68 Books in this collection
African American English Collection Grades 3-6
This collection includes African and African American-themed books for on-grade level readers. These are sure to engage with a range of high-interest topics and complexity to meet all students' needs, including both fiction and nonfiction. With these books, students can explore both African American history and contemporary stories.
Books in This Collection
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A House by the River
By William Miller, Ying-Hwa Hu, Cornelius Van WrightA House by the River
By William Miller, Ying-Hwa Hu, Cornelius Van WrightView DetailsA young girl learns her rickety, old house by the river is stronger than the fiercest storm because it is fortified by love and family.
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As Fast As Words Could Fly
By Pamela M. Tuck, Eric VelasquezThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageAs Fast As Words Could Fly
By Pamela M. Tuck, Eric VelasquezView DetailsThe story of Mason Steele, an African American boy in 1960s Greenville, North Carolina, who relies on his inner strength and his typing skills to break racial barriers after he begins attending a "whites-only" high school.
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Baby Flo
Florence Mills Lights Up the StageBy Alan Schroeder, Cornelius Van Wright, Ying-Hwa HuView DetailsThis spirited biography introduces young readers to the early life of Florence "Baby Flo" Mills, an internationally renowned entertainer of the Harlem Renaissance era who began her career as a child.
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Bottle Tops
The Art of El AnatsuiBy Alison Goldberg, Elizabeth ZunonView DetailsThe inspiring biography of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui whose handmade sculptures, created from discarded bottle tops, have received international acclaim and been showcased around the world.
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DeShawn Days
By Tony Medina, R. Gregory ChristieThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageDeShawn Days
By Tony Medina, R. Gregory ChristieView DetailsIn this uplifting story told in verse, a young boy living in the inner city projects tells about his hopes, fears, and dreams.
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Gettin' Through Thursday
By Melrose Cooper, Nneka BennettThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageGettin' Through Thursday
By Melrose Cooper, Nneka BennettView DetailsA young African American boy experiences the love and support of his family as they try to make ends meet each week.
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Going Back Home
An Artist Returns to the SouthBy Toyomi Igus, Michele WoodView DetailsMore than half a century after her family moved North to find a better life, artist Michele Wood returned to the South to see and experience the land where her ancestors lived, struggled, and thrived.
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Howard Thurman's Great Hope
By Kai Issa, Arthur L. DawsonThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageHoward Thurman's Great Hope
By Kai Issa, Arthur L. DawsonView DetailsBorn in segregated Daytona, Florida, in 1899, Howard Thurman grew up dreaming of a better life--a life where his mother and grandmother would not have to cook and clean for other people; a life where he could become a college man, honoring his late father's wishes and his own dreams.
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I and I Bob Marley
By Tony Medina, Jesse Joshua WatsonI and I Bob Marley
By Tony Medina, Jesse Joshua WatsonView DetailsA biography in verse of reggae legend Bob Marley, exploring the influences that shaped his life and music on his journey from rural Jamaican childhood to international superstardom.
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I See the Rhythm
By Toyomi Igus, Michele WoodThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageI See the Rhythm
By Toyomi Igus, Michele WoodView Detailsi see the rhythmis an inspiring celebration of African American music and the far-reaching impact it has had on the world.
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In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall
African Americans Celebrating FathersBy Various Poets, Javaka SteptoeThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageIn Daddy's Arms I Am Tall
African Americans Celebrating FathersBy Various Poets, Javaka SteptoeView DetailsIn this intergenerational collection of poetry by new and established African American writers, fatherhood is celebrated with honor, humor, and grace.
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In the Time of the Drums
By Kim L. Siegelson, Brian PinkneyIn the Time of the Drums
By Kim L. Siegelson, Brian PinkneyView DetailsMentu, an enslaved child, learns about the culture of his people from his grandmother, Twi in this Gullah folk tale of an insurrection at Teakettle Creek.
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It Jes' Happened
When Bill Traylor Started to DrawBy Don Tate, R. Gregory ChristieView DetailsThe inspiring biography of self-taught (outsider) artist Bill Traylor, a former slave who at the age of eighty-five began to draw pictures based on his memories and observations of rural and urban life in Alabama.
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Janna and the Kings
By Patricia Smith, Aaron BoydThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageJanna and the Kings
By Patricia Smith, Aaron BoydView DetailsSaturdays are special for Janna. That's when she and Granddaddy spend the whole day together.
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Joe Louis, My Champion
By William Miller, Rodney PateThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageJoe Louis, My Champion
By William Miller, Rodney PateView DetailsDuring the mid-1930s, an African American boy who yearns to be a boxer learns the value of determination, perseverance, and his own natural abilities from the example of his hero, world champion prizefighter Joe Louis.
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Joshua's Masai Mask
By Dakari Hru, Anna RichThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageJoshua's Masai Mask
By Dakari Hru, Anna RichView DetailsA magical Masai mask takes an African American boy on a series of adventures, and he discovers the joy of being himself.
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Juneteenth Jamboree
By Carole Boston Weatherford, Yvonne BuchananJuneteenth Jamboree
By Carole Boston Weatherford, Yvonne BuchananView DetailsA young girl, who has just moved to her parents' hometown, realizes that she has come home after the African American emancipation celebration of Juneteenth.
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Love to Langston
By Tony Medina, R. Gregory ChristieThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageLove to Langston
By Tony Medina, R. Gregory ChristieView DetailsThis inspiring biography on Langston Hughes celebrates his life through poetry.
