May 2019 New Releases
May 2, 2019
What’s Your Story?: Dr. Melissa Munro Boyd
May 20, 2019
Show all

Summer Reading: 75 Picture-to-YA Books (Fiction)

It’s time to start thinking about summer reading—an exciting time to ponder what to purchase, pre-order, or put on hold at the library. If you need reads for kids and teens, there are plenty of picks to peruse in our big summer book list—75 in all! This fiction list includes something for all ages and interests: classics and contemporary, folktales and fantasies, mysteries and magic, sci-fi and social justice. If you want to add some upcoming new releases to your list, May’s new books are here, and we have included a few that are due out in June and July. Stay tuned for our nonfiction list!


Picture Books


1. Not Quite Snow White

Ashley Franklin | Ebony Glenn | HarperCollins, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


2. The King of Kindergarten

Derrick Barnes | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Nancy Paulsen, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


3. I Can Write the World

Joshunda Sanders | Charly Palmer | Six Foot Press, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


4. Going Down Home with Daddy

Kelly Starling Lyons | Daniel Minter | Peachtree Publishing, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


5. B is for Baby

Atinuke | Angela Brooksbank | Candlewick, March, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound



6. Baby Says (Board Book Ed.)

John Steptoe| HarperFestival | December, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


7. Thank You, OMU!

Oge Mora | Little, Brown BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


8. Auntie Luce’s Talking Painting

Francie Latour | Ken Daley | Groundwood, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


9. Sing to the Moon

Nansubuga Nagaddya Isdah | Sandra van Doorn | Lantana, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


10. What Is Light? (Board Book Only)

Markette Sheppard | Cathy Ann Johnson | Agate Bolden, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound



11. Mommy’s Khimar

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow | Ebony Glenn | Salaam Reads / S & S, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


12. The Field

Baptiste Paul | Jacqueline Alcántara | NorthSouth Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


13. The Big Bed

Bunmi Laditan | Tom Knight | Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


14. Where’s Rodney?

Carmen Bogan | Floyd Cooper | Yosemite Conservancy, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


15. The Ring Bearer

Floyd Cooper | Philomel Books, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound



16. Irene’s Wish

Jerdine Nolen | AG Ford | S & S/Paula Wiseman, 2014 | Amazon | IndieBound


17. God’s Dream

Desmond Tutu | Douglas C. Abrams | LeUyen Pham | Candlewick, 2008 | Amazon | IndieBound


18. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

Kevin Lewis | Daniel Kirk | Hyperion, 1999 | Amazon | IndieBound


19. Raising Dragons

Jerdine Nolen | Elise Primavera | Silver Whistle, 1998 | Amazon | IndieBound


20. Shortcut

Donald Crews | Greenwillow, October, 1992 | Amazon | IndieBound


Chapter Books


21. Summer in Savannah (Ana & Andrew & Series)

Christine Platt | Sharon Sordo | North Star, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


22. The Garden (Confetti Kids Series)

Gwendolyn Hooks | Shirley Ng-Benitez | Lee & Low Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


23. Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg! (A Shai & Emmie Story) 

Quvenzhané Wallis | Sharee Miller | Nancy Ohlin | Simon & Schuster BYR, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


24. Rock Star (Jada Jones Series) 

Kelly Starling Lyons | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Penguin Workshop, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


25. My New Team (Little Rhino Series) 

Ryan Howard | Krystle Howard | Erwin Madrid | Scholastic, 2015 | Amazon | IndieBound



26. Go, Jade, Go! (Tony and Lauren Dungy Ready-to-Reads)

Tony Dungy | Lauren Dungy | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Simon Spotlight, 2013 | Amazon | IndieBound


27. Dog Days (The Carver Chronicles)

Karen English | Laura Freeman | Clarion Books, 2013 | Amazon | IndieBound


28. The No. 1 Car Spotter (No. 1 Car Spotter Series)

Atinuke | Walker, 2010 | Amazon


29. Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel (Dyamonde Daniel Series)

Nikki Grimes | R. Gregory Christie | G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR, 2009 | Amazon | IndieBound


30. Nikki and Deja (Nikki and Deja Series)

Karen English | Laura Freeman | Clarion Books, 2009 | Amazon | IndieBound



31. Plum Fantastic (Sugar Plum Ballerinas)

Whoopi Goldberg | Deborah Underwood | Maryn Roos | Jump at the Sun, 2008 | Amazon | IndieBound


