Skip to main content
Somebody's new pajamas
Jackson, Isaac
Jerome becomes good friends with Robert, a new boy at school. On the night that Jerome sleeps over at Robert's house, Robert shares a pair of his pajamas. Jerome learns that it's okay if people do things a little differently.

My best shoes
Burton, Marilee Robin
Days of the week are expressed through many different shoes that children wear. Have you ever worn sturdy lace-up high shoes, run all day shoes, or tiptoe in the sand shoes?

Bonjour, lonnie
Ringgold, Faith
Lonnie is an orphan who learns his family heritage through the help of the Love Bird. He eventually finds his adoptive parents.

Aaron and gayla's counting book
Greenfield, Eloise
Two African American children explore numbers on a rainy day. The children play in the rain, counting all the things they see.


In my momma's kitchen
Nolen, Jerdine
This little girl loves to be in her momma's kitchen. There's always something going on. From college announcements, to family dinners, to late nights of singing, everything happens in the kitchen. It is the most special place in the house.

Mirandy and brother wind
McKissack, Patricia C.
To win first prize in the dance contest, Mirandy tries to capture the wind for her partner.

The market lady and the mango tree
Watson, Pete//Watson, Mary
The children in the village see many things they want to buy. However, they have no money, so they must wait until the mangos fall off the trees. Once mangos have fallen, anyone can eat them. A clever market lady tries to gather all the mangos so she can sell them.

Knoxville, Tennessee
Giovanni, Nikki
A young girl likes summer best because of the fresh corn from her daddy's garden, the okra, barbecue, and homemade ice cream from the church picnic, and the gospel music from the church homecoming. She also likes to go to the mountains with her grandmother where she feels safe and warm.

Sam and the tigers: A new telling of little black sambo
Lester, Julius
A boy named Sam picks out bright clothes for his first day of school. On his way to school he runs into some tigers who want to eat him but he trades his bright clothes for his life. His bright clothes cause such a ruckus among the tigers that they fight each other and Sam gets his clothes back.

Black, white, just right!
Davol, Marguerite W.
A little girl who has a white father and a black mother compares the differences between them. Mama like to dance ballet and walk fast along the street. Papa likes to dance to rap and stroll along the street. They have different tastes in food and art, but all is just right in this special family.

My first look at clothes
Pinnington, Andrea//Davies, Charlotte
The different types of hats, shoes, sportswear, underwear, dressing-up clothes, night clothes, cold-day clothes, and hot-day clothes are presented. For example, hot-day clothes include sunglasses, a skirt, a t-shirt, shorts, a swimsuit, a sun hat, and a sundress. Photographs of each article of clothing are provided.

Irene and the big, fine nickel
Smalls, Hector
An independent girl named Irene lives in Harlem, New York in 1957 She and her friends experience a wonderful day in a community full of life and love.

Now let me fly
Johnson, Dolores
A family moves from Africa to America. They suffer hardships in anticipation of a different future.

Cleversticks
Ashley, Bernard
Ling Sung feels that he's not able to do anything at his school. One day by accident, his use of pretend chopsticks amazes his classmates and teachers.

We had a picnic this sunday past
Woodson, Jacqueline
Teeka and her grandmather wait fo the arrival of all their relatives at the family picnic. They both fear that Aunt Martha will show up with her dried-out apple pie. When everyone arrives, they have a wonderful feast.

My special best words
Steptoe, John
A young black girl shares special words during the day with her younger brother, her baby sitter, and her single father.

Darkness and the butterfly
Grifalconi, Ann
Osa is afraid of the dark, but learns that the dark is nothing to fear after visiting the wise woman in the woods.

Evan's corner
Hill, Elizabeth Starr
Evan needs a place of his own so he fixes up a corner in his house with pictures, furniture, and pet turtles!When Evan is done with his corner, he decides to help his siblings fix up their corners!

Gregory cool
Binch, Caroline
A young African-American boy visits an unfamiliar country. He is extremely apprehensive, but grows to love it. He misses it upon his return home.

Nobiah's well: A modern African folktale
Guthrie, Donna
Nobiah is an African American boy who is very generous. One day he fetches water for his mother, but by the time he gets home, his water is all gone. His generosity pays off when his friends build him a well in return.

The boy on the beach
Daly, Niki
Joe loves the beach. He likes splashing his mom and playing in the sand. He doesn't like the big waves though. He would rather pretend to be in the water. When Joe's pretending game tosses him overboard, he becomes scared. A friendly lifeguard helps him find his parents and everyone is happy again.

Peace crane
Hamanaka, Sheila
A young African American girl learns about the Peace Crane, created by Sadako Sasaki, survivor of Hiroshima. The girl wishes the Peace Crane would take her away from the violence in her own world to a place without racism and violence.

Little cliff and the porch people
Taulbert, Clifton
As Cliff grows up, he is entrusted more and more to do things on his own. Cliff's great-grandmother has him run an errand for her and along the way Cliff continually gets stopped by neighbors. Each of the neighbors assists Cliff in accomplishing his errand.

Do you know what i'll do?
Zolotow, Charlotte
A sister tells her younger brother all the different things that she will do for him. She will bring him things that will apply to his five senses. Most of all, she brings her brother her love and attention.

Cherries and cherry pits
Williams, Vera B.
A girl and her friend make up stories to go with the pictures she draws. All the stories have to do with eating cherries.

Billy the great
Guy, Rosa
Billy's parents have tried to plan his life for him since the day he was born. They try to even choose his friends. But, Billy knows what he wants so he proves to them that he can do it.

