“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.”
― Carter G. Woodson
Did you know that 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of Black History Month? In 1926, Carter G. Woodson, an educator, historian, and writer, established Negro History Week. He believed that teaching and celebrating the achievements of Black Americans and people in the African diaspora would instill racial pride and foster a desire to pursue further education to advance our community. Woodson knew that this was especially important for Black children. He chose the month of February because it is the birthday month of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
In the 1960s, Negro History Week observances began to last throughout the month. The United States officially proclaimed February as Black History Month in 1976. Carter G. Woodson is now considered the “Father of Black History.” In keeping with his mission to educate, uplift, and inspire, here is a list of inspirational picture book biographies. This is a three-part series that will feature a total of 135 picture books. To explore other titles for Black History Month and beyond, see Black History Is American History.
Clicking on the book links will direct you to a different site. BCBA may earn a small percentage on purchases.
1. Remember Her Name!: Debbie Allen’s Rise to Fame
Tami Charles | Meredith Lucius | Charlesbridge | February 10, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
2. Seven Million Steps: The True Story of Dick Gregory’s Run for the Hungry
Derrick Barnes | Christian Gregory | Frank Morrison | Amistad BYR | February 3, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
3. Just Like Tina: Inspired by the Life of Tina Turner
Ebony Lynn Mudd | Maruga Koops | Penguin Workshop | January 27, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
4. 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 | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Blues Boy: The B. B. King Story
Alice Faye Duncan | Carl Joe Williams | Greenwillow Books | January 27, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
6. Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams
Eric Darnell Pritchard | Shannon Wright | Abrams BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
7. The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers
Glennette Tilley Turner | Laura Freeman | Abrams BYR | January 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
8. 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 | Amazon | Bookshop
9. Through the Telescope: Mae Jemison Dreams of Space
Charles R. Smith Jr. | Evening Monteiro | Orchard Books | December 2, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
10. André: André Leon Talley: A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale
Carole Boston Weatherford | Rob Sanders | Lamont O’Neal | Henry Holt | November 11, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
11. Liftoff!: How the Apollo Moon Missions Made Alma Thomas’s Art Soar
Nina Crews | Millbrook Press | November 4, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Spark: Jim West’s Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone
Ainissa Ramirez | Setor Fiadzigbey | MIT Kids Press | October 21, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
13. A Flea For Justice: Marian Wright Edelman Stands Up for Change
Valerie Bolling | TeMika Grooms | Charlesbridge | September 16, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
14. Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature: A biography in poems
Caroline Brewer | What on Earth! | September 2, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
15. Be the Light: How She Became Angela Davis
Daria Peoples | Greenwillow | June 3, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
16. Becoming a Ballerina: The Story of Michaela Mabinty DePrince
Laura Obuobi | Olivia Duchess | HarperCollins | January 21, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
17. Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: Dressmaker and Poet, Myra Viola Wilds
Nancy Johnson James | Diana Ejaita | Abrams BYR | January 14, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
18. Make Your Mark: The Empowering True Story of the First Known Black Female Tattoo Artist
Jacci Gresham | Sherry Fellores | David Wilkerson | Dial Books | January 14, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
19. Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins—The First Lady of Children’s Music
Traci N. Todd | Eleanor Davis | Chronicle Books | January 7, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
20. Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark
Allen R. Wells | DeAndra Hodge | Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
21. Ruby Bridges: A Talk with My Teacher
Ruby Bridges | Trudy Tran | Orchard | January 7, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
22. And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison’s Life in Stories
Andrea Davis Pinkney | Daniel Minter | Little, Brown BYR | January 7, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
23. Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer
Quartez Harris | Gordon C. James | Little, Brown | January 7, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
24. Cicely Tyson
Renée Watson | Sherry Shine | Amistad BYR | November 5, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
25. What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice
Jay Leslie | Loveis Wise | Zando – Hillman Grad Books | October 22, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
26. Stokes: The Brief Career of the NBA’s First Black Superstar
Ty Chapman | John Coy | Lonnie Olivierre | Lerner/Millbrook | October 1, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
27. A Voice of Hope: The Myrlie Evers-Williams Story
Nadia Salomon | London Ladd | Philomel Books | September 24, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
28. Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples | Carole Boston Weatherford | Steffi Walthall | Rocky Pond Books | July 9, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
29. Go, Wilma, Go!
Amira Rose Davis | Michael G. Long | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Bloomsbury | July 16, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
30. Freedom on the Sea: The True Story of the Civil War Hero Robert Smalls and His Daring Escape to Freedom
Michael Boulware Moore | Bryan Collier | Godwin Books | May 28, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
31. Outspoken: Paul Robeson Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show
Carole Boston Weatherford | Eric Velasquez | Candlewick | April 30, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
32. Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the Ebony Fashion Fair
Lisa D. Brathwaite | Lynn Gaines | Lee & Low Books | February 6, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
33. Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller
Breanna J. McDaniel | April Harrison | Dial | February 6, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
34. Extraordinary Magic: The Writing Life of Virginia Hamilton
Nina Crews | Christy Ottaviano Books/Little Brown | January 9, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
35. Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis
Lesa Cline-Ransome | James Ransome | Paula Wiseman Books | January 9, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
36. Ida B. Wells Marches for the Vote
Dinah Johnson | Jerry Jordan | Little, Brown/Ottaviano | January 2, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
37. Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King | Barbara Reynolds | Ekua Holmes | Godwin Books | January 2, 2024 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
38. Born Driven
Saxton Moore Jr. | Nolwe Azul Tamis | Oni Press | November 28, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
39. On the Line: My Story of Becoming the First African American Rockette
Jennifer Jones | Lissette Norman | Robert Paul, Jr. | HarperCollins | October 31, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
40. Ordinary Days: The Seeds, Sound, and City That Grew Prince Rogers Nelson
Angela Joy | Jacqueline Alcántara | Roaring Brook Press | October 24, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
41. Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion
Charles R. Smith | Leo Espinosa | Candlewick | September 12, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
42. Justice Ketanji: The Story of US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Denise Lewis Patrick | Kim Holt | Orchard Books | August 1, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
43. Jackie Ormes Draws the Future: The Remarkable Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist
Liz Montague | Random House Studio | May 16, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
44. Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis
Melvina Noel | Cozbi A. Cabrera | Cameron Kids | April 18, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
45. How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee
Carole Boston Weatherford | Frank Morrison | Candlewick | April 11, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
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