Children's books for Black History Month

Child of the Civil Rights Movement ~ by Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Raul Colón, 2013, picture book (ages 4-8), 48 pages

Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Civil Rights activist Andrew Young, brings a child’s unique perspective to an important chapter in America’s history.  Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not.  With an activist father and a community of leaders surrounding her, including Uncle Martin (Martin Luther King), Paula watched and listened to the struggles, eventually joining with her family — and thousands of others — in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.   "Uncle Martin and Aunt Coretta" were not family by blood, but . . . 

"Close because our fathers worked together.
Close because our mothers worried together.
Close because we all struggled together." 

This Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year is poignant, hopeful, moving, and an intimate look at the birth of the Civil Rights Movement.

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad ~ by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2007, children's historical fiction, 40 pages

This Caldecott Honor book tells the true story of Henry "Box" Brown, who bravely escaped slavery by mailing himself North to freedom.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone ~ by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison, 2014, picture book (3-8 years old), 40 pages

Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember.  As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio.  At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument.  By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz.  She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country.  Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century:  Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few.  Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

My Brother Martin ~ by Christine King Farris, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, 2003, children's historical fiction, 40 pages

The older sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tells the childhood story of when Martin was first inspired to change the world around him.  Long before he became a world-famous dreamer, he was a little boy who played jokes and practiced the piano and made friends without considering race.  But growing up in the segregated south of the 1930s taught young Martin a bitter lesson — that little white children and little black children were not to play with one another.  Martin decided then and there that something had to be done, and so he began the journey that would change the course of American history.

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*** If you want more books like these, click HERE for a list of 33 children's books for Black History Month.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts the Sunday Salon