Children’s Books Written Just for Us

They remind children of their worth, their brilliance, their history, and their capacity to shape the world.

This collection gathers together some of the most luminous works in that tradition, books that speak directly to young readers with tenderness, honesty, and joy.

Across the pages of these books, children meet characters who soar above city rooftops, who bake their way toward courage, who question the world around them, who stand tall in their own skin, and who discover the power of imagination passed down through generations. They encounter poems that whisper you are loved, stories that insist you are enough, and folktales that root them in the deep, creative wisdom of Black storytelling.

From Grace Byers’s gentle affirmations to Jacqueline Woodson’s celebration of ancestral resilience; from Nikki Giovanni’s radiant poetry to Faith Ringgold’s dreamlike flights; from Zora Neale Hurston’s reimagined folktales to Amanda Gorman’s call to collective action—each book offers a different doorway into possibility. Together, they form a tapestry of Black girlhood and boyhood that is expansive, magical, and real.

These stories honor the fullness of Black childhood: the questions, the bravery, the softness, the imagination, the righteous anger, the joy. They remind young readers that their voices matter, their dreams are valid, and their stories deserve to be centered. And for the adults who read alongside them, they offer a chance to witness the world through a child’s eyes—wide open, hopeful, and ready to fly.

This is a collection written just for us, and for every child who needs to see themselves reflected in the pages of a book. Here, they will find affirmation. Here, they will find wonder. Here, they will find themselves.

I Am Enough

This gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another comes from bestselling author, Empire actor and activist Grace Byers and beloved artist Keturah A. Bobo.

We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it.

The Year We Learned to Fly

On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother’s advice: “Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now.” And before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom.

Then, on a day full of quarrels, it’s time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds.

Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.

I Am Loved

There is nothing more important to a child than to feel loved, and this gorgeous gathering of poems written by Nikki Giovanni celebrates exactly that. Hand-selected by Newbery honoree Ashley Bryan, he has, with his masterful flourish of color, shape, and movement, added a visual layering that drums the most important message of all to young, old, parent, child, grandparent, and friend alike: You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.

As a bonus, one page is mirrored, so children reading the book can see exactly who is loved—themselves!

Tar Beach

Acclaimed artist Faith Ringgold seamless weaves fiction, autobiography, and African American history into a magical story that resonates with the universal wish for freedom, and will be cherished for generations.

Cassie Louise Lightfoot has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on “tar beach,” the rooftop of her family’s Harlem apartment building, her dreams come true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city, claiming the buildings and the city as her own.

As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. “All you need is somewhere to go you can’t get to any other way. The next thing you know, you’re flying among the stars.”

The Making of Butterflies

A First Folktale from Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, the creators of Magnolia Flower, about the origin of butterflies.

The Creator wuz all finished and thru makin’ de world.
But soon, the Creator finds themselves flying through the sky, making gorgeous butterflies of every color, shape, and size.

Find out why butterflies were made in Zora Neale Hurston’s stunning and layered African American folktale retold by #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award–winning author Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Kah Yangni.

This accessible and sizable board book is perfect for introducing the youngest of readers to the beauty of Hurston’s storytelling and will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.

You Have a Voice

You Have a Voice celebrates the power every child naturally holds in using their voice to make change for good and empowers both kids and grown-ups to use their voice. Inspired by Vera Ahiyya’s viral video that has been viewed by millions comes her powerful debut children’s book.

Just Like Me

An ode to the girl with scrapes on her knees and flowers in her hair, and every girl in between, this exquisite treasury will appeal to readers of Dear Girl and I Am Enough and have kids poring over it to find a poem that’s just for them.

I am a canvas
Being painted on
By the words of my family
Friends
And community

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma’s Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don’t; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. With bright portraits in Vanessa’s signature style of vibrant colors and unique patterns and fabrics, this book invites readers to find themselves and each other within its pages.

Change Sings

Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in US history, brings her powerful voice to children’s literature through beautifully crafted picture books.

“I can hear change humming
In its loudest, proudest song.
I don’t fear change coming,
And so I sing along.”

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.

With lyrical text and rhythmic illustrations that build to a dazzling crescendo by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long, Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference.

Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem

In this stirring, much-anticipated picture book by presidential inaugural poet and activist Amanda Gorman, anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.