Middle Grade Books for Black History Month 2025

CLP
CLP

This year Black History Month focuses on the various and profound ways that work of all kinds intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Work is very much at the center of Black history and culture. These book selections celebrate Black past, present and futures. 

You can sign up for a free library card here.

If you need help using our Digital Media tools to access these selections, visit our Online Resources Support page.

If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.

If you have any additional questions, you can call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org. You can find additional ways to contact us on the Need Help? page.

In the Catalog

Black Ballerinas

Black Ballerinas

My Journey to Our Legacy

Misty Copeland

A nonfiction picture book celebrating dancers of color who have influenced American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland on and off the stage.

From the Catalog
Black Heroes of the Wild West

Black Heroes of the Wild West

James Otis Smith

This nonfiction graphic novel celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three Black historical figures in the Old West: Mary Fields, a cardplaying stagecoach driver; Bass Reeves, the first Black Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi; and Bob Lemmons, a cowboy famous for his ability to tame mustangs. Includes biographical information, a timeline, and historical photos.

From the Catalog
From Libby
From the Desk of Zoe Washington

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Janae Marks

Zoe has never met her father because he has been in prison since just before she was born. She’s busy pursuing her goal of being on the Food Network Kids Bake Challenge when she gets a letter from him, right before her twelfth birthday, throwing her emotions and plans into disarray.

From the Catalog
From Libby
From Hoopla
Little Leaders

Little Leaders

Bold Women in Black History

Vashti Harrison

Based on her popular Instagram posts, debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison shares the stories of 40 bold African American women who shaped history.

From the Catalog
From Libby
From Hoopla
Little Legends

Little Legends

Exceptional Men in Black History

Vashti Harrison

Profiles thirty-five prominent men in African American history, including James Armistead Lafayette, Thurgood Marshall, Alvin Ailey, and Leland Melvin.

From the Catalog
One Big Open Sky

One Big Open Sky

Lesa Cline-Ransome

In the 1870s, a Black family undertakes a perilous wagon journey westward for a tenuous shot at freedom in Nebraska.

From the Catalog
From Libby
From Hoopla
Radiant

Radiant

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

In 1963, Cooper Dale navigates the challenges of fifth grade as a Black girl in a predominantly white community near Pittsburgh.

From the Catalog
Shark Teeth

Shark Teeth

Sherri Winston

Seventh-grader Sharkita “Kita” embarks on a tumultuous journey to keep her family together while handling the consequences of her mother’s alcoholism.

From the Catalog
Susie King Taylor

Susie King Taylor

Nurse, Teacher & Freedom Fighter

Erica Armstrong Dunbar

A groundbreaking figure in every sense of the word, Susie King Taylor was one of the first Black nurses during the Civil War, a key figure in establishing a postbellum educational system for formerly bonded Black people, and she was also one of the first Black women to publish her memoirs.

From the Catalog
Warrior on the Mound

Warrior on the Mound

Sandra W. Headen

In 1939 North Carolina, an all-Black baseball team “trespasses” on the whites-only baseball field, and the resulting racial outrage can only be resolved on the mound.

From the Catalog
Will's Race for Home

Will’s Race for Home

A Western

Jewell Parker Rhodes

During the land rush of 1889, African American Will and his father journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to stake their claim.

From the Catalog