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Night Golf
By William Miller, Cedric LucasNight Golf
By William Miller, Cedric LucasView DetailsSet in the South of the late 1950s, an African American boy who longs to play golf is banned from the game because of the color of his skin.
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Only the Mountains Do Not Move
A Maasai Story of Culture and ConservationBy Jan ReynoldsThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageOnly the Mountains Do Not Move
A Maasai Story of Culture and ConservationBy Jan ReynoldsView DetailsA photographic essay about contemporary Maasai--the changes in lifestyle, land, and farming practices they face and how they are adapting to those changes.
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Ray Charles
By Sharon Bell Mathis, George FordThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageRay Charles
By Sharon Bell Mathis, George FordView DetailsA beautiful new edition of the award-winning biography of world-famous musician Ray Charles.
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Rent Party Jazz
By William Miller, Charlotte Riley-WebbThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageRent Party Jazz
By William Miller, Charlotte Riley-WebbView DetailsAn African American boy living in New Orleans in the 1930s raises money to pay the rent with the help of a popular jazz musician.
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Richard Wright and the Library Card
By William Miller, R. Gregory ChristieRichard Wright and the Library Card
By William Miller, R. Gregory ChristieView DetailsThis is the true story of the renowned African American author Richard Wright and his determination to borrow books from the public library that turned him away because of his color.
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Rise!
From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya AngelouBy Bethany Hegedus, Tonya EngelView DetailsIn celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this beautiful biography of Maya Angelou describes how she rose above a childhood of trauma and emotional pain to become one of the most inspiring voices of our lifetime.
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Saturday At the New You
By Barbara Barber, Anna RichSaturday At the New You
By Barbara Barber, Anna RichView DetailsA girl spends the day at her mother's hair salon, a neighborhood gathering place.
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Seaside Dream
By Janet Costa Bates, Lambert DavisSeaside Dream
By Janet Costa Bates, Lambert DavisView DetailsIn this tender story of immigration, a young girl finds a way to give her grandmother the perfect present and the courage to plan a trip to her home country, Cape Verde.
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Stacey Abrams
Lift Every VoiceBy Sarah Warren, Monica MikaiView DetailsHow do we move our country forward? Stacey Abrams has an answer in this bright and stirring biography, perfect for discussions of voting rights and how people working together can make a difference.
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Steel Drumming at the Apollo
The Road to Super Top DogBy Trish Marx, Ellen B. SenisiThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageSteel Drumming at the Apollo
The Road to Super Top DogBy Trish Marx, Ellen B. SenisiView DetailsA photo-essay following the members of a high school band through several rounds of Amateur Night competitions at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Includes a CD of the band playing their competition song, plus original compositions.
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Step Right Up
How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About KindnessBy Donna Janell Bowman, Daniel MinterStep Right Up
How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About KindnessBy Donna Janell Bowman, Daniel MinterView DetailsA biography of William "Doc" Key, a formerly enslaved man and self-trained veterinarian who taught his horse, Jim, to read, write, and do math, and who together with Jim became a famous traveling performance act and proponent for the humane treatment of animals around the turn of the twentieth century.
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Sweet Music in Harlem
By Debbie Taylor, Frank MorrisonSweet Music in Harlem
By Debbie Taylor, Frank MorrisonView DetailsSearching his Harlem neighborhood for his uncle's missing hat, an energetic African American boy unintentionally creates an exuberant gathering of the neighborhood's jazz musicians for a magazine photograph; a fictional story inspired by Art Kane's historic photograph of jazz greats, Harlem 1958.
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Sweet Potato Pie
By Kathleen D. Lindsey, Charlotte Riley-WebbThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageSweet Potato Pie
By Kathleen D. Lindsey, Charlotte Riley-WebbView DetailsIn this fictional story set in the South in the 1920s, an African American girl and her family sell Mama's sweet potato pies at the Harvest Celebration to raise money and save their farm.
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The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby
By Crystal Hubbard, Robert McGuireThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageThe Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby
By Crystal Hubbard, Robert McGuireView DetailsThe story of Jimmy Winkfield, one of horse racing's all-time great jockeys and the last African American to win the Kentucky Derby, in 1902.
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The Secret to Freedom
By Marcia Vaughan Crews, Larry JohnsonThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageThe Secret to Freedom
By Marcia Vaughan Crews, Larry JohnsonView DetailsIn the days before the Civil War, a young enslaved girl and her older brother help slaves escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad quilt code.
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The Story of Tennis Champion Arthur Ashe
By Crystal Hubbard, Kevin BelfordThe Story of Tennis Champion Arthur Ashe
By Crystal Hubbard, Kevin BelfordView DetailsThe "Story" chapter-book line debuts with this action-packed tribute to Arthur Ashe, one of the most compelling athletes and humanitarians of the twentieth century.
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The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan
Inventor, Entrepreneur, HeroBy Joan DiCicco, Ebony GlennView DetailsGarrett Morgan, a prolific African American inventor and entrepreneur, must test his latest invention in a daring rescue after an explosion at the Cleveland Waterworks.
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When the Horses Ride By
Children in the Times of WarBy Eloise Greenfield, Jan Spivey GilchristThis product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageWhen the Horses Ride By
Children in the Times of WarBy Eloise Greenfield, Jan Spivey GilchristView DetailsThrough these graceful and eloquent poems, written from the child's perspective, readers will experience this resilience, this optimism, and understand that it is possible to get through difficult and unsettling times while holding onto one's hopes and dreams for a better, more peaceful future.