Kid Lit Educator

🔔Holiday Gift Ideas: 10 Anthologies

An anthology is a collection of poetry, essays, speeches, fiction and nonfiction stories, or illustrations by various authors and artists. They make excellent gifts because readers get to enjoy the work of many of their favorite creators as well as discover new voices. Although, the anthologies listed are edited by Black authors, the works included in some showcase diverse voices. Strong Voices by Tonya Bolden and Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott are 2020 releases that are available for pre-order. Well-Read Black Girl and Black Girls Rock! are not categorized as children’s literature but may be great for older readers. To add to our anthology list, leave a comment below. For more gift ideas, see Young, Bold, and Boss, Happy Hair Tales, Board Books, and always check out New Releases. Happy Holidays and spread the joy of reading! 

Our stories matter.

See all 10 titles HERE

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🎁‘Tis the season to GIVE! 

If you believe Black Children’s Books and Authors provides a valuable service, don’t forget BCBA this giving season. Please take a few minutes to DONATE and support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors.

A SMALL donation can make a BIG difference!

Love and the Rocking Chair  

Diane Dillon

Leo Dillon

The Blue Sky Press 

Simple words and colorful paintings tell the warm, engaging story of new parents who buy a rocking chair when they are expecting a baby. Bright, sunny illustrations show the precious intimacy between parents and their children; the new mother glows with affection, and the new father reads aloud to their young son. Time passes, and the boy grows up; the beloved rocker is moved to the attic and gathers dust. But when the boy becomes a man, the cycle begins anew. He and his wife have a baby girl, and the rocking chair is needed again.

Here is a book for all ages to cherish. It serves as a loving reminder of those who have gone before us-and those who are still to come.

Available at👉🏿| Amazon | IndieBound

Find more children’s and YA books by Black authors here

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If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes and give to our 4 Dollar Donation Drive in support of our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. 

Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance

Bethany Morrow

 Arthur A. Levine Books 

A young adult anthology featuring fictional stories of everyday resistance.

You might be the kind of person who stands up to online trolls.

Or who marches to protest injustice.

Perhaps you are #DisabledAndCute and dancing around your living room, alive and proud.

Or perhaps you are the trans mentor that you wish you had when you were younger.

Maybe you call out false allies, or stand up to loved ones.

Maybe you speak your truth and drop the mic, or maybe you take it with you when you leave.

This anthology features fictional stories–in poems, prose, and art–that reflect a slice of the varied and limitless ways that readers like you resist every day. Take the Mic’s powerful collection of stories features work by literary luminaries and emerging talent..”

Available at👉🏿| Amazon | IndieBound

Find more children’s and YA books by Black authors here

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If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes and give to our 4 Dollar Donation Drive in support of our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. 

New Book Release

The Jumbie God’s Revenge 

Tracey Baptiste

Algonquin Young Readers

In book three of the popular Jumbies series, Corinne must use her emerging supernatural powers to battle the angry god who would destroy her Caribbean island home.

When an out-of-season hurricane sweeps through Corinne’s seaside village, Corinne knows it’s not a typical storm. At first Corinne believes Mama D’Leau—the powerful and cruel jumbie who rules the ocean—has caused the hurricane. Then a second, even more ferocious storm wrecks the island, sending villagers fleeing their houses for shelter in the mountains, and Corinne discovers the storms weren’t caused by a jumbie, but by the angry god Huracan.

Now Corinne, with the help of her friends and even some of her enemies, must race against time to find out what has angered Huracan and try to fix it before her island home is destroyed forever.

 Available at👉🏿| Amazon | IndieBound

Find more children’s and YA books by Black authors here

New Middle-Grade Book

My Life as an Ice-Cream Sandwich

Ibi Zoboi

Dutton BYR

National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi makes her middle-grade debut with a moving story of a girl finding her place in a world that’s changing at warp speed.

Available at👉🏿Amazon | IndieBound

Find more children’s and YA books by Black authors here

<> Follow BCBA on Twitter | Instagram <> Subscribe to Our Newsletter <>

If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes and give to our 4 Dollar Donation Drive in support of our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. 

Watch the Webinar: Lee & Low Books 2019 Showcase

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for our webinar, “Lee & Low Books 2019 Showcase.” Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or bookseller, this webinar will help you discover great new books to diversify your shelves:

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Ambient-Mixer.com has a section dedicated to the background sounds of fictional worlds, so you can study to the sounds of the Gryffindor common room, read in Belle’s library, or browse the Internet while you’re being chased by a hoard of Dothraki.

🙌🏿Spread the Joy of Reading: The Our Stories Matter Children’s BookFest!

The Our Stories Matter Children’s BookFest! is Saturday, September 28, 2019, at the Hickory Hill Community Center in Memphis. It is a CELEBRATION of children’s literature by Black authors that will engage the community in reading, writing, and other literacy activities. In keeping with our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors, we welcome children, parents, educators, librarians, and the community to come out and meet Black book creators. Such connections with authors and illustrators can enrich, encourage, and enable children to envision sharing their creative expressions with the world. 

Children’s rights activist, Marian Wright Edelman, said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

BookFest! wants to foster the joy of reading by providing books to children in the Greater Memphis area to have and enjoy at home. Studies show that having books in the home can stimulate language development, curiosity, and academic success.  

This event is free, no registration required!

If you live in the Memphis area, come join us.

Want to spread the joy of reading?

👉🏿 Donate via PayPal    or     Our Stories Matter Book Wish List