My Book List to Celebrate Black History Month!
As you may or may not know, February is Black History Month. Although introduced in 1926, President Gerald Ford officially declared Black History Month a holiday in 1976. In honor of Black History Month, I decided to share some of my favorite middle-grade books written by talented Black authors. I hope you add these books to your reading list and enjoy reading them.
Rita Williams Garcia
- One Crazy Summer
One Crazy Summer is a historical fiction novel by American author Rita Williams-Garcia, published in 2010. The novel is about Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, three sisters, visiting their mother, who had abandoned them and had moved to California many years ago. The three sisters traveled to Oakland, California, from New York, during the summer of 1968. The sisters go to a day camp for black kids, and for the first time, they experience racial discrimination. During this time, the daughters learn about their mother’s dark past and find forgiveness in the end.
- P.S Be Eleven
P.S. be Eleven is the sequel to One Crazy Summer. Eleven-year-old Brooklyn girl Delphine and her sisters return to Brooklyn after meeting their mom, and soon new challenges begin. Her Uncle is back from war and is not the same. Papa has a girlfriend, and school is getting harder. Delphine’s mother, Cecile, writes to the girls every day, always ending the letters with “P.S be eleven.” The meaning of P.S Be Eleven is very special to me as it means never to change and be yourself.
- Gone Crazy in Alabama
This book is the THIRD sequel of One Crazy Summer. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are off to spend their summer with Big Ma and the rest of their family in, you guessed it, Alabama. There, they learn about their family history and the setting their family had grown up in. This book was one of my favorites by this author. I really like mystery-type novels, and this book was quite interesting. A common pattern that I noticed in the trilogy was that the three girls experienced three new worlds and learned about their families. Read this book to find out.
Kwame Mbalia
- Black Boy Joy (Written by 17 black authors)
Seventeen writers (Including Jason Reynolds, Jerry Craft, and Varian Johnson) represent newer voices talking about the life stories of black boys learning about the world. They face challenges such as coming together, growing up, race and sexuality. Every story I read in that book taught me life lessons. It was emotional and funny at the same time. I was so happy that they included serious topics that make it more mature to middle-grade readers.
Sharon M. Draper
- Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Melody has cerebral palsy, so she has trouble moving physically and uses a wheelchair. Melody’s teachers underestimate her intelligence because she does not learn the same way others do. When she gets a new computer, she can better communicate with others. Melody should be treated like everyone else. What will happen when Melody finally goes to school with typical kids? Will Melody show her abilities to do things that people think she can’t do? Read this book to find out.
- Blended by Sharon M Draper
Isabella, an eleven-year-old biracial girl, is dealing with an identity crisis. She feels like she lives in two worlds because her mother is white, and her father is Black. Also, her parents are divorced, which means she has a mom week and a dad week. Isabella calls it a “Great Exchange.” After the divorce, Isabella is more aware of being a biracial kid. Isabella has both black and white friends at school. Isabella realizes how cruel people can be when someone puts a noose in her friend’s locker. The story gets even more serious after the incident. Also, her parents are now engaged to other people, which means more weddings and changes to come. While her parents plan their weddings, Isabella hopes that the four of them will get along.
Also, Isabella loves to play the piano and is looking forward to a big recital. On that day, something horrific happens to lead to another serious accident. Isabella becomes a victim of police brutality. What happens next? Will Isabella get over her crisis? Will she be able to get over the trauma of surviving racial profiling and her parents moving on with their new life partners? Read this book to find out.
I liked that the language in the book was easy to understand. Also, it had many life lessons such as family, friendship, kindness, divorce, racism, moving on, and identity.
If you are interested in reading these books, please borrow these books from your local library, Amazon, or you can listen to them as an audiobook.
Here is a quote from the book A Good Kind of Trouble:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed,’” Daddy says, and then Hana cuts in and says, “’But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion
Lisa Moore Ramee
- A Good Kind of Trouble
A Good Kind of Trouble was Lisa Moore Ramee’s first book. It is about Shayla, a Black twelve-year-old middle schooler who hates trouble. She tries to avoid it because it makes her hand itch. She loves to follow the rules. Her older sister, Hana, is the opposite. She is a Black Lives Matter protestor who gets into trouble. She fights for black people because she believes black people have been mistreated and still are being mistreated in this country. Since there is an increase in BLM protests, Shayla wants to support the protests but is worried she will get into trouble. She starts wearing black armbands on her arm every day to show her solidarity.
