Top 5 Books to Celebrate Black Author

Enjoy these titles from Usborne Books & More to celebrate Black History Month. Shop now!

1. Lenny and Wilbur by Ken Wilson-Max
2. Dr. Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System by Maggie Aderin-Pocock
3. Lightening Girl by Alesha Dixon
4. Go Well, Anna Hibiscus! (Book 6) by Atinuke
5. Game Day! by Patty Mills 

These authors are also oral storytellers, dancers, sports stars, and scientists outside of the Children’s Literature genre. They are lending their range of experiences to the page so we can get a glimpse at their creative expression and the subjects that matter to them. Author Ken Wilson-Max explains, “I have also seen over the last few decades how much better it is for children of all backgrounds to see or read themselves in books.” We couldn’t agree more–and we believe this is worth celebrating and sharing.

What are the lessons that we can learn from the pause on life that Atinuke experienced? “In 2005 an illness stopped me from travelling long enough to write the first “Anna Hibiscus” stories,” says Atinuke. “I had been meaning to write those stories for years – ever since the homesickness of my boarding school days when I discovered how little children in the UK knew about Africa and even more so as a story teller when it was clear from children’s questions how little they still knew about the Africa that I am from,” continues Atinuke.

Storytelling and reading can be a launching off of conversations and discoveries about each other and oneself. “Because science was an interest and a passion, I started reading about the subject.  I was reading about it in school and I was reading about it at home.  Suddenly my marks kept going up and up and up and I was at the top of the class,” explains Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist, physicist and inventor.

We hope these titles inspire your children — not only by the content but by the people who have written them! Celebrate Black History Month with a few titles by black authors and characters that reflect the children reading them.