Two years ago I prepared my first book list of 54 youngCanLit titles for Black History Month. I have updