African-American Bibliography

Prepared by Bonnie Kunzel, Youth Services Consultant
New Jersey State Library

The following titles were nominated for the Best Books for Young Adults list over the past nine years. Those with an asterisk made the list. 

Nero, Clarence. Cheekie: A Child out of the Desire . Council Oak, 1998. Fiction. (Adult)

Coming of age in a New Orleans housing project amid violence and poverty, Cheekie nevertheless develops the strength to believe in himself.

Nordan, Lewis. Wolf Whistle . Algonquin Books, 1993. Historical Fiction. (Adult)

A young black boy is killed simply because he wolf whistled at a white lady.

*Okutoro, Lydia. Quiet Storm: Voices of Young Black Poets . Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 1999. Poetry. (Gr. 6+)

A moving collection of original poetry in which the young poets express themselves, their culture and their heritage.

*Parks, Rosa with Jim Haskins. Rosa Parks: My Story . Dial, 1992. Biography. (Gr. 6-10)

Rosa Parks relates the story of her life, which includes the events that led to the beginning of the modern Civil Rights movement.

*Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn . Delacorte, 1993. Historical Fiction. (Gr. 7-10)

Nightjohn, an escaped slave who returns to the South and risks his life to teach other slaves how to read, inspires a lifelong thirst for knowledge in young Sarny.

Pinckney, Andrea Davis. Raven in a Dove House . Harcourt Brace, 1998. Fiction. (Gr. 7+)

The raven in this case is a gun, and when Nell (14) finds it hidden in the doll house, she realizes just how much trouble her cousin Foley and his friend Slade are in.

Porter, A. P. Jump at de Sun: The Story of Zora Neale Hurston . Carolrhoda Books, 1992. Biography. (Gr. 5-9)

Photographs and text describe the exciting, turbulent life of a remarkable woman.

*Porter, Connie. Imani All Mine . Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Fiction. (Adult)

Teenage Tasha has a baby after being raped, a baby that she loves fiercely and wants to protect, but with a drug dealer living next door, that proves next to impossible.

Prather, Ray. Fish and Bones . HarperCollins, 1992. Fiction. (Gr. 6-9)

When a bank robbery casts suspicions on practically everyone in his small town, Bones (13) uncovers hidden secrets.

Revoyr, Nina. Necessary Hunger . Simon & Schuster, 1997. Fiction. (Adult)

Hoop dreams, but this time from the point of view of a high school girl on a team in inner-city Los Angeles.

*Rinaldi, Ann. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley . Harcourt Brace, 1996. Historical Fiction. (Gr. 7+)

A novel based on the life of Phillis Wheatley, the first black American poet.

*Rivers, Glenn and Bruce Brooks. Those Who Love the Game: Glenn "Doc" Rivers on Life in the NBA and Elsewhere . Henry Holt, 1993. Biography. (Gr. 7+)

Shows the determination, the competitive fire, and the brains "Doc" Rivers needed to succeed in the NBA and elsewhere.

Robinet, Harriette. If You Please, President Lincoln . MacMillan, 1995. Historical Fiction. (Gr. 6-9)

A slave boy who runs away from his mother is put on a boat with a group of ex-slaves to start a black colony on an island.

Rutberg, Becky. Mary Lincoln's Dressmaker . Walker & Company, 1995. Non-Fiction. (Gr. 8+)

Elizabeth Keckley, who began life as a slave, ended up as dressmaker and confidante to the First Lady.

Sanders, Dori. Her Own Place: A Novel . Algonquin Books, 1993. Historical Fiction. (Adult)

From a black teen in rural South Carolina who hopes her high school sweetheart will ask her to marry him before going to fight in WWII to a woman in her sixties.

Sapphire. Push . Knopf, 1996. Fiction. (Adult)

Precious (16), a black teenage girl who is pregnant for the second time with her father's child, finds the hope she needs for a new life in an alternative school.

*Schwartz, Virginia Frances. Send One Angel Down . Holiday House, 2000. Historical Fiction. (Gr. 5-8)

A young slave tries to protect his younger cousin from the hardships of slavery.

