Youth Art Month (YAM): 40 Children’s Books by Artist Authors

“I wanted to become an artist when I was very young…as far back as age four. I gave my mother a portrait I had drawn of her and she told me it captured her completely. I laughed about this years later, but it was the beginning of the strong support I would gain from my family and community for the years to come.”—Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Black Books Galore

Jan Spivey Gilchrist is a revered artist. Readers familiar with Black children’s literature know that she has illustrated many award-winning picture books, some of the most well-known are collaborations with poet and prolific author, Eloise Greenfield. However, Gilchrist is also an author who has illustrated her own written works. March is Youth Art Month (YAM), and its purpose is to celebrate and “raise awareness and support of the visual arts.” Like Gilchrist, some children develop a love for art at an early age. Initiatives like YAM help to encourage their interests via school and community activities. Educators seeking to combine reading and art and families who want to embrace their child’s art curiosity, will love the wonderful and eclectic illustration styles in books listed. All are written and illustrated by Black artists, including Ashley Bryan, Kadir Nelson, Jerry Pinkney, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Oge Mora, and 35 others. After checking out the list, do you know any artist authors we may have missed? Leave a comment below. Enjoy the beautiful books. Our stories matter.

1 Sculptor Woodrow Nash: How I Search for My Ancestors

2 America, My Love, America, My Heart

3 Stella’s Stellar Hair

4 The Little Mermaid

5 William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad

6 GLORY: Magical Visions of Black Beauty

7 Me & Mama

8 You Matter

9 The Old Boat

10 Cool Cuts

11 Hey, Baby!: A Baby’s Day in Doodles (BdBk)

12 Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence

13 Just Like Me

14 Where Is Mommy?

15 Henry and Bea

16 Saturday

17 Octopus Stew

18 Astro Girl

19 A Voice as Soft as a Honey Bee’s Flutter: Inspired by Psalm 46

20 Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to Family

21 New KId (Bk. 1 of 2)

22 Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

23 Don’t Touch My Hair!

24 Dream Big, Little One (BdBk)

25 The Ring Bearer

26 Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

27 Mousetropolis

28 Red, Yellow, Blue (and a Dash of White, Too!)

29 We March

30 New Red Bike! (I Like to Read)

31 Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song

32 We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

33 Fish for the Grand Lady

Colin Bootman | Holiday House | May 30, 2006 | Amazon | IndieBound

34 Uptown

35 Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy: A Civil War Story

36 Wings

Christopher Myers | Scholastic Press | October 1, 2000 | Amazon | IndieBound

37 The Great Migration: An American Story

38 Max Found Two Sticks

39 Shortcut

40 Tar Beach

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