“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” – Maya Angelou

There are many reasons why poetry is important for young readers. Research has shown that poetry motivates children to read, builds phonemic awareness and builds essential skills like vocabulary, fluency, expression, and writing. Each of these is crucial for children to develop in order to become strong independent readers.

This month is National Poetry Month, which is a special occasion to recognize the significance of poets and poetry in our culture.

Why not celebrate by sharing one (or all) of these carefully chosen African American children’s books with your favorite little people?

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander

Truly sharing gratitude for the poet’s art form, Newberry Award-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, showcase beautiful original poems that pay homage to twenty famous poets who have made their ‘hearts sing and thier minds wonder.’ This book is illustrated by Ekua Holmes, who is the winner of a Caldecott Honor and a John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award.

Find the official trailer for Out of Wonder here on this link.

Also, this link will take you to a really great video for kids by author Kwame Alexander and will teach kids the ingredients of a poem.

H.O.R.S.E. by Christopher Myers

This is such a creative book, taking place one day at the basketball court, where two boys take on the classic game of H.O.R.S.E. , although it ends up being anything but classic when they one up each other in the game with their imaginative ideas about the shots they will next take.

Here is a great Youtube read-aloud version of the book.

Find some great lesson plans to extend this book for grades 3-5 here on this link.

America, My New Home by Monica Gunning

In twenty-three captivating poems, Jamaican-Born poet Monica Gunning tells her immigrant's story with a child’s sense of wonder. She describes a place where skyscrapers, rather than the moon, light the night, where people dress in woolens, ready for the snow; where no one knows your name. However, this same place also holds exciting treasures such as dizzying amusement park rides, compelling art museums, towering cathedrals, and stirring symphony concerts. I love how her new land is described as where “hope glows, a beacon/ guiding ocean-deep dreamers /from storm surfs to shore.”

There is one read-aloud version available here on YouTube.

Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou edited by Edwin Graves Wilson

This book features twenty-five of Dr. Maya Angelou’s finest poems, capturing a range of emotions and experiences. It includes “Harlem Hopscotch, ” “Me and My Work, ” and the incredibly moving “Still I Rise.” Award-winning artist Jerome Lagarrigue has beautifully illustrated each verse, and Dr. Edwin Graves Wilson, a colleague of Dr. Angelou, wrote the book’s introduction, introductions to the poems, and annotations.

Listen to Dr. Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” here.

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes by David Roessel

This winner of the 2007 Coretta Scott Illustrator Honor Award showcases the work of the extraordinary Langston Hughes. It is edited by two leading poetry experts and features amazing art by Benny Andrews. Poems include his best-loved works: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers, ” “My People, ” “Words Like Freedom, ” “Harlem.” “I, Too, ” and “I Hear America Singing.”

There is a really great read-aloud version on this link.

Brown: The Many Shades of Love by Nancy Johnson James

This poetic book celebrates all the beautiful browns in one child’s colorful family. Mama’s brown is chocolate, clear, dark, and sweet. Daddy’s brown is autumn leaf, or like a field of wheat. Granny’s brown is like honey, and Papa’s like caramel. I love how the little boy in the story describes all the beautiful hues of his family, including his own, which he describes as gingerbread.

I really like this read-aloud version on Youtube.

Find a really great lesson idea here.

Simon B. Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed

Author Dwayne Reed is a Chicago teacher, whose viral back-to-school music video "Welcome to the 4th Grade" took the internet by storm.

We were so excited when he visited our school virtually last December. He spoke to us about his inspiration for the book and what he hoped to accomplish with it. He told us that his goal is to encourage young readers to use their voice to create change in their community.

In the book we meet eleven-year-old Simon Barnes, who dreams of becoming a world-famous rapper that everyone calls Notorious D.O.G. The problem is, for now he's just a Chicago fifth grader who's small for his age and afraid to use his voice.

Simon is extremely quiet at school and at home, even though he's constantly rhyming in his head. But when his new teacher assigns the class an oral presentation on something that affects their community, Simon must face his fears.

With some help from an unexpected friend and his neighborhood crew, Simon gains confidence and makes a difference.

Click this link to hear the author rap ‘I Wish I Could Speak Up/ Simon B. Rhymin.’

Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

This is a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about all different kinds of girls: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful: girls who love their bodies and girls who don’t; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. Each poem is vibrantly illustrated with unique patterns and fabrics.

Listen to the author read it aloud here, on this link.

You can find supplemental ELA resources to extend this book for grades K-3 here.

Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes

In this book, a young girl discovers a box of poems in the attic that were written by her mother when she was growing up. Her mother’s family often moved around the United States and the world because her father was in the Air Force. The poems were recordings of the experiences she had in the many places the family lived, and when the little girl reads them she is able to see these experiences through her mother’s eyes, helping her feel closer to her mom than ever before. To let her mom know this, she creates the gift of a book of her own poems and copies of her mother’s. When she returns her mom’s poems to the box in the attic, she leaves her own poems too, for someone else to find some day.

I really like this read-aloud version on YouTube.

There are 35 resources here on this site for grades 1-5.

Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes

There are sixteen amazing poems in this book and they range in form from a haiku to a rebus to a riddle. Each poem focuses on gratitude, reminding us how wonderful it is to feel thankful, and how powerful a simple “thank you “ can be.

There is an interactive read-aloud version in two parts on YouTube. Find part 1 here and part 2 here.

Find the complete teacher’s guide from the author here.

Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy

In this book , a child reflects on the meaning of being Black. It is an anthem about a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.

It begins like this:

Red is a rainbow color. Green sits next to blue. Yellow, orange, violet, indigo,, They are rainbow colors too, but…

My color is black…

And there’s no BLACK in rainbows.

It then goes on to discuss all the ways black surrounds our lives, from the wheels on a bike to the robe on Thurgood Marshall’s back, and how many incredible black people have helped change the world and shape the culture that continues to thrive.

One of the best read-aloud versions is here on this link.

26 Teaching Resources for grades PK-5 can be found here.

I Am Loved by Nikki Giovanni

Newberry honoree Ashley Bryan has hand-selected a dozen of National Book Award winner Nikki Giovanni’s poems to illustrate for this collection. Each poem focuses on the theme of being loved, reassures children that they are loved, and even has a mirrored page so the children reading the book can see exactly who is loved- themselves!

This is a great read-aloud version.

There are some great resources to extend the book here.

Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes: by Floyd Cooper

This is such a beautifully written and illustrated story about the life of Langston Hughes. The young Langston Hughes was a dreamer. He dreamed about his heroes such as Booker T. Washington, the places he had been, and about having a happy home. He realized that the happy home he searched for was in the words and rhythms of his poetry that reached people all over the world. This book is a great introduction to both Langston Hughes and poetry.

I love this read-aloud version.

For more content about Langston Hughes created especially for children, check out this video.

I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes

This is truly a fantastic retelling of Langston Hughes' poem. Beautiful paintings from Barack Obama illustrator Bryan Collier accompany and reinvent the celebrated lines of the poem "I, Too," creating a breathtaking reminder to all Americans that we are united despite our differences.

Here is a really well-done read-aloud recording from YouTube.

There are 20 resources for Grades K-2 on this link.

Hey Black Child by Useni Eugene Perkins

This classic poem is brought to life as an amazing book celebrating the power and potential of black children. The illustrations pair young black faces with visions of their successful futures as astronauts, artists, politicians, and more. There are also images from African civilizations, the civil rights movement, and Black Lives Matter woven throughout, connecting the book's triumphs to African Americans' roots and ongoing struggles against racism.

The read-aloud version of the book can be found here.

There are 21 resources here for grades K-2.

My Dad Rules the World: Poems About Dads by Hope Anita Smith

This collection of 16 poems is told through the eyes of a child and celebrates everyday expressions of fatherly love, from bedtime stories, haircuts in the kitchen, guitar lessons, to wrestling matches and cuddling in bed. Each poem, beautifully illustrated with folk-art style images, captures the beauty of the bond between father and child.

This is a really well-done read-aloud version.

Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks

In 1956, Gwendolyn Brooks created thirty-four poems that celebrated the joy, beauty, imagination, and freedom of childhood. Bronzeville Boys and Girls features these timeless poems, and pairs them with the extraordinary artwork of Faith Ringgold.

There are great ideas for lessons to complement this book for grades 1-12 here.

Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade

Gwendolyn Brooks is famous for her very relatable “real life” poems about love, loneliness, family, and poverty. This picture book follows Gwendolyn from early childhood into her adult life, highlighting her desire to write poetry from a very young age. We see the intersections of race, gender, and the poverty of the Great Depression, but in a very thoughtful lyrical way. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize, and in 1958 she was named the poet laureate of Illinois.

This video shows the inside scoop on the creation of Exquisite.

And here is an awesome read-aloud version.

There are additional resources, if you would like to engage in a mini-unit about the life of Gwendolyn Brooks, here.

A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliott

Award-winning author Zetta Elliott tells the story of a Black child, letting the reader see his shifting emotions through a year that is filled with joy, until his community is wounded by a police shooting. We see how the child is affected by the grief and protests, as well as the healing that happens as a result of a strong community. This is an extremely helpful text for encouraging children to talk about their feelings.

Find out more about the author and her inspiration for the book here.

And find the read-aloud version here.

There are 26 resources for grades K-5 here on this link.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: 50 Inspiring Poems with a Beat ( A Poetry Speaks Experience for Kids, From Tupac to Jay-Z, Queen Latifah to Maya Angelou) by Nikki Giovanni

This book was a New York Times bestseller and also included in the Booklist Top 10 Art Books for Youth, and has more than 50 amazing poems and songs! It includes part of Martin Luther King’s original “I Have a Dream” speech, as well as Langton Hughes’ gospel “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and Kanye West’s “Hey Mama.” The variety and quality in this book makes it a perfect choice for encouraging children to read and also love poetry.

Here is a very well done read-aloud version on YouTube.

There are 15 resources for grades 1-8 here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit the blog today. Your time and attention is greatly appreciated.

I hope you found this post worthwhile and that it inspires you to share one or more of these carefully chosen, beautifully created African American poetry books with the children in your life.

Happy National Poetry Month!

Yours truly,

Jennifer