Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![illustrated cover of A Computer Called Katherine illustrated cover of A Computer Called Katherine showing a little girl looking up at the title above her.](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/A%20Computer%20Called%20Katherine.jpg?itok=kpucZz8q)
A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon
By: Suzanne Slade
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson--made famous by the award-winning...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/ride-to-remember.jpg?itok=rDMOhf9k)
A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story
By: Sharon Langley, Amy Nathan
Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The true story of how a community came together — both black and white — to make a change. When...
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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
By: Jen Bryant
Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/amazing-age-john-roy-lynch.jpg?itok=Gg7L1TVT)
Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch
By: Chris Barton
Illustrated by: Don Tate
Age Level: 6-9 years old
An in-depth look at the Reconstruction period through the life of one of the first African-...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/badnewsforoutlaws.jpg?itok=v8F_-lX_)
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy US Marshall
By: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Illustrated by: Gregory Christie
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Formerly enslaved in the 19th century, Bass Reeves escaped Texas and lived with Indians. It was...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/brave-ballerina.jpg?itok=EOSmZFeu)
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
By: Michelle Meadows
Illustrated by: Ebony Glenn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A lyrical picture book biography of Janet Collins, the first African American principal dancer...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/buzzing-with-questions.jpg?itok=bQq0tKPf)
Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner
By: Janice N. Harrington
Illustrated by: Theodore Taylor III
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/chester-nez-and-unbreakable-code.jpg?itok=FJdt7IHv)
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story
By: Joseph Bruchac
Illustrated by: Liz Amini-Holmes
Age Level: 6-9 years old
During World War II, Chester was recruited by the US Marines to use the Navajo language to...
![Book cover for Counting on Katherine Cover for the children's nonfiction book Counting on Katherine](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/Counting%20on%20Katherine.jpg?itok=0UTRUIUO)
Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13
By: Halaine Becker
Age Level: 6-9 years old
You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/dark-was-the-night.jpg?itok=wDw-AM4d)
Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars
By: Gary Golio
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The story of Blind Willie Johnson — the legendary Texas musician whose song "Dark Was the Night...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/digging-for-words.jpg?itok=nmGTCtkw)
Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built
By: Angela Burke Kunkel
Illustrated by: Paola Escobar
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The inspiring story of Gutiérrez, a garbage collector in Bogotá, Colombia, who started a library...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/dream-builder.jpg?itok=RCecldQs)
Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon
By: Kelly Starling Lyons
Illustrated by: Laura Freeman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Philip Freelon’s dream became reality when his team was commissioned to design the National...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/esquivel-space-age-sound-artist.jpg?itok=3MxE1uD5)
Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist
By: Susan Wood
Illustrated by: Duncan Tonatiuh
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Meet Juan García Esquivel whose contributions to music can still be heard. From his early days...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/exquisite-the-poetry-and-life-of-gwendolyn-brooks.jpg?itok=RT_REhOa)
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks
By: Suzanne Slade
Illustrated by: Cozbi A. Cabrera
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A picture-book biography of celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black person to win the...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/growingtable.jpg?itok=xA5T60f6)
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrated by: Eric-Shabazz Larkin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Martin shares the remarkable life story of former professional basketball player Will Allen,...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/fearless-mary.jpg?itok=kIytmoQ-)
Fearless Mary: Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver
By: Tami Charles
Illustrated by: Claire Almon
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A little-known but larger-than-life character, Mary Fields is one of the unsung, trailblazing...
![cover of "Fly High" cover of "Fly High" showing a pilot in a prop plane](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/fly_high.jpg?itok=y71UVjHJ)
Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman
By: Louise Borden, Mary Kay Kroeger
Illustrated by: Teresa Flavin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Bessie Coleman grew up picking cotton in Texas, but she aimed high -- soaring into history as...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/flying-free.jpg?itok=1jNGuP5s)
Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight
By: Karyn Parsons
Illustrated by: R. Gregory Christie
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/galapagos-girl.jpg?itok=I5Jz-rTR)
Galápagos Girl / Galapagueña
By: Marsha Diane Arnold
Illustrated by: Angela Dominguez
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As a Galápagueña, Valentina spends her days observing the natural world around her. This...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/harlemsblackbird.jpg?itok=3Kd-9EMJ)
Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills
By: Renee Watson
Illustrated by: Christian Robinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/0062742469.jpg?itok=kh8v41Sh)
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
By: Margot Lee Shetterly, Winifred Conklin
Illustrated by: Laura Freeman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The true story of four African American women whose talent and tenacity led to careers at NASA...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/hold-the-flag-high.jpg?itok=SWsMFuKb)
Hold the Flag High: The True Story of the First Black Medal of Honor Winner
By: Catherine Clinton
Illustrated by: Shane Evans
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The story of the first Black Medal of Freedom winner and a stirring account of one of the most...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/how-to-solve-a-problem.jpg?itok=WHJjhAng)
How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion
By: Ashima Shiraishi
Illustrated by: Yao Xiao
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Ashima Shiraishi, one of the world's youngest and most skilled climbers in the world, draws on...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/howard-thurmans-greatest-hope.jpg?itok=u763MfZQ)
Howard Thurman's Great Hope
By: Kai Jackson Issa
Illustrated by: Arthur L. Dawson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
An introduction to one of the first leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, who became a prominent...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/ida-be-wells-truth-be-told.jpg?itok=cQwm3CDM)
Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told
By: Walter Dean Myers
Illustrated by: Bonnie Christensen
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Ida B. Wells worked bravely as an activist, educator, writer, journalist, suffragette, and...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/inherhands.jpg?itok=ekpNSBVB)
In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage
By: Alan Schroeder
Illustrated by: JaeMe Bereal
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Augusta Savage was a born artist, making clay figures even as a child. She pursued her passion,...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/itjeshappened.jpg?itok=KF8xBmJU)
It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw
By: Don Tate
Illustrated by: Gregory Christie
Age Level: 6-9 years old
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/0375856064.jpg?itok=JikodabQ)
Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Born in the Mississippi Delta in 1927, the always musically gifted Mary Violet Leontyne Price...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/letitshine.jpg?itok=KCtk2yCw)
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
By: Andrea Pinkney
Illustrated by: Stephen Alcorn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Brief sketches of the lives of both well-known (for example, Harriet Tubman) and lesser known...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/lewis-latimer-man-behind-better-lightbulb.jpg?itok=RFGbvqv9)
Lewis Latimer: The Man Behind a Better Light Bulb
By: Nancy Dickmann
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Lewis Latimer's invention of the carbon filament made light bulbs more affordable and longer...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/1452148570.jpg?itok=nNdy9oM6)
Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotton
By: Laura Veirs
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotton heard music all around her growing up in North Carolina. She became a...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/little-melba-and-big-trombone.jpg?itok=5gRteapq)
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
By: Katheryn Russell-Brown
Illustrated by: Frank Morrison
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember....