32. Brand New School, Brave New Ruby (Ruby and The Booker Boys Series)

Derrick Barnes | Vanessa Brantley Newton | Scholastic, 2008 | Amazon | IndieBound


33. All Mixed Up! (Amy Hodgepodge Series) 

Kim Wayans | Kevin Knotts Soo Jeong | Grosset & Dunlap, 2008 | Amazon | IndieBound


34. Donavan’s Word Jar

Monalisa Degross | Cheryl Hanna | Paw Prints, 2008 | Amazon


35. Willimena Rules!: How to Lose Your Class Pet (Willimena Rules! Series)

Valerie Wilson Wesley | Maryn Roos | Jump at the Sun, 2003 | Amazon


Middle-Grade Books


36. My Life as an Ice-Cream Sandwich

Ibi Zoboi | Dutton BYR, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


37. For Black Girls Like Me

Mariama J. Lockington | Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


38. A Good Kind of Trouble

Lisa Moore Ramée | Balzer + Bray, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


39. Trace

Pat Cummings | HarperCollins, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


40. New Kid

Jerry Craft | HarperCollins, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound



41. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer

Lamar Giles | Dapo Adeola | Versify, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


42. Like Vanessa

Tami Charles | Charlesbridge, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


43. Hurricane Child

Kheryn Callender | Scholastic Press, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


44. Minecraft: The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel

Tracey Baptiste | Del Rey, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


45. Courage

Barbara Binns | HarperCollins, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound



46. So Done

Paula Chase | Greenwillow Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


47. Tight

Torrey Maldonado | Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


48. Dragons in a Bag

Zetta Elliot | Random House BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


49. The Season of Styx Malone

Kekla Magoon | Wendy Lamb Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


50. Love Like Sky

Leslie C. Youngblood | Disney-Hyperion, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound



51. President of the Whole Sixth Grade: Girl Code (President Series)

Sherri Winston | Little, Brown BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


52. One Shadow on the Wall

Leah Henderson | Atheneum BYR, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


53. Jake the Fake Keeps it Real (Jake the Fake Series)

Craig Robinson | Adam Mansbach | Keith Knight | Crown BYR, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


54. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: 40th Anniversary Special Edition

Mildred D. Taylor | Dial Books, 2016 | Amazon | IndieBound


55. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963

Christopher Paul Curtis | Delacorte BYR, 1995 | Amazon | IndieBound


YA Books


56. The Revolution of Birdie Randolph

Brandy Colbert | Little, Brown BYR, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


57. If It Makes You Happy

Claire Kann | Swoon Reads, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


58. I Wanna Be Where You Are

Kristina Forest | Roaring Brook Press, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


59. Genesis Begins Again

Alicia D. Williams | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound   


60. Opposite of Always

Justin A. Reynolds | Katherine Tegen Books, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound



61. The Weight of the Stars

K. Ancrum | Imprint, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


62. The Field Guide to the North American Teenager  

Ben Philippe | Balzer + Bray, 2019 | Amazon | IndieBound


63. Dread Nation

Justina Ireland | Balzer + Bray, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


64. Learning to Breathe

Janice Lynn Mather | Simon & Schuster BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


65. Temper

Nicky Drayden | Harper Voyager, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound 



66. Dream Country

Shannon Gibney | Dutton BYR, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


67. Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani | Viviana Mazza | Katherine Tegen Books, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


68. A Blade So Black

L.L. McKinney | Imprint, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


69. Home and Away

Candice Montgomery | Page Street Publishing, 2018 | Amazon | IndieBound


70. I Am Alfonso Jones 

Tony Medina | Stacey Robinson | John Jennings | Tu Books, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound



71. Under the Zaboca Tree

Glynis Guevara | Inanna Publications, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


72. Calling My Name 

Liara Tamani | Greenwillow Books, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


73. Miles Morales: Spider-Man

Jason Reynolds | Marvel Press, 2017 | Amazon | IndieBound


74. Monster: A Graphic Novel

Walter Dean Myers | Guy A. Sims | Dawud Anyabwile |Amistad, 2015 | Amazon | IndieBound


75. Fake ID

Lamar Giles | Amistad, 2014 | Amazon | IndieBound


If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes to donate and support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. Thanks in advance for your thoughtful gift!

Amazon/IndieBound Disclosure: BCBA is a participant in the Amazon and IndieBound Affiliate Programs. Both are services that offer participants the opportunity to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and IndieBound.org. Clicking on the book links will direct you away from bcbooksandauthors.com. Thanks for your support!

Comments are closed.