Inspiring Black Writers of Must-Read Children's Books!

Photo credit: newsroom.findlay.edu

Nikki Grimes

“If a dream is in your heart, you never lose it.”

⭐ Nikki Grimes has written many award-winning books, many of them written in verse. As a foster child from a broken home, reading and writing became her survival tools. When she had no one else to talk to, she would turn her thoughts into poems and stories. Today as an award-winning author, she writes the kinds of books for children and young adults that she lacked while she was growing up.

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes

Photo credit: ruthforman.com

Ruth Forman

"I hope to help instill in young children a sense of joy, celebration, self-worth, and self-love. And a true appreciation for themselves and for others. I also hope to impart a sense that they belong and are loved in this world…"

⭐ Ruth is an award-winning poet and author of the best-selling children's books Curls, Glow, Bloom, and Ours that joyfully celebrates skin tone self-love for the little ones. 

Curls by Ruth Forman

Photo credit: Nuvo.net 

Jacquelyn Woodson

"I used to say I’d be a teacher or a lawyer or a hairdresser when I grew up but even as I said these things, I knew what made me happiest was writing."

⭐ Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson writes stories of adults, young adults, and children that focus on the African American experience. She's always loved reading and writing ever since she was a kid. After she graduated from Adelphi University, she worked in a program to help homeless and runaway children. She also wrote short stories for children’s reading tests.

The Day You Begin by Jacquelyn Woodson

Photo credit: aalbc.com

Roda Ahmed

“I'm telling the stories of unsung heroes and making sure they are accessible to ALL children.”

⭐ Roda Ahmed is a Norwegian author and columnist born in Hargeisa, Somalia. Her first best-selling children’s book, Mae Among the Stars, is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts! It is a story inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison.

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed

Photo credit: aalbc.com

Jewell Parker Rhodes

“Words have power to advance equity and environmental justice.”

⭐ Jewell Parker Rhodes writes children’s and adult books about family connections, identity, social justice, growth, pain, and hope.  She enjoys teaching, walking her dog, theater, dancing, and music. Her novel Ghost Boys, a story that depicts the harsh reality of racial inequality and injustice, quickly became a New York Times Best Seller and has garnered over 25 prestigious awards and honors.  

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes