Contemporary African American Fiction for Young Readers
Discover the best contemporary African American fiction books for young readers. Explore engaging stories, diverse characters, and powerful narratives that inspire and entertain.
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Starring Grace
by Mary Hoffman
A chapter bookk sequel to New York Times bestseller and finalist Kate Greenaway Medal, Amazing Grace and Boundless Grace. School’s out . . . and of course that means it’s time for fun! Grace and her friends are always ready for a little adventure, and Grace’s backyard is the perfect place to set up headquarters. Suddenly the lawn is transformed into the center ring of a big-top circus, then a rocket launch pad, and then a hospital emergency room! The group’s exploits, both real and imagined, provide all kinds of unexpected rewards—and might even land Grace on an actual stage in a real theater production! “This is sure to be a hit with fans of Amazing Grace and Boundless Grace. . . . [A] fast-paced choice.”—School Library Journal
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Won't Know 'Til I Get There
by Walter Dean Myers
From the New York Times bestselling, National Book Award-nominated author of Monster and Fallen Angels When Steve’s parents decide to adopt a foster child, it seems like a good idea. And when Steve decides to show the new kid how tough he is by spray-painting the side of a subway car, that seems like a good idea too. But the foster child turns out to be a thirteen-year-old with a criminal record, and the guys in the designer jeans watching Steve spray-paint graffiti turn out to be transit police. Suddenly Steve and the whole gang are serving time, working in an old-age home with a bunch of feisty and independent senior citizens who refuse to sit still and be stereotyped—by anybody. "Another winning novel told with nimble wit and poignancy." —Publishers Weekly "Myers explores the value and meaning of true friendship. . . The tone is alternately funny, sad, and sentimental, but always natural and appealing." —School Library Journal An ALA Notable Book
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Charlie Pippin
by Candy Dawson Boyd
Spunky eleven-year-old Charlie hopes to understand her rigid father by finding out everything she can about the Vietnam War, the war that let him survive but killed his dreams.
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Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World
by Mildred Pitts Walter
Ten-year-old Justin thinks housework is for women, until he's invited to his grandfather's ranch. There, along with fishing, riding, and going to the rodeo, Justin learns about his black cowboy ancestors and that doing "women's work"--even baking prize-winning biscuits--is part of taking care of himself. Reading level: 2.7.
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Me, Mop, and the Moondance Kid
by Walter Dean Myers
An ALA Notable Children’s Book from the award-winning author of Monster in which “wit, sensitivity, and insight [are combined] to create this funny, fast-paced story about three orphaned children and the Elks, a Little League baseball team” (Publishers Weekly). T.J., his younger brother, Moondance, and Mop—Miss Olivia Parrish—grew up together in the same orphanage. Now T.J. and Moondance have been adopted, and Mop has to find a family before the orphanage closes and “leftover” kids are sent away. Mop hopes that if she can play catcher for the Elks, the Little League baseball team that her friends have joined, the coach will be so impressed that he and his wife will adopt her. It’s going to take a lot of teamwork for her, T.J, and little Moondance to make their dreams come true!
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Yolonda's Genius
by Carol Fenner
Fifth grader Yolonda is determined to prove that her younger brother is not a slow learner but a true musical genius in this sweet and inspirational Newbery Honor Book. Yolanda is smart, tough, and big for her age. Back in Chicago where they used to live, everyone knew better than to mess with her or her little brother, Andrew. Andrew doesn’t talk very much and he can’t read, but he can create unbelievable music on the old harmonica their father left him. When Yolanda reads the definition of “genius” in the dictionary, she knows it describes Andrew, and she’s determined to convince the world, especially their mother, of Andrew’s gift. Then one day when Yolanda’s back is turned, the unthinkable happens, and the music stops. Now Yolanda’s mission is more important than ever. How can she open people’s eyes to Andrew’s talent and help him find the music again?
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The Secret of Gumbo Grove
by Eleanora Tate
Raisin Stackhouse doesn't mind doing odd jobs for old Miss Effie Pfluggins, but when Miss Effie talks her into cleaning up the old church cemetery, she has no idea what trouble she might dig up. Mama says Miss Effie talks much too much, but Raisin loves hearing her remember the old days--especially when one of her stories puts Raisin smack in the middle of real-life mystery. When Raisin is grounded for sneaking a night out, she not only misses her chance to compete in the Miss Ebony Pageant, but her efforts to uncover the famous person buried in the cemetery are brought to a half, too. Somehow Raisin's got to solve the big mystery no one in town wants to talk about. Will her discovery bring her glory, or is the past better off left buried?
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Zeely
by Virginia Hamilton
Geeder's summer at her uncle's farm is made special because of her friendship with a very tall, composed woman who raises hogs and who closely resembles the magazine photograph of a Watutsi queen.
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The House of Dies Drear
by Virginia Hamilton
A black family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.
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Striped Ice Cream!
by Joan M. Lexau
Becky knows her inner-city family is too poor even to buy her favorite ice cream for her birthday, but they seem to be going out of their way to be mean, whispering and planning something behind her back. Reissue.
