Black History Month: Book Lists & Other Resources

I thought I'd post my list of resources for Black History Month early this year.

Book Lists

• From NYPL: Celebrate African-American History Month
• From PBS Parents: Books that Bring the Black Experience to Life
• 2010 Black History Month Recommended Reading List from the Florida Department of Education. Divided into sub-lists for different grade levels: PreK-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12
• Celebrate Black History Month: Spotlight On…February 2008 from the Metropolitan System of Oklahoma County
• Black History Month 2005 Picture Books from metrolibrary.org
• From Through The Looking Glass Children’s Book Review: Black History Month. Click on book titles to read the reviews.
• African American Books from The Horn Book
• From BookPage: Understanding the Past (Reviews by Deborah Hopkinson)
• From the Kids’ Corner of the Henrietta Public Library of Monroe County in New York: 2008 Black History Month (2008)
• From Reading Rockets: Favorite Books for Black History Month
• From KidsReads. Celebrating Black History Month (2009)
• From KidsReads: Celebrating Black History Month (2007)
• From KidsReads: Celebrating Black History Month (2006)
• From Scholastic: Books About Great African Americans for Grades PreK-4 and Up
• Read Jules’s reviews of some great new books at 7-Imp in her post Good picture book biographies start here. She’s included images of some fabulous illustrations along with her reviews, too! (2008)
• Booklist’s Black History Preview: 2009 (12/15/2009)
• From Meridian Magazine: Black History Month through Books by Holly E. Newton
• From MotherReader: Books for Black History Month (February 2008)
• From Bright Horizons: Good Children’s Books for African American History Month
  

Other Resources for Black History Month

• From the Library of Congress: African American History Month
• From East Central Georgia Regional Library: Black History Month Sites
• From TeacherVision: Black History Month—Teacher Resources
• From National Geographic: The Underground Railroad
• From Scholastic: Celebrate African American Heritage
• From Scholastic: Culture & Change—Black History in America
• From Scholastic: The Underground Railroad—Escape from Slavery
• From Scholastic: Books About Great African Americans for Grades PreK-4 and Up
• From Scholastic: The Top Ten African-American InventorsThe Black Inventor On-Line Museum
• From Reading Rockets: Black History Month
• From Time for Kids: Black History Month
• From The History Channel: Black History
• PBS Kids GO!: Jazz Greats
• Check out Tricia’s post Teaching Resources—African History Month at The Miss Rumphius Effect. (2008)
• Here’s a link to Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Celebration Time: Black History Month is here and there's a party goin' on, which appeared in the February 2008 issue of School Library Journal.
• From Time for Kids: A Then to Now timeline of Black History
• Here’s a link to a post at the ESSL Children’s Literature Blog that presents selected books by notable African American authors: African American Children’s Writers.
• From East Central Georgia Regional Library: Black History Month Sites
• From Arlington, Virginia, Libraries: Black History Month Guide for Kids

From Wild Rose Reader
Following are links to some of my previous posts at Wild Rose Reader that include recommendations and reviews of poetry books and picture book biographies for Black History Month:

• Poetry Books for Black History Month
• More Poetry Books for Black History Month
• Poetry & Picture Book Biographies for Black History Month
• Just Jazzin' with Dizzy Gillespie & Ella Fitzgerald
• Book Bunch: Looking at Langston Hughes
  

Edited to add: More Books & Resources for Black History Month 2010 (Wild Rose Reader)

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Here is a cento I wrote in the voice of Harriet Tubman for Black History Month in 2008. In the cento, I used only the titles of books written by African American authors or books about the African American experience…with one exception—Come with Me, a book of poems that was written by Naomi Shihab Nye. (I’ve printed the book titles in italics in my poem.)

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A Cento for Harriet Tubman

by Elaine Magliaro

Hush,

My Brown Angels,

Listen to The Distant Talking Drum.

Hear it Spin a Soft Black Song

Under the Quilt of Night.

I’m Only Passing Through,

Goin’ Someplace Special…

To The Other Side

Where there’s A Sweet Smell of Roses

And Freedom Like Sunlight.

I’ve Seen the Promised Land—

A place for All the Colors of the Race.

Now Is Your Time

To be Freedom Walkers.

Follow me on The Road North

To Liberty Street.

Come with Me

To The Other Side

Where we will Make a Joyful Sound.

We will Lift Every Voice and Sing…

Sing to the Sun.

Sing Free at Last!

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THE BOOKS

Hush by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Angels by Walter Dean Myers

The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye

Spin a Soft Black Song by Nikki Giovanni

Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson

Only Passing Through by Anne Rockwell

Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia C. Mckissack

The Other Side by Angela Johnson

A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson

Freedom Like Sunlight by J. Patrick Lewis

I’ve Seen the Promised Land by Walter Dean Myers

All the Colors of the Race by Arnold Adoff

Now Is Your Time! by Walter Dean Myers

Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman

The Road North by Bettye Stroud

Liberty Street by Candice F. Ransom

Come with Me by Naomi Shihab Nye

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Make a Joyful Sound: Poems for Children by African-American Poets edited by Deborah Slier

Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson

Sing to the Sun by Ashley Bryan

Free at Last! By Doreen Rappaport