Shayla is currently in junior high and is going through issues at school. She has her friends, Julia and Isabella, to help. Their group name is the United Nations, as they are a diverse group of girls. Julia is Japanese-American, and Isabella is Puerto Rican-American. Although, she soon has friendship problems to deal with as well. Will Shayla find a cause worth breaking the rules? Will she find the courage to stand for something important- a good kind of trouble? Will Shayla get to fight for black rights? Will she resolve her friend-drama? Will she be able to get over her fear of trouble? Read this book to find out.
This book taught me why it is Black Lives Matter and is not All Lives Matter. Shayla’s mother explains it by saying, “All lives do matter, but for example, if you break your arm, and the doctor says you need a full-body cast, that wouldn’t make any sense because you broke your arm, not your body.” Black lives matter, and so do all other lives, but when something wrong happens to vulnerable groups, it does matter and needs attention.
In addition to friendship and racism, this book covers themes of teamwork and courage.
Jacqueline Woodson
- Brown Girl Dreaming
This book is a verse book, and I always enjoy reading verse books, so this book was a winner for me. Woodson starts her book with her birth in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement. It is like an autobiography about her and her family history. She covered her life story beautifully as she talked about growing up, life challenges, racism, and history. While reading this book, I felt like I was in Jacqueline’s shoes. This book holds a deep place in my heart. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy books in verse. It was pretty easy to understand and improve my comprehension of poetry.
Jason Reynolds
- Stamped
- Look Both Ways
Since 5th grade, Jason Reynolds has been one of my favorite authors. His writing techniques are something I try to adapt in my creative writing.
Look Both Ways is a book filled with stories of kids entering their neighborhood after a long day of school and their points of view and narratives. Look Both Ways had won the Carnegie Medal. Stamped covers the serious topic of racism.
Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Black Brother, Black Brother
This book absolutely blew me away, and that’s something that doesn’t happen often. This book is from the list of The Battle Of The Books. It’s about Donte, a twelve-year-old biracial boy whose father is Norwegian American and his mother is African American. His skin color is more like his mother’s, and his brothers’ skin color is more like his father’s. He is one of the only black kids at his new private white middle school and gets bullied all the time. Donte wishes he were invisible. His white brother Trey is treated very differently from Donte. He has an incident with a bully, Alan King, resulting in Donte being framed for a crime. He was arrested and suspended for something I thought was trivial. In my opinion, it is inappropriate. After this, he joins a fencing club run by a famous former Olympic fencer. Donte finally felt he had a mentor to help him on the right path. With his help, Donte learns to be proud of his identity. This incident at school made Donte realize injustice and prejudice against black kids. In this crisis, his mother, a lawyer, decides to support him and files a case against this incident at school. What will happen to Donte? Will he be able to go back to school like other kids? What will happen to the bully?
This book covers important themes like racial injustice, discrimination, bullying, colorism, and self-identification.
Varian Johnson
- The Parker inheritance
After the divorce of 12 year old Candice’s parents, Candice and her mother decide to pay a visit to Lambert, South Carolina at her grandmothers house after her passing. Candice finds herself lonely with no friends, books and a computer. But when a boy next door named Brandon comes along, they both look for clues. Before Candices grandmothers passing, she had wished for one of her mysterious fortunes to be found. What will happen next? What is the Treasure? Read this book to find out.
Jerry Craft
- New Kid
Jordan is the new African-American kid at a private school. Jordan has a passion for art. However, he finds the school weird, especially the fact that they call it pink salmon. In this book, Jordan experiences the challenges of middle school life and thinks about who am I? This book is a graphic novel and easy to understand. I read this book in fifth grade and finished it very quickly. I reread it in middle school.
Kwame Alexander
- Crossover
Two twin brothers, Josh and Jordan, are always together. They are both the stars of their school’s basketball team. But when some complications come in, the dynamic duo is separated. This book is in verse which was pretty easy to read. If you are interested in sports, then I think that this book is just for you.