It’s Black History Month and the month of love, so here are 12 more picture books (see last year’s post 18 Picture Books with Love in the Title) that express love in many ways. If you’re a fan of folk singer Valerie June, Somebody to Love tells the story “of how June wrote the song ‘Somebody to Love’ from her debut album.” It is a wonderful and inspiring read. Other musical reads include the soulful selections, Lovely Day and Sugar Pie Lullaby. From families of all kinds—near and far, inclusive and incarcerated—to hair and even pets, check these wonderful books this month and beyond.
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1. Sugar Pie Lullaby: The Soul of Motown in a Song of Love
Carole Weatherford | Sawyer Cloud | Sourcebooks Explore | February 7, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
2. Love without Bounds: An IntersectionAllies Book about Families
Chelsea Johnson | LaToya Council | Carolyn Choi | Ashley Seil Smith | Dottir Press | January 24, 2023 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
3. You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland
Carole Boston Weatherford | E. B. Lewis | Candlewick | January 10, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
4. Lovely Day (Picture Book Based on the Song by Bill Withers)
Bill Withers | Skip Scarborough | Olivia Duchess | Scholastic Inc | January 3, 2023 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Together: A First Conversation About Love
Megan Madison | Jessica Ralli | Anne/Andy Passchier | Rise x Penguin Workshop | December 27, 2022 | Bd Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
6. Keyana Loves Her Family
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Little, Brown BYR | December 13, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
7. Love Is All Around
Nikki Shannon Smith | Ronique Ellis | Crown BYR | December 6, 2022 | Bd Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
8. Somebody to Love: The Story of Valerie June’s Sweet Little Baby Banjolele
Valerie June Hockett | Marcela Avelar | Third Man Books | November 1, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
9. Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow | Patrick Dougher | HarperCollins | October 4, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
10. I Love My Beautiful Hair
Elissa Wentt | Cartwheel Books | June 28, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
11. A Family Looks Like Love
Kaitlyn Wells | Sawyer Cloud | Flamingo Books | May 31, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family when a Loved One is Incarcerated
Becky Birtha | Maja Kastelic | Albert Whitman & Company | March 7, 2017 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
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