The International Reading Association has released it’s Choices Booklists for children, teachers and young adults. And the lists are quite diverse.
Here are a few titles from the Teacher’s list, that are either by or about African Americans:
Primary winners:
Ain’t Nobody a Stranger to Me by Ann Grifalconi, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Hyperion, Jump at the Sun.
D Is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet by Nancy I. Sanders, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, Sleeping Bear.
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Scholastic, Scholastic Press.
Intermediate winners
A Friendship for Today, written by Patricia C. McKissack*; Scholastic, Scholastic Press.
A Song for Harlem, written by Patricia C. McKissack, Penguin, Viking.
Sweet Land of Liberty*, written by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Leonard Jenkins*, Ill. Peachtree.
Advanced winners:
Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance, written by Eleanora E. Tate*; Little, Brown.
On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals, written by Nikki Giovanni, Candlewick.
See all the lists and download the bookmarks at the IRA website.
* Indicates a 28 Days Later author, illustrator or book
–Don
The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers. Our flagship initiative of is 