Elijah's angel
Rosen, Michael
Elijah and Michael have a unique friendship. Elijah is an 80 year old black Christian barber and Michael is a 9 year old Jewish boy. Elijah and Michael exchange Hanukah and Christmas gifts and reach a level of understanding between their different religions.

Bright eyes, brown skin
Hudson, Cheryl Willis//Ford, Bernette G.
Young children, who are African American, go about their daily lives. They describe their features including their bright eyes and brown skin.

At the crossroads
Isadora, Rachel
A little boy and the children in a poor South African village, sing and expect the arrival of their fathers who work in the mines. They sing, dance, make instruments, and sit in the dark until their fathers finally arrive.

Mary had a little lamb
Hale, Sarah Josepha
A lamb, who goes to school, has a famous 19th century nursery rhyme and song written about it.

We are all in the dumps with jack and guy
Sendak, Maurice
There are two rhymes that precede one another to make a story about kids that are homeless. Two mean rats take one child and some kittens, and the children go after him. Jack and Guy later find the boy and the mother of the kittens. They all go and save the kittens. Jack and Guy take care of the little boy.

Black cowboy, wild horses: A true story
Lester, Julius
Using his amazing tracking ability, black cowboy Bob Lemmons is accepted by a herd of wild horses allowing him to corral them. Based on a true story, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggles that faced the cowboys in the plains of the United States.

Don't worry, dear
Fassler, Joan
Jenny does a lot of things little girls do; she sucks her thumb, wets the bed, stutters her words, and pretends her stuffed animals are real. Many people laugh at Jenny, but her mother tells her not to worry because things will get better as she grows up.

One hot summer day
Crews, Nina
Summertime brings really hot weather, but there's still things to do for fun in the sun and shade. Soon the weather brings a storm which cools the temperatures and brings with it a different fun.

One halloween night
Teague, Mark
Three children get more than they are trick-or-treating for, when the night turns into one unexpected event after another. The neighbors pass out Broccoli Chews and Eggplant Fizzlers and the trio runs into their nemesis Leona Fleebish. With a sweep of a wand, flash of a pirate sword, and gulp of magic potion, the children create an unforgetable Halloween.

You are here
Crews, Nina
Have you ever been bored on a rainy day?Follow these two young girls on an exciting adventure with their imaginations and a magic map. Just as the magical map ends their rainy day doldrums, their mother tells them the sun is out and it's time to go to the park.

William and the good old days
Greenfield, Eloise
William remembers how wonderful things were before his grandmother got sick. However, he slowly finds ways to make some good new days and is hopeful for the future.

Grandpa's hammer
Kidd, Ronald
Grandpa always say that it take two things to make dreams come true: faith and a hammer. After Grandma passes away, Grandpa sets aside his hammer and nearly loses his faith. His granddaughter tries everything she can think of to bring back his faith but nothing seems to work. One day, Grandpa visits a Habitat for Humanity worksite with a neighbor and realizes that he can made dreams come true for others.

Potluck
Shelby, Anne
Alpha and Betty plan a potluck dinner and invite all their friends. Each person brings a different type of food. Acton brings asparagus, Ben brings bagels, Don brings dumplings and there are many more.

Hard to be six
Adoff, Arnold
This is one little boy's story of coming to accept his age. He feels inferior to his big ten year old sister and he longs to be old like her. It is not until he talks to his grandmother and sees his grandfather's grave that he realizes that life at any age is hard.

Grandpa's face
Greenfield, Eloise
Tamika loves her grandpa and she especially loves the way she can tell how he is feeling by looking at his face. One day when her grandpa is rehearsing for a play, Tamika sees his angry, mean face. Tamika misbehaves at dinner by playing with her food, because she is afraid that he will make that face at her.

At the mall
Loomis, Christine
Three children and their mother find new and fun things at the mall. As they walk and shop, they notice the candy store, white mice, teens gathering and more. They eventually find the perfect gift to complete their trip.

Jo Jo's flying sidekick
Pinkney, Brian
Jo Jo is worried about her flying sidekick test in Tae Kwon Do. Her grandfather and mother give her advice but she is still worried. When the test begins, she freezes. But then she realizes just what to do.

Stevie
Steptoe, John
A young African American boy feels jealous and angry when his mother accepts a new babysitting job for a younger child. It is only until the boy moves away that he realizes how much fun he had with him.

A million fish...more or less
McKissack, Patricia C.
Hugh Thomas lives in a place where weird things happen and people spin tales. Elder Abbajon and Papa-Daddy tell Hugh Thomas a tale about Bayou Clapateaux. On the way home from fishing, Hugh Thomas makes up his own spin tale.

Tar beach
Ringgold, Faith
A young, 8 year old, African American girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home and having the many things she sees. She speaks of her wish to have money and liberation for her family and herself.

Always my dad
Wyeth, Sharon
A girl does not get to see her father often and she misses him very much. One summer at her grandparents' farm, she and her three brothers spend some very nice moments with their father. She realizes that no matter where he is, he will always be her father and loves her.

Dawn and the round-to-it
Smalls, Irene
Dawn wakes up early every day, but everyone in her family is too busy to play with her. She is sad, but figures out a way that they can make time for her, and it works.

Red dancing shoes
Patrick, Denise Lewis
A little girl's Grandmama brings her a new pair of red dancing shoes. She is so excited she dances all around town showing them to everyone she knows.