Our Favorite Picture Books to Celebrate Black History Month

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr is a multiple award-winning book tells the story of Martin Luther King, Jr using his own quotes.

Prepare yourself for some tears. This book tells the true story of Henry Brown from a small boy to a grown man.

Henry's Freedom Box is a fascinating and inspiring story.

William Kamkwamba tells his story of how he educated himself and saved his community by building a windmill that harnessed the power of the wind and created electricity. This isn't a story about an American, but it is a great story about perseverance and ingenuity.

Read the picture book version of the Netflix movie, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, and learn the power of reading.

This inspirational poem is written by Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater. Firebird is great for the ballerina in the family!

This is the true story of a boy born to poverty who becomes a photographer who captured America on film during Segregation. Learn the story of Gordon Parks in this picture book about pictures.

The Story of Ruby Bridges, the 1st grader who faced discrimination when a judge ordered her to attend a formerly whites-only school, is beautifully illustrated.

Two Friends imagines what an afternoon tea would be like with freedom fighters, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

Florence Mills is a little-known vocal artist who chose her convictions over fame. Read her story in Harlem's Little Blackbird.

Langston Hughes wrote this poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, about life as an African-American growing up in the early 20th century when he was still a teenager.

This story is about two best friends growing up together in a racially divided America in the 1960s.

Freedom Summer highlights the differences in freedoms for the boys of two different races.

Freedom on the Menu is the story of the Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in in 1960. This is a great picture book to start your Black History Month literary adventure.

We March is a picture book that tells the story of the March on Washington in 1963.

Use this Black History Month picture book to introduce your children to peaceful protests.

Step-Stomp Stride is the story of Sojourner Truth, an escaped slave who spent her life fighting for the rights of African-Americans and women.

In Hidden Figures, based on the bestseller and Oscar-nominated film, we celebrate the remarkable true story of four brilliant black women who defied barriers at NASA. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden used their math skills to help launch America into space, overcoming discrimination as they broke new ground in a challenging STEM career.