Seabrooke, Brenda. Bridges of Summer . Cobblehill/Dutton, 1992. Fiction. (Gr. 6-9)

Zarah, forced to leave her ballet behind and spend the summer with her Gullah grandmother on a small South Carolina island, is surprised to learn of her proud heritage.

Senna, Carl. Colin Powell . Walker, 1992. Biography. (Gr. 6-10)

Career biography of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff.

Senna, Danzy. Caucasia . Riverhead/PenguinPutnam, 1998. Fiction. (Adult)

Birdie, light enough to pass as white, has to go on the run with her civil rights activist mother, while her dark-skinned sister gets to go to Brazil with their father.

Shakur, Tupac. The Rose That Grew from Concrete . Pocket Books, 2000. Poetry. (Adult)

Before he became a rap star, teenage Tupac wrote these poems that explore love, friendship, politics and loyalty.

Sherman, Charlotte. One Dark Body . HarperCollins, 1993. Fiction. (Adult)

A mystical coming-of-age novel in which two African-American teens in rural Washington state search for their true identity.

*Sinclair, April. Coffee Will Make You Black . Hyperion, 1994. Fiction. (Adult)

A young black girl's humorous coming-of-age story that points out the universality of the human experience.

*Southgate, Martha. Another Way to Dance . Delacorte, 1996. Fiction. (Gr. 7+)

Vicki Harris, one of two African-American students selected to attend the School of American Ballet, thinks it's a dream come true until she encounters racism and disappointment there.

Staples, Brent. Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White . Pantheon, 1994. Biography. (Adult)

In this memoir Staples contemplates his experiences as a youth, his life in two worlds, his break with his family and the violent death of his brother.

*Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Dangerous Skies . Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996. Mystery. (Gr. 7+)

It was bad enough to discover a dead body while fishing in the back creeks of the Chesapeake Bay, but then Buck learns that the African-American girl who is his best friend has been accused of the murder.

*Stolz, Mary. Cezanne Pinto . Knopf/Borzoi, 1994. Historical Fiction. (Grades 6-9)

Cezanne, an old man, recalls his youth as a slave who escapes on the Underground Railroad, goes out west to look for his mother and becomes a cowboy.

Straight, Susan. I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen & Licked Out All the Pots . Hyperion, 1992. Fiction. (Adult)

Marietta is unhappy and oppressed in her home in South Carolina, so she goes to California to try to find comfort and acceptance there.

Strickland, William. Malcolm X: Make It Plain . Viking, 1994. Biography. (Adult)

Text, photographs and oral histories explore the many facets of Malcolm X's character and philosophy.

Tervalon, Jervey. Understand This . Morrow, 1994. Fiction. (Adult)

Margot and Francois struggle with the perils of the "hoods" of Los Angeles.

Thomas, Joyce Carol. When the Nightingale Sings . HarperCollins, 1992. Fiction. (Gr. 6-8)

This African-American "Cinderella" is born in a swamp, treated like a servant by her "Auntie" and "cousins" and longs to sing in the gospel choir.

*Thornton, Yvonne S. as told to Jo Coudert. Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story . Birch Land Press, 1995. Biography. (Adult)

A poor black man raises five daughters who succeed against incredible odds.

Todras, Ellen H. Angelina Grimke: Voice of Abolition . Shoe String Press, 1999. Biography. (Gr. 7+)

An exemplary biography of an intelligent, outspoken woman.

Trice, Dawn. Only Twice Have I Wished for Heaven . Crown, 1997. Fiction. (Adult)

In the 1970s Tempestt (11) moves with her family to Lakeland, a black-class-conscious living community in Chicago, where she feels so out of place she has to search for her sense of self elsewhere.

Verdelle, A. J. Good Negress . Algonquin, 1995. Fiction. (Adult)

Called home to Detroit to keep house in 1963, Denise is inspired by a magnetic new teacher to "reach beyond her station."