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The Spray-paint Mystery
by Angela Shelf Medearis
When someone begins painting graffiti on walls throughout the town, Cameron Thompson, a detective's son, teams up with his best friend, Tarann, to figure out if a new kid, a school artist, or a scary guy is the culprit. Original.
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Junebug
by Alice Mead
Reeve McLain, Jr.--Junebug--has a big dream that keeps him going. He dreams that someday he and his younger sister and mother will move from the awful housing project where drugs, gangs, and guns are part of everyday life. Junebug's tenth birthday is coming up, and he knows the gangs and drug dealers will be after him to join them. But he has a big birthday plan to keep his hope alive. He's going to launch his glass-bottle collection filled with notes of his dreams and wishes. Maybe some way, somehow, Junebug's dream will come true.
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Circle of Gold
by Candy Dawson Boyd
Ten-year-old Mattie copes with the loss of her father and her mixed feelings towards her mother who is under pressure to support the family.
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Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe
by Bette Greene
Eleven-year-old Beth thinks that Philip Hall likes her, but their on-again, off-again relationship sometimes makes her wonder.
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Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns
by Mary Quattlebaum
Nothing but a big mess of trouble and weeds.. That's what Jackson Jones thinks of the garden plot his mother gives him for his tenth birthday. What happened to the basketball he's hoped and prayed for all year? When Jackson comes up with a moneymaking scheme for the garden, it doesn't seem so bad after all. He even cuts his friends in on the action. But before long, Jackson finds out that friends and business don't always mix. When the neighborhood bully calls him "Bouquet Jones," Jackson is ready to give up. Maybe gardens don't belong in cities after all.... Winner of the first annual Marguerite de Angeli Prize.
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Seth and Samona
by Joanne Hyppolite
Two Haitian American children deal with the problems of friendship, family life, and growing up.
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Just My Luck
by Emily Moore
Ten-year-old Olivia, lonesome for her best friend who moved away, meets a funny-looking boy who joins in her obsessive quest for a dog.
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After Tupac & D Foster
by Jacqueline Woodson
A Newbery Honor Book Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature The day D Foster enters Neeka and her best friend’s lives, the world opens up for them. D comes from a world vastly different from their safe Queens neighborhood, and through her, the girls see another side of life that includes loss, foster families and an amount of freedom that makes the girls envious. Although all of them are crazy about Tupac Shakur’s rap music, D is the one who truly understands the place where he’s coming from, and through knowing D, Tupac’s lyrics become more personal for all of them. The girls are thirteen when D’s mom swoops in to reclaim D—and as magically as she appeared, she now disappears from their lives. Tupac is gone, too, after another shooting; this time fatal. As the narrator looks back, she sees lives suspended in time, and realizes that even all-too-brief connections can touch deeply.
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Small Steps
by Louis Sachar
Three years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is trying hard to keep his life on track, but when his old pal X-Ray shows up with a tempting plan to make some easy money scalping concert tickets, Armpit reluctantly goes along.
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The Real Slam Dunk
by Charisse Richardson
Champions need skills on and off the court. Marcus Robinson is psyched! Tomorrow, his class is going on a field trip to a professional basketball arena to meet the one and only Jason Carter, Marcus's hero. Marcus usually ignores everything except for basketball, but this time he studies for hours to win the math contest-for the prize of being the official Jason Carter greeter! But when Jason tells Marcus some things he didn't expect to hear about professional basketball, Marcus is confused. He thought that all he'd ever need in life was basketball. Thanks to Jason, Marcus is about to learn the meaning of a real slam dunk. With cover and interior illustrations by Kadir Nelson. "The mom in the story made me think about how my mother inspired me to reach my goals." --Shaquille O'Neal, NBA Champion, NBA All-Star, NBA Read to Achieve All-Star Reading Team "The Real Slam Dunk is a great book for young basketball players because the main characters focus on education and not just basketball." --Sue Bird, WNBA All-Star, NBA Read to Achieve All-Star Reading Team
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The Real Lucky Charm
by Charisse K. Richardson
Thinking that luck--rather than hard work--has helped her succeed on the court and at school, ten-year-old Mia Robinson panics and turns to her twin brother for help when her lucky gold basketball goes missing from her charm bracelet. Simultaneous.
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The Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean Merrill
Sixth-grader Rufus Mayflower doesn't set out to become a millionaire. He just wants to save on toothpaste. Betting he can make a gallon of his own for the same price as one tube from the store, Rufus develops a step-by-step production plan with help from his good friend Kate MacKinstrey. By the time he reaches the eighth grade, Rufus makes more than a gallon--he makes a million This fun, breezy story set in 1960s Cleveland, Ohio contains many real-life mathematical problems which the characters must solve to succeed in their budding business. Includes black-and-white illustrations by Jan Palmer. This edition includes an exclusive author interview and reader's guide with book summary and discussion questions.
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The Skin I'm in
by Sharon Flake
Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.
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Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up
by Melissa Thomson
Keena Ford chronicles her many mishaps as she begins second grade.
