Workshop | January 6, 2026 | PB
Donette Williams-Harry | Amélie-Anne Calmo | Tiger Tales | January 6, 2026 | PB
Sope Martins | Briana Mukodiri Uchendu | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy | January 6, 2026 | PB
Carlotta’s Special Dress: How a Walk to School Changed Civil Rights History
Carlotta Walls Lanier | Lisa Frazier Page | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Little, Brown | January 6, 2026 | PB
The Dream Builder’s Blueprint: Dr. King’s Message to Young People
Alice Faye Duncan | E.B. Lewis | Calkins Creek | January 6, 2026 | PB
I Am the River: Sarah E. Ray and the Bob-Lo Boat
Leah Henderson | Patricia Lee Gauch | Kristle Marshall | Levine Querido | January 6, 2026 | PB
Brittany J. Thurman | Derick Brooks | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | January 13, 2026 | PB
Kenan Thompson | Bryan Tucker | Tony Neal | Feiwel & Friends | January 13, 2026 | PB
Giselle Anatol | Raissa Figueroa | Viking BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
Monica Mikai | Crown BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams
Eric Darnell Pritchard | Shannon Wright | Abrams BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game
Kadir Nelson | Little, Brown BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
Tameka Fryer Brown | Alleanna Harris | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | January 13, 2026 | PB
The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers
Glennette Tilley Turner | Laura Freeman | Abrams BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
Leslé Honoré | Keturah A. Bobo | Little, Brown BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB
JaNay Brown-Wood | Erin K. Robinson | Astra Young Readers | January 13, 2026 | PB
I Love My People: A Child’s Celebration of Black Culture
Kim Singleton | Kim Holt | Beaming Books | January 13, 2026 | PB
Torrey Maldonado | Teresa Martinez | Penguin/Nancy Paulsen | January 20, 2026 | PB
Jacqueline Woodson | Monica Mikai | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 20, 2026 | PB
Jacqueline Woodson | Tonya Engel | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 20, 2026 | PB
Amber McBride | Violeta Encarnación | HarperCollins | January 20, 2026 | PB
Adrienne Thurman | Kaylani Juanita | HarperCollins | January 20, 2026 | PB
Valerie Bolling | Monica Mikai | Norton Young Readers | January 20, 2026 | PB
Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Doubleday BYR | January 20, 2026 | PB
Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice
Carole Boston Weatherford | Bryan Collier | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | January 20, 2026 | PB
Let It Shine!: A Celebration of You
Carole Boston Weatherford | Tequitia Andrews | Crown BYR | January 20, 2026 | PB
Melodies of The Weary Blues: Classic Poems Illustrated for Young People
Langston Hughes | Shamar Knight-Justice | Various Illustrators | HarperCollins | January 20, 2026 | PB
Nikki Grimes | E. B Lewis | Stacy Wells | Heartdrum | January 27, 2026 | PB
Main Street: A Community Story About Redlining
Britt Hawthorne | Tiffany Jewell | David Wilkerson | Kokila | January 27, 2026 | PB
Just Like Tina: Inspired by the Life of Tina Turner
Ebony Lynn Mudd | Maruga Koops | Penguin Workshop | January 27, 2026 | PB
Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice
Yvonne Clark-Rhines | Abigail Albano-Payton | Monica Clark-Robinson | Quill Tree | January 27, 2026 | PB
Blues Boy: The B. B. King Story
Alice Faye Duncan | Carl Joe Williams | Greenwillow Books | January 27, 2026 | PB
Suuban’s First Day: A First Day of Herding Story
Shugri Said Salh | Àlàbá Ònájín | Roaring Brook Press | January 27, 2026 | PB
Harold Green III | Karabo Poppy | Chronicle | January 27, 2026 | PB
Chapter (Chp Bk)/Middle-Grade (MG)
The Spy at the Zoo (Junior Spies)
Bryan Patrick Avery | Ma Pe | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
The Spy in the Library (Junior Spies)
Bryan Patrick Avery | Ma Pe | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
The Spy in the Museum (Junior Spies)
Bryan Patrick Avery | Ma Pe | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
The Spy in the Gymnasium (Junior Spies)
Bryan Patrick Avery | Ma Pe | Stone Arch Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Be Brave, Scared Shirley! (Ethan Talks to Animals)
Nico Waters | Rita Ribeiro Lopes | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Perk Up, Tired Tilly! (Ethan Talks to Animals)
Nico Waters | Rita Ribeiro Lopes | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Eat Your Food, Fussy Filo! (Ethan Talks to Animals)
Nico Waters | Rita Ribeiro Lopes | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Sharing Is Caring, Cranky Kazoo! (Ethan Talks to Animals)
Nico Waters | Rita Ribeiro Lopes | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Hannah Banana’s Icky, Sticky Composting Journey (Icky, Sticky Journeys)
Jamee-Marie Edwards | Mariano Epelbaum | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Parker Poop’s Icky, Sticky Sewer System Journey (Icky, Sticky Journeys)
Jamee-Marie Edwards | Christian Cornia | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Brittany Bubble Gum’s Icky, Sticky Landfill Journey (Icky, Sticky Journeys)
Jamee-Marie Edwards | Christian Cornia | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Chip French Fry’s Icky, Sticky Digestive System Journey (Icky, Sticky Journeys)
Jamee-Marie Edwards | Mariano Epelbaum | Picture Window Books | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
Victor J. Glover: Artemis Pilot
Elliott Smith | Lerner Publications | January 1, 2026 | Chp Bk
A Surprise for Willow (Fairies Welcome, Bk. 1)
Bea Jackson | Simon Spotlight | January 6, 2026 | Chp Bk
A Wish for Lily (Fairies Welcome, Bk. 2)
Bea Jackson | Simon Spotlight | January 6, 2026 | Chp Bk
Venus Washington and the Lasagna Drama
Maisha Oso | Courtney Lovett | Atheneum BYR | January 6, 2026 | Chp Bk
Juwanda G. Ford | Random House BYR | January 27, 2026 | Chp Bk
Sarah Jospitre | Tiffany Diep | Penguin Young Readers | January 6, 2026 | MG
Sharon G. Flake | Knopf BYR | January 13, 2026 | MG
Terrance Crawford | Dave Bardin | Simon Spotlight | January 20, 2026 | MG
The Dream and the Hope: The Historic Rise of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Nation’s Highest Court
Garen Thomas | Lori Rozsa | HarperCollins | January 20, 2026 | MG
Destiny of the Diamond Princess
Sherri Winston | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | January 20, 2026 | MG
Fros, Fades, and Braids: A Brief History of Black Hair in America
Sean Qualls | HarperCollins | January 20, 2026 | MG
Jennifer Ann Richter | Holiday House | January 27, 2026 | MG
Young Adult (YA)
Rachael Davis-Featherstone | Wednesday Books | January 13, 2026 | YA
Lovely One (Adapted for Young Adults)
Ketanji Brown Jackson | Bright Matter Books | January 20, 2026 | YA
Jumata Emill | Delacorte Press | January 20, 2026 | YA
Rick Riordan Presents: It Lurks in the Night
Sarah Dass | Disney Hyperion | January 27, 2026 | YA
The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay
Ryan Douglass | HarperCollins | January 27, 2026 | YA
L.S. Stratton | Nancy Paulsen Books | January 27, 2026 | YA
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