![illustrated cover of Mae Among the Stars illustrated cover of Mae Among the Stars showing girl in space helmet with night sky behind her](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/Mae%20Among%20the%20Stars.jpg?itok=u7AtMB8L)
Mae Among the Stars
By: Roda Ahmed
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A beautiful picture book for sharing, inspired by the life of the first African American woman...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/1476551588.jpg?itok=Fwq5APof)
Mae Jemison
By: Luke Collins
Age Level: 6-9 years old
An early biography of the first African-American female astronaut. This nonfiction book explores...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/major-taylor.jpg?itok=6byxqP7E)
Major Taylor, Champion Cyclist
By: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrated by: James Ransome
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A picture-book biography of Marshall Taylor, an African American who became a great bicycle...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/mario-and-hole-in-sky.jpg?itok=GlPZfZ8V)
Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet
By: Elizabeth Rusch
Illustrated by: Teresa Martinez
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Mexican-American Mario Molina is a modern-day hero who helped solve the ozone crisis of the...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/marvelous-cornelius.jpg?itok=xypACcVs)
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
By: Phil Bildner
Illustrated by: John Parra
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Cornelius Washington was proud of his hometown, New Orleans. His job as a sanitation worker was...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/maryams-magic.jpg?itok=OYHz3tlw)
Maryam’s Magic: The Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani
By: Megan Reid
Illustrated by: Aaliya Jaleel
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As a little girl growing up in Tehran, Maryam Mirzakhani was spellbound by stories but she did...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/midnight-teacher_0.jpg?itok=XQTWXq8L)
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
By: Janet Halfmann
Illustrated by: Landon Ladd
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Lilly Ann Granderson,, who was enslaved, secretly learned to read and write as a child and...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/molly-by-golly.jpg?itok=Hoz3qggn)
Molly, by Golly! The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter
By: Dianne Ochiltree
Illustrated by: Kathleen Kemly
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Williams was a cook for New York City's volunteer Fire Company 11 in the early 1800s. When a...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/my-name-is-gabriela.jpg?itok=lGZhvL40)
My Name Is Gabriela / Me llamo Gabriela
By: Monica Brown
Illustrated by: John Parra
Age Level: 6-9 years old
"My name is Gabriela Mistral. It is a name I chose myself because I like the sound of it." With...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/sojournertruth.jpg?itok=BIR2785U)
My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth
By: Ann Turner
Illustrated by: James Ransome
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery but she would not remain enslaved. Instead, she took the...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/nachos-nachos.jpg?itok=61LKtWHw)
Nacho's Nachos: The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack
By: Sandra Nickel
Illustrated by: Oliver Dominguez
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Meet Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya and learn the true story of how he invented the world's most beloved...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/patricias-vision.jpg?itok=2E0YQ0be)
Patricia's Vision: The Doctor Who Saved Sight
By: Michelle Lord
Illustrated by: Alleana Harris
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Born in the 1940s, Dr. Patricia Bath dreamed of being an ophthalmologist at a time when becoming...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/piano-starts-here.jpg?itok=6FpxIsAd)
Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum
By: Robert Andrew Parker
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Art Tatum came from modest beginnings and was nearly blind, but his passion for the piano and...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/planting-stories.jpg?itok=vS3KOoWg)
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
By: Anika Aldamuy Denise
Illustrated by: Paola Escobar
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/_poet-remarkable-story-george-moses-horton.jpg?itok=rV2TrOqI)
Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton
By: Don Tate
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Horton, an inspirational poet, was the first Black author in the South to ever be published....
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/queen-of-physics.jpg?itok=zYoEACK-)
Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom
By: Teresa Robeson
Illustrated by: Rebecca Huang
Age Level: 6-9 years old
When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school; no one...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/richard-wright-and-library-card.jpg?itok=FlPbl07p)
Richard Wright and the Library Card
By: William Miller
Illustrated by: R.Gregory Christie
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Richard Wright, one of this country's most brilliant writers (Native Son) and his early...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/separate-is-never-equal.jpg?itok=3i1LxQ_p)
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
By: Duncan Tonatiuh
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/shaking-things-up.jpg?itok=18UGHwnO)
Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World
