10 Inspirational Black History Month Books for Elementary Students

This is a great series filled with biographies that use student-friendly language. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History introduces students to heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things. The matching pair to that book is Little Leaders: Exceptional Men in Black History, which introduces students to aviators, artists, politicians, pop stars, athletes, and activists.

We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken. As Araminta she was a young girl whose father showed her the stars and the first steps on the path to freedom.

Excerpt from Amazon

From her athletic early childhood to the height of her success as an Olympic champion, Flying High is the story of the world’s greatest gymnast – Simone Biles.

This graphical biography tells the story of the most prominent leader of the American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. Students love this book because it is a graphic novel with vibrant pictures.

Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.

Free, downloadable educator materials (including discussion questions) are available at http://www.apa.org.

The Undefeated is a poem that acts as a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. 

Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents’ encouraging words, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space. Mae Among the Stars will inspire other young girls to reach for the stars, to aspire for the impossible, and to persist with childlike imagination. 

The Boy Who Never Gave Up is the inspiring true story of NBA superstar Stephen Curry. This Fully illustrated picture book biography tells the story of a young boy who many said was too short to play in high school, too weak to play in college and not good enough to play in the NBA.
Against all odds, this small boy who follows his dream, not only makes it to the NBA, but becomes one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball.

In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.

Henry Brown doesn’t know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves’ birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday — his first day of freedom.