Walter, Mildred. Mississippi Challenge . Bradbury, 1992. Non-Fiction. (Gr. 7-10)

The history of the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi, from slavery to the freedom summer of the 1960s.

Walter, Mildred. Second Daughter . Scholastic, 1996. Historical Fiction. (Gr. 6-10)

Mum Bet, a slave girl in 1781, takes her owner to court and wins her freedom because she has heard that the new constitution says that all men are created equal, including black men, women and slaves. Based on a true story.

*Whitmore, Arvella. Trapped between the Lash and the Gun . Dial Books, 1999. Science Fiction. (Gr. 5-8)

Jason (12) is trying to buy a gun and get into a gang when he is suddenly transported back in time to the days of slavery and meets his ancestors.

Williams, Lori Aurelia. When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune . Simon & Schuster, 2000. Fiction. (Gr. 8+)

When Shayla befriends the new girl next door, she learns that her stories of lizard people and memory beetles are her way of coping with unbearable abuse at home.

*Williams-Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront . Dutton Lodestar, 1995. Fiction. (8+)

Gayle (14), pregnant for the second time by a married man, is forced by her mother to get an abortion and then is sent south with her son to live with her uncle's family, where she discovers that her straight-laced cousin can be like a sister to her.

Wilson Wesley, Valerie. Where Do I Go From Here? Scholastic, 1993. Fiction. (Gr. 7-10)

Nia, one of only a few African-American students at exclusive Endicott boarding school, gets into a fight after her friend Marcus disappears and is suspended, after which she has to decide whether or not to return to school.

Wilson, Jackie Napoleon. Hidden Witness: African-American Images from the Dawn of Photography to the Civil War . St. Martin's Press, 2000. Non-Fiction. (Adult)

Seventy images in daguerreotype and ambrotype of African-Americans during the pre- and post-Civil War era.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Autobiography of a Family Photo . Dutton, 1995. Fiction. (Adult)

Disquieting snapshots of an African American girl's formative years in the 60s and 70s.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Between Madison and Palmetto . Delacorte, 1993. Fiction. (Gr. 5-7)

The friendship between Maizon and Margaret is tested by a new girl on the scene, the return of Maizon's absent father, and Margaret's flirtation with bulimia.

Woodson, Jacqueline. The House You Pass on the Way . Delacorte, 1997. Fiction. (Gr. 7-10)

The daughter of a black father and a white mother feels she doesn't belong in either world.

*Woodson, Jacqueline. I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This . Delacorte, 1994. Fiction. (Gr. 6-9)

Marie and Lena's friendship crosses race and class barriers but cannot protect Lena from the terrifying secret that threatens her as well as her younger sister.

*Woodson, Jacqueline. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun . Scholastic, 1995. Fiction. (Gr. 6-9)

In his beautifully and sensitively-written notebooks, Melanin Sun describes his life after he discovers that his mom's new boyfriend is a white woman.

*Woodson, Jacqueline. If You Come Softly . Putnam, 1998. Fiction. (Gr. 7+)

Jeremiah, who is black, and Ellie, who is white, run into each other in the halls of their exclusive private school, fall head over heels in love, and spend a few idyllic months together before tragedy strikes.

*Woodson, Jacqueline. Maizon at Blue Hill . Delacorte, 1992. Fiction. (Gr. 5-8)

Maizon gets a minority scholarship to exclusive Blue Hills Boarding School but finds it difficult to fit in, with the few black students as well as the white ones.

*Woodson, Jacqueline. Miracle's Boys . Putnam, 2000. Fiction. (Gr. 6-10)

Three brothers have to cope with their mother's death.

Wright, Bill. Sunday You Learn How to Box . Scribner, 2000. Fiction. (Adult)

Louis has an abusive stepfather who is determined to teach him how to box, but the young boy would rather find out why he feels the way he does about handsome Ray Anthony in his purple polyester pants.

Wright, Richard. Rite of Passage . HarperCollins, 1994. Fiction. (Gr. 8+)

A single night in the life of a young boy who is betrayed by the NYC foster care bureaucracy and winds up joining a gang.