By: Susan Hood
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This book of poems introduces fourteen revolutionary young women—each paired with a noteworthy...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/shaped-by-her-hands.jpg?itok=xsjQcL3r)
Shaped By Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez
By: Anna Harber Freeman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The most renowned Native American Indian potter of her time, Maria Povika Martinez learned...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/she-loved-baseball-effa-manley-story.jpg?itok=iBqLG6_W)
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story
By: Audrey Vernick
Illustrated by: Don Tate
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Effa Manley, born when jazz was new and sports were segregated, was passionate about fairness...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/she-persisted-claudette-colvin.jpg?itok=Wt_qUxv7)
She Persisted: Claudette Colvin
By: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrated by: Gillian Flint
Age Level: 6-9 years old
She was named after a white actress of the time, but this young Black girl’s life took a very...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/she-persisted-harriet-tubman.jpg?itok=tH9yyxgN)
She Persisted: Harriet Tubman
By: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by: Gillian Flint
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Born enslaved, Harriet Tubman rose up to become one of the most successful, determined and well-...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/she-was-first-trailblazing-life-of-shirley-chisholm.jpg?itok=d4wFreaj)
She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm
By: Katheryn Russell-Brown
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Meet the dynamic educator, activist, and politician Shirley Chisholm. Even as a young child...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/shirley-chisholm-is-a-verb.jpg?itok=wv7lvMqW)
Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb
By: Veronica Chambers
Illustrated by: Rachelle Baker
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress, famously said, "If they don't give you a...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/side-by-side.jpg?itok=lIgdIKun)
Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez / /Lado a Lado: La Historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez
By: Monica Brown
Illustrated by: Joe Cepeda
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This bilingual book pairs the dual stories of powerful activists César Chávez and Dolores Huerta...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/skyhigh.jpg?itok=5vN9TIOi)
Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee
By: Marissa Moss
Illustrated by: Carl Angel
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The true story of one of only two Chinese-American women to fly for the U.S. Air Force during...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/sweet-dreams-sarah.jpg?itok=dUC9T2h9)
Sweet Dreams, Sarah
By: Vivian Kirkfield
Illustrated by: Chris Ewald
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Originally enslaved, Sarah E. Goode moved to Chicago after the abolition of slavery and started...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/take-a-picture-of-me-james-vanderzee.jpg?itok=EcFGCVBG)
Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!
By: Andrea J. Loney
Illustrated by: Keith Mallett
Age Level: 6-9 years old
James VanDerZee (1886–1983) was a prolific photographer who used his camera to capture the...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/east-west-house.jpg?itok=IEWE3_Yz)
The East-West House: Noguchi's Childhood in Japan
By: Christy Hale
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A biography of Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American artist, sculptor, and landscape architect,...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/fearless-flights-of-hazel-ying-lee.jpg?itok=41wbYk9b)
The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee
By: Julie Leung
Illustrated by: Julie Kwon
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese American woman to fly for the US military, was born fearless...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/girl-with-a-mind-for-math.jpg?itok=kHsm_Ei5)
The Girl With a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague
By: Julia Finley Mosca
Illustrated by: Daniel Rieley
Age Level: 6-9 years old
After touring a German submarine in the early 1940s, young Raye set her sights on becoming an...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/power-of-her-pen.jpg?itok=CBLNtbC_)
The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne
By: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrated by: John Parra
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The story of Ethel Payne, a groundbreaking African American journalist and one of the first...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/unstoppable-garrett-morgan.jpg?itok=HIO-3kZm)
The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan
By: Joan DiCicco
Illustrated by: Ebony Glenn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Using his ingenuity and tenacity, Garrett overcame racial barriers and forged a career as a...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/world-not-rectangle.jpg?itok=OXgt0gZT)
The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
By: Jeanette Winter
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/ticktock-bannekers-clock.jpg?itok=yg1MTMW3)
Ticktock Banneker's Clock
By: Shana Keller
Illustrated by: David C. Gardner
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The story of 18th century African American scientist Benjamin Banneker and his three-year...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/touch-the-sky.jpg?itok=BnmjJeIq)
Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper
By: Anna Malaspina
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In Alice Coachman's Georgia hometown, there was no track where an African-American girl could...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/trailblazer-story-of-ballerina-raven-wilkinson.jpg?itok=IZ0o3uZM)
Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson
By: Leda Schubert
Illustrated by: Theodore Taylor III
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Raven Wilkinson, born in 1935, was the first African American ballerina to dance with a major...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/1419714651.jpg?itok=0lwSEi-9)
Trombone Shorty
By: Trou "Trombone Shorty" Andrews
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Troy Andrews grew up in a New Orleans family of musicians so it’s not surprising that he, too,...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/what-do-you-do-with-a-voice-like-that.jpg?itok=kyrSb4t1)
What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan
By: Chris Barton
Illustrated by: Ekua Holmes
Age Level: 6-9 years old
From a very young age, Barbara Jordan had a voice that stood out. The repeated refrain, “what...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/1596435402.jpg?itok=VrtZZ8Z1)
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop
By: Laban Carrick Hill
Age Level: 6-9 years old
From his early childhood in Jamaica, Clive loved all types of music. When he was 13 years old,...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/whoosh-lonnie-johnsons-supersoaking-stream-of-inventions.jpg?itok=N8Du2q-7)
Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions
By: Chris Barton
Illustrated by: Don Tate
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As a kid, Lonnie fiddled around with toy rockets and more. But all of his tinkering led to a...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/william-still-and-his-freedom-stories.jpg?itok=-8am81dI)
William Still and His Freedom Stories
By: Don Tate
Age Level: 6-9 years old
William Still was the youngest child of parents who escaped slavery and went on to become the...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/wilmaunlimited.jpg?itok=XmaVG9DQ)
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman
By: Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by: David Diaz
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Wilma Rudolph not only overcame polio, she went on to become the first woman to win three...
![cover of "wind flyers" showing boy and dog on the wing of a prop plane cover of "wind flyers" showing boy and dog on the wing of a prop plane](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/wind_flyers.jpg?itok=EwudYs2r)
Wind Flyers
By: Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: Loren Long
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A young African American boy tells the story of his great-great-uncle, who realized his dream of...
Age Level: 9-12 years old
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/alicia-alonso.jpg?itok=t7sICsZA)
Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina
By: Carmen Bernier-Grand
Illustrated by: Raúl Colón
Age Level: 9-12 years old
From childhood, Alonso exhibited a passion for dancing, studying first in Cuba and later in New...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/asian-americans-who-inspire-us.jpg?itok=J6Rc8sBk)
Asian-Americans Who Inspire Us
By: Analiza Quiroz Wolf
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Engaging stories of 16 trailblazing Asian-Americans. The stories bring to life Vietnam Memorial...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/awesome-asian-americans.jpg?itok=4w4tTjE6)
Awesome Asian Americans: 20 Stars Who Made America Amazing
By: Phil Amara, Oliver Chin
Illustrated by: Juan Calle
Age Level: 9-12 years old
This anthology spotlights 20 historical and contemporary Asian Americans who "came from...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/black-pioneers-science-invention.jpg?itok=UdEeYixq)
Black Pioneers of Science and Invention
By: Louis Haber
Age Level: 9-12 years old
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/swab-bravo.jpg?itok=WKFqKEk4)
Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics
By: Margarita Engle
Illustrated by: Rafael López
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Lyrical poems introduce a “variety of amazing people …” including Pura Belpre became a New York...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/changing-the-equation-50-black-women-in-stem.jpg?itok=SluLUfPx)
Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM
By: Tanya Bolden
Age Level: 9-12 years old
With profiles on groundbreaking computer scientists, doctors, inventors, physicists, pharmacists...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/civil-rights-pioneer.jpg?itok=0HWzLlPk)
Civil Rights Pioneer: A Story About Mary Church Terrell
By: Gwenyth Swain
Illustrated by: Ellen Beier
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Terrell worked to gain equal rights for herself and other African Americans, and is best-known...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/classified-secret-caree-of-mary-golda-ross-cherokee-areospace-engineer.jpg?itok=TMNnsqVW)
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
By: Traci Sorell
Illustrated by: Natasha Donovan
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/claudette-colvin-twice-towards-justice.jpg?itok=PLcsPD7p)
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
By: Philip Hoose
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/finish-the-fight.jpg?itok=KCFxu_X3)
Finish the Fight! The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote
By: Veronica Chambers Staff of the, New York Times