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Sallie Gal and the Wall-a-kee Man
by Shelia P. Moses
Sallie Gal admires cousin Wild Cat's hair ribbons that fly in the wind when she jumps Double Dutch. More than anything, Sallie Gal wants a set of her very own. But money is hard to come by. Especially for things she doesn't really need. One day, the Wall-a-kee Man comes through town. He has a whole general store--right in the back of his station wagon! When he secretly slips Sallie Gal some ribbons as a gift, she is delighted. But Mama has too much dignity to take charity. Sallie Gal really wants those ribbons. Now she must struggle with her conscience to do the right thing. In this immediate and exciting child-sized adventure, Shelia P. Moses tells a heartwarming story of a cotton sharecropper family on a North Carolina farm in the 1960s.
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Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Steven and his best friend Russell are back! When Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, jumps into a mural to chase a demonic-looking gnome and disappears, the Flint Future Detectives are on the case. With the secret password (Bow-wow-wow yippee yo yippee yay!) Steven, Richelle, and Russell enter the mural too, only to find the mysterious Mr. Chickee on the other side. To find a way out, the detectives must complete a mission—finding Rodney Rodent. And that means they're in some wild adventure! As Steven says, "I second that emotion."
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The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street
by Sharon Flake
/DIVI am a queen. I live in a castle, right across the street from the John Howard Housing Projects. Every day right after school I run to my bedroom window and open it wide--even in the middle of winter when the wind blows wet snow up my nose. I watch for my knight in shining armor. He's ten years old, like me, and rides a bike--a two-wheeler with rusty spokes and torn-up seat. So begins Sharon Flake's highly-anticipated new novel--a moving story of an unlikely friendship. DIV Queen is a royal pain in the neck! Her Highness treats everyone like her loyal subjects: her classmates, her teacher, even her parents! That's why all the kids hate her and it's hard for her to make friends. To make matters worse, Queen known she is bright. Her teacher thinks she's a spoiled know-it-all, and that keeps her in hot water as well. When a new kid comes to Queen's school riding a broken bike and wearing run-over shoes, he immediately becomes the butt of everyone's jokes. Her parents insist she be nice to Leroy, since history has never been kind to queens who forget how to be humble. But Leroy isn't just smelly, Queen thinks that he tells fibs—whoppers in fact—and when he says he's an African prince from Senegal, sparks fly between him and Queen. There's only room for one blue-blooded family on 33rd Street, and Queen is determined to prove Leroy is an impostor. What Queen ultimately discovers about Leroy makes her wonder what "happily ever after" really means. If a broken-bike boy is truly Queen’s knight in shining armor, can he save her from herself, by teaching her how to be a good friend?
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Liberty Porter, First Daughter
by Julia DeVillers
On her first day at the White House, nine-year-old Liberty exuberantly explores her new home while making new friends and giving unique tours of her own.
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Slam Dunk!
by Sharon Robinson
At Harlem's Langston Hughes Middle School, eleven-year-old Elijah "Jumper" Breeze and his friends compete against Nia and her girlfriends on the basketball court, in a video dance tournament, and for a Student Council seat, and, meanwhile, several of the students face issues with their fathers.
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Home of the Brave
by Katherine Applegate
A deeply poetic and affecting novel about the contemporary immigrant experience.
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Vive La Paris
by Esme Raji Codell
Paris has come for piano lessons, not chopped-liver sandwiches or French lessons or free advice. But when old Mrs. Rosen gives her a little bit more than she can handle, it might be just what Paris needs to understand the bully in her brother’s life…and the bullies of the world. This companion novel to the award-winning Sahara Special is an affecting look at what it means to be your brother’s keeper, and how we hold onto hope when the world seems dark. (Rose-colored glasses optional.)
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The Road to Paris
by Nikki Grimes
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.
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Donavan's Word Jar
by Monalisa DeGross
Donavan is fascinated by words. They seem to leap out at him from books, signs, even the back of cereal boxes. He savors each word as he learns to say it and discovers its meaning. He keeps the words he collects on slips of paper in a big glass jar. But one day the jar is almost full and Donavan has a dilemma. How can he make room for new words without giving up all the terrific words already in his jar? A visit to his grandmother provides the unexpected solution in this heartwarming story about how important words can be.
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Lost in the Tunnel of Time
by Sharon M. Draper
Ziggy and his friends discover an old slave route under their school.
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The Marvelous Effect
by Troy CLE
Louis Proof is an ordinary kid. He loves listening to hip-hop, racing radio-controlled cars, and hanging out with his best friend, Brandon. Then a mysterious letter invites him to visit the local junkyard. There he finds a secret, underground amusement park like no other in existence. This is the best day of Louis's life. The park even has the most amazing race course for radio-controlled cars. Louis starts racing right away. It's a close contest; he's about to activate his nitro boost to take the lead, when... This is the worst day of Louis's life. Without warning or reason, thirteen-year-old Louis Proof falls into a coma due to a virus of a mysterious, celestial origin. When he awakens three months later, the world that he once knew and loved is totally out of control. He will learn that his illness is connected to everything that is wrong, and that it's not only his responsibility but his destiny to set things right. This story is a megadramatic, remarkably true, super action fantasy. Get ready!
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Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street; When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street
by Angela Johnson
Contains two novels about ten-year-old Charlie who moves into a new neighborhood and makes new friends.