“You must give your own story to the world.”- Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s mission for Negro History Week, which began 100 years ago in 1926, was to highlight the stories and accomplishments of Black people. In the 1960s, the celebrations and activities lasted throughout the month, and ultimately, February transitioned into Black History Month in 1986 via a federal proclamation. Woodson left an enduring legacy that we must continue to build upon and share our stories with the world. This is the conclusion of a three-part series (see Part I and Part II ) featuring picture book biographies (books 91-135) of Black people who accomplished extraordinary deeds in loud and quiet ways in the fields of STEM, business, the arts, sports, community work, and literature.
To learn more about Dr. Woodson, these two picture books are a beginning look into his life: Carter G. Woodson: Black History Pioneer by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, Enslow Publishing (2013) and Carter G. Woodson: The Man Who Put “Black” in American History by James Haskins, Kathleen Benson, and Melanie K. Reim, Millbrook Press (2000). Explore other historical fiction and nonfiction books for Black History Month and beyond in Black History Is American History. This series is dedicated to all the unsung heroes and sheroes whose stories remain untold.
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91. Let’s Fly!: Barrington Irving’s Record-Breaking Flight Around the World
Barrington Irving | Chana Stiefel | Shamar Knight-Justice | Dial Books | January 14, 2025 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
92. Marvelous Mabel: Figure Skating Superstar
Crystal Hubbard | Alleanna Harris | Lee & Low | October 18, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
93. Maya’s Song
Renée Watson | Bryan Collier | HarperCollins | September 20, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
94. Fearless Heart: An Illustrated Biography of Surya Bonaly
Frank Murphy | Surya Bonaly | Anastasia Magloire Williams | Triumph Books | January 25, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
95. Fearless Mary: The True Adventures of Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver
Tami Charles | Claire Almon | Albert Whitman & Company | January 1, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
96. The Journey of York: The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Hasan Davis | Alleanna Harris | Capstone | January 1, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
97. The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just
Mélina Mangal | Luisa Uribe | Millbrook Press | November 1, 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
98. No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas
Tonya Bolden | Don Tate | Knopf BYR | October 16, 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
99. Hammering for Freedom
Rita Lorraine Hubbard | John Holyfield | Lee & Low | September 4, 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
100. Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich | Jade Johnson | Seagrass Press | August 7, 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
101. Sisters and Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams
Howard Bryant | Floyd Cooper | Philomel | May 29, 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
102. Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
Margot Lee Shetterly | Laura Freeman | HarperCollins | January 16, 2018 | Amazon | Bookshop
103. Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
Carole Boston Weatherford | Eric Velasquez | Candlewick | September 12, 2017 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
104. Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee!
Andrea J. Loney | Keith Mallett | Lee & Low | June 15, 2017 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
105. Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History
Walter Dean Myers | Floyd Cooper | HarperCollins | January 24, 2017 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
106. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Javaka Steptoe | Little Brown BYR | October 25, 2016 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
107. Ticktock Banneker’s Clock
Shana Keller | David C. Gardner | Sleeping Bear Press | September 1, 2016 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
108. Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas
Gwendolyn Hooks | Colin Bootman | Lee & Low Books | May 15, 2016 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
109. Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong
Lesa Cline-Ransome | James E. Ransome | Holiday House | February 27, 2016 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
110. Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton
Don Tate | Peachtree Publishers | September 1, 2015 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
111. Ira’s Shakespeare Dream
Glenda Armand | Floyd Cooper | Lee & Low Books | August 15, 2015 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
112. Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Carole Boston Weatherford | Ekua Holmes | Candlewick | August 4, 2015 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
113. Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts | Christopher Myers | Museum of Modern Art | June 30, 2015 | PB | Amazon
114. Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America
Carole Boston Weatherford | Jamey Christoph | Albert Whitman & Company | February 1, 2015 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
115. Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century
Carole Boston Weatherford | Raul Colón | Knopf BYR | December 23, 2014 | PB | Amazon
116. Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Frank Morrison | Lee & Low Books | August 4, 2014 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
117. Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X
Ilyasah Shabazz | AG Ford | Atheneum BYR | January 7, 2014 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
118. Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington
Jabari Asim | Bryan Collier | Little, Brown BYR | December 4, 2012 | PB | Amazon
119. Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills
Renee Watson | Christian Robinson | Random House BYR | October 23, 2012 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
120. It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw
Don Tate | R. Gregory Christie | Lee & Low Books | April 1, 2012 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
121. Racing Against the Odds: The Story of Wendell Scott, Stock Car Racing’s African-American Champion
Carole Boston Weatherford | Eric Velasquez | Two Lions | October 1, 2009 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
122. Howard Thurman’s Great Hope
Kai Jackson Issa | Arthur L. Dawson | Lee & Low Books | September 1, 2008 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
123. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Nikki Grimes | Bryan Collier | Simon & Schuster BYR | August 26, 2008 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
124. George Washington Carver
Tonya Bolden | Abrams BYR | January 1, 2008 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
125. I, Matthew Henson
Carole Boston Weatherford | Eric Velasquez | Bloomsbury Children’s | December 26, 2007 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
126. Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali
Charles R. Smith Jr. | Candlewick | November 13, 2007 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
127. Rosa
Nikki Giovanni | Bryan Collier | Henry Holt and Co BYR | October 1, 2005 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
128. Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream
Crystal Hubbard | Randy Duburke | Lee & Low Books | September 30, 2005 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
129. Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman
Nikki Grimes | Earl B. Lewis | Orchard Books | November 1, 2002 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
130. Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa
Andrea Davis Pinkney | J. Brian Pinkney | Disney-Hyperion | April 1, 2002 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
131. Langston Hughes: American Poet
Alice Walker | Catherine Deeter | Amistad | December 24, 2001 | PB | Amazon
132. Satchel Paige
Lesa Cline-Ransome | James E. Ransome | Simon & Schuster BYR | January 1, 2000 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
133. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
Andrea Davis Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Disney-Hyperion | March 3, 1999 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
134. Mary McLeod Bethune
Eloise Greenfield | Jerry Pinkney | HarperCollins | July 21, 1994 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
135. Alvin Ailey
Andrea Davis Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Disney-Hyperion | September 1, 1993 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
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