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Who was at the forefront of women's right to vote? What about so many others from diverse...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/Firebird.jpg?itok=smJMAOG3)
Firebird
By: Misty Copeland
Illustrated by: Christopher Myers
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Misty Copeland, the African American Ballet Theater soloist, has an encouraging conversation...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/fred-korematsu-speaks-up.jpg?itok=vStBmfgL)
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up
By: Laura Atkins, Stan Yogi
Illustrated by: Yutaka Houlette
Age Level: 9-12 years old
The story of civil rights icon Fred Korematsu's fight against Japanese American incarceration...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/growing-up-pedro.jpg?itok=p0WNRuH_)
Growing Up Pedro: Candlewick Biographies: How the Martinez Brothers Made It from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues
By: Matt Tavares
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Before Pedro Martínez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/hammering-for-freedom.jpg?itok=ByEb0yda)
Hammering for Freedom: The William Lewis Story
By: Rita Lorraine Hubbard
Illustrated by: John Holyfield
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Born into slavery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, William "Bill" Lewis learned the blacksmith trade...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/i-matthew-henson-polar-explorer.jpg?itok=XdFLrz7b)
I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Matthew Henson, an African American explorer, accompanied Robert Peary to the North Pole where...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/jump-back-paul.jpg?itok=MOr_WWcJ)
Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
By: Sally Derby
Illustrated by: Sean Qualls
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Experience the breadth and depth of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry. From his childhood in poverty...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/latinitas-celebrating-4-big-dreamers.jpg?itok=B1M1hqVA)
Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers
By: Juliet Menéndez
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today in this collection of...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/manie-on-the-mound.jpg?itok=MWEYp5pQ)
Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball's Negro Leagues
By: Leah Henderson
Illustrated by: George Doutsiopoulos
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson had one dream: to play professional baseball, but she wasn't welcome in...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/red-bird-sings.jpg?itok=EjwsFxG5)
Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Ša, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist
By: Gina Capaldi, Q.L. Pearce
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/schomburg-man-who-built-a-library.jpg?itok=k1IvmQXa)
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by: Eric Velasquez
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Who was Arturo Alfonso Schomburg? He was an Afro-Puerto Rican man whose thirst for knowledge...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/sharuko-peruvian-archaeologist.jpg?itok=y-sf8jQq)
Sharuko: Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello / El Arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello
By: Monica Brown
Illustrated by: Elisa Chavarri
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Peruvian archaeologist and national icon Julio C. Tello unearthed Peru's ancient cultures and...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/talkin-about-bessie.jpg?itok=IImKnXBE)
Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman
By: Nikki Grimes
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis
Age Level: 9-12 years old
After aviator Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman is lost in a plane crash, those who knew her celebrate...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/the-undefeated.jpg?itok=GxEYRh18)
The Undefeated
By: Kwame Alexander
Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson
Age Level: 9-12 years old
This poem is a love letter to black life in the U.S. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/tiny-stitches-life-of-medical-pioneer-vivien-thomas.jpg?itok=2d26kcSc)
Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas
By: Gwendolyn Hooks
Illustrated by: Colin Bootman
Age Level: 9-12 years old
A picture book biography about the genius and research of Vivien Thomas. Despite persistent...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/together-we-march_0.jpg?itok=XpeBwHko)
Together We March
By: Leah Henderson
Illustrated by: Tyler Feder
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Learn about 25 groundbreaking protest movements that have shaped the way we fight for equality...
![""](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/voiceoffreedom.jpg?itok=SGtKhHHq)
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by: Ekua Holmes
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Stirring poems and vibrant collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/what-color-is-my-world.jpg?itok=li4lRfbF)
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors
By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Illustrated by: Ben Boos
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Basketball legend Abdul-Jabbar champions a lineup of little-known African-American inventors in...
![](https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/styles/books/public/book/yours-for-justice-ida-b-wells.jpg?itok=YtCyrx2W)
Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist
By: Philip Dray
Illustrated by: Stephen Alcorn
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Journalist Ida B. Wells faces the greatest challenge of her life as a tireless crusader for...