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Black History Month Book Reads

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Black History Month Book Reads

Below are great picks from the past year that honor Black authors and experiences from a variety of perspectives and genres.  

Nonfiction

  • Black-owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams: The NBC News reporter traces the powerful history of Black-owned bookstores as vital centers of activism, culture, and community, from the first abolitionist bookshop in 1834, blending rigorous research with vivid storytelling. 

  • New Prize for These Eyes by Juan Williams: In this highly anticipated follow-up to Eyes on the Prize, bestselling author turns his attention to the rise of a new 21st-century civil rights movement. 


Fiction

  • Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez: A woman learns the astonishing truth of her family's ties to a real-life American kingdom in this transporting and riveting new novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Award-winning author. 

  • King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby: Award-winning, bestselling author S.A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama. 

  • Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi: Long revered as a writer who understands how we talk about race and identity, Adichie uses these themes to explore three women and their worlds: a Nigerian travel writer in the U.S. coping with the pandemic, a newly heartbroken lawyer in Washington, D.C., and a housekeeper reclaiming dignity in the aftermath of assault. 


Young Adult  

  • Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi: Set in a magical West African world, a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers. From the award-winning Nigerian author of fiction, memoir, and poetry for adults and teens.  


J Fiction  

  • Will’s Race for Home by Jewel Parker Rhodes: Winner of the 2026 Coretta Scott King Author Award! During the land rush of 1889, Will and his father journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to stake their claim. 


Picture Books  

  • The History of We by NIkkolas Smith: Winner of a 2026 Sibert Honor for Best Informational Book for Children, Smith poetically depicts the origins of humans in Africa and our spread throughout the world.  

  • The Library in the Woods by Calvin A. Ramsay: Winner of the 2026 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, the autobiographical story of a boy’s discovery of a secret Negro Library in the woods of North Carolina in 1959. Stay tuned—this one is very new and will be hitting the shelves soon!