“[N]o one can be thoroughly educated until he learns as much about the Negro as he knows about other people.”― Carter G. Woodson
This year, Black History Month turns 50! In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month. This was a culmination and fulfillment of Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s mission, which began with Negro History Week in 1926, to nationally and globally uplift the achievements of Black Americans and people in the African Diaspora.
This three-part series (see Part I here) features picture book biographies that tell the stories of Black people who were bold and brilliant, innovative and inquisitive, artistic and athletic, courageous and creative, and everything in between. There are a total of 135 titles in the series. Part II continues with numbers 46-90. To explore other historical fiction and nonfiction books for Black History Month and beyond, see Black History Is American History.
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46. Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson | Alex Bostic | Lerner/Carolrhoda | November 7, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
47. Traveling Shoes: The Story of Willye White, U.S. Olympian and Long Jump Champion
Alice Faye Duncan | Keith Mallett | Calkins Creek | October 24, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
48. Jerry Changed the Game!: How Engineer Jerry Lawson Revolutionized Video Games Forever
Don Tate | Cherise Harris | S & S/Paula Wiseman | August 29, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
49. Rooting for Plants: The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector
Janice N. Harrington | Theodore Taylor III | Calkins Creek | August 29, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
50. Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar
Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Doubleday BYR | February 28, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
51. 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 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
52. To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights
Angela Dalton | Lauren Semmer | HarperCollins | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
53. Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better
Glenda Armand | Kim Freeman | Keith Mallett | Crown BYR | January 17, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
54. The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music
Roberta Flack | Tonya Bolden | Hayden Goodman | Anne Schwartz Books | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
55. Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Kim Holt | Viking BYR | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
56. The Ashe Brothers: How Arthur and Johnnie Changed Tennis Forever
Judy Allen Dodson | David Wilkerson | Capstone | January 1, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
57. Not Done Yet: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change
Tameka Fryer Brown | Nina Crews | Millbrook Press | November 1, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
58. Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book
Tonya Bolden | Eric Velasquez | Quill Tree Books | October 4, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
59. Because Claudette
Tracey Baptiste | Tonya Engel | Dial Books | January 18, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
60. Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth
Alice Faye Duncan | Keturah A. Bobo | Thomas Nelson | January 11, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
61. Darryl’s Dream
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels | S & J Warfield | A. Padilla | Tristan Tait | Random House | January 4, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
62. Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal
Karyn Parsons | R. Gregory Christie | Little, Brown BYR | December 7, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
63. Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix
Charles R. Smith Jr. | Edel Rodriguez | Neal Porter Books | November 23, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
64. Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom
Connie Schofield-Morrison | Elizabeth Zunon | Holiday House | November 9, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
65. Nina: A Story of Nina Simone
Traci Todd | Christian Robinson | G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR | September 28, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
66. Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes
Don Tate | Abrams BYR | August 17, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
67. Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book
Keila V. Dawson | Alleanna Harris | Beaming Books | January 26, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
68. One Step Further: My Story of Math, the Moon, and a Mission
Katherine Johnson | Joylette Hylick | Katherine Moore | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | January 5, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
69. The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy
Kekla Magoon | Laura Freeman | Quill Tree Books | January 5, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
70. Song in a Rainstorm: The Story of Musical Prodigy Thomas Blind Tom Wiggins
Glenda Armand | Brittany Jackson | Albert Whitman | January 1, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
71. Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles
Michelle Meadows | Ebony Glenn | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | December 29, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
72. William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad
Don Tate | Peachtree | November 3, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
73. Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice
Nikki Grimes | Laura Freeman | Atheneum BYR | August 25, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
74. Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis’ Fleet-of-Foot Girl
Megan Reid | Laura Freeman | Balzer + Bray | January 21, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
75. By and By: Charles Tindley, the Father of Gospel Music
Carole Boston Weatherford | Bryan Collier | Atheneum BYR | January 14, 2020 | PB | Amazon
76. The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne
Lesa Cline-Ransome | John Parra | S&S/Paula Wiseman | January 14, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
77. Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon
Kelly Starling Lyons | Laura Freeman | Lee & Low Books | January 14, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
78. The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Rita Lorraine Hubbard | Oge Mora | Schwartz & Wade | January 7, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
79. A Voice Named Aretha
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Laura Freeman | Bloomsbury | January 7, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
80. A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story
Sharon Langley | Amy Nathan | Floyd Cooper | Abrams BYR | January 7, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
81. Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues
Leah Henderson | George Doutsiopoulos | Capstone | January 1, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
82. Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner
Janice N. Harrington | Theodore Taylor III | Calkins Creek | November 5, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
83. Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom
Gwendolyn Hooks | Simone Agoussoye | Capstone | October 1, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
84. Follow Chester!: A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History
Gloria Respress-Churchwell | Laura Freeman | Charlesbridge | September 17, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
85. The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery
Jehan Jones-Radgowski | Poppy Kang | Capstone | September 1, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
86. Beyoncé: Shine Your Light
Sarah Warren | Geneva Bowers | Clarion Books | June 4, 2019| PB | Amazon | Bookshop
87. Let ‘er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson | Gordon C. James | Carolrhoda | February 5, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
88. Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride
Joel Christian Gill | Lion Forge | February 5, 2019 | PB | Amazon
89. Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
Michelle Meadows | Ebony Glenn | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | January 8, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
90. A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks
Alice Faye Duncan | Xia Gordon | Sterling Children’s Books | January 1, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
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