June 2022 marks the 43rd anniversary of Black Music Month. The monthly celebration of the creators and culture of Black music was founded by influential music personalities, Kenny Gamble and Dyana Williams. This 2021 Recording Academy article, “Dyana Williams On Why Black Music Month Is Not Just A Celebration, But A Call For Respect,” gives a brief history of how the observance began, and reflects Williams’s unwavering passion for Black music and its creators.
The list below features fiction and nonfiction books, available now and forthcoming by Black children’s book creators. They cover many subjects like rock, rap, and Aretha Franklin. More books releasing later this year and in early 2023 include I’m Amazing by Keb’ Mo’ and Chris Saunders (Flowerpot Press); Yellow Dog Blues by Alice Faye Duncan and Chris Raschka (Eerdmans BYR); A is for Aretha Board Book by Leslie Kwan and Rachelle Baker (Kokila) and Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll by Tonya Bolden and R. Gregory Christie (HarperCollins).
See 25 Fiction and Nonfiction Books to Celebrate Black Music Month and 19 Picture Books for Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) for even more book ideas!
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1. Music Is a Rainbow
Bryan Collier | Little, BrownYR | June 7, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
2. Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be
Halcyon Person | Chris Bridges | Parker-Nia Gordon | Scholastic Inc. | June 7, 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
3. Marley and the Family Band
Cedella Marley | Tracey Baptiste | Tiffany Rose | Random House BYR | February 1, 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
4. Darryl’s Dream
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels | Shawnee Warfield, et al. | Random House BYR | January 4, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Sing, Aretha, Sing!: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Civil Rights Movement
Hanif Abdurraqib | Ashley Evans | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | February 1, 2022 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
6. We Shall Overcome
Bryan Collier | Orchard Books | December 28, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
7. 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
8. You Can Be ABCs
Robert Samuel White | Robert White II | Robert Paul | Philomel Books | November 9, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
9. The Rapping Princess
Hannah Lee | Allen Fatimaharan | Faber & Faber | October 5, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
10. Nina: A Story of Nina Simone
Traci Todd | Christian Robinson | G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR | September 28, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
11. A Neighborhood Walk, A Musical Journey
Pilar Winter Hill | Olivia Duchess | Albert Whitman & Company | April 1, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
12. The Electric Slide and Kai
Kelly J. Baptist | Darnell Johnson | Lee & Low Books | March 2, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
13. C Is for Country
Lil Nas X | Theodore Taylor III. | Random House | January 5, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
14. RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul
Carole Boston Weatherford | Frank Morrison | Atheneum BYR | August 25, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
15. Get Up, Stand Up
Bob Marley | Cedella Marley | John Jay Cabuay | Chronicle Books | September 10, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
16. Nighttime Symphony
Timbaland | Christopher Myers | Kaa Illustration | Atheneum BYR | May 14, 2019 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
17. She Persisted: Marian Anderson
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Gillian Flint | Philomel Books | June 7, 2022 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
18. She Raised Her Voice!: 50 Black Women Who Sang Their Way into Music History
Jordannah Elizabeth | Briana Dengoue | Running Press Kids | December 28, 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
19. The Story of Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography Book for New Readers
Kathy Trusty | Rockridge Press | December 28, 2021 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
20. Beyoncé (The First Names Series)
Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl | Tammy Taylor | Abrams BYR | April 6, 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
21. Simon B. Rhymin’ Takes a Stand (Simon B. Rhymin’, Bk. 2)
Dwayne Reed | Little, Brown BYR | April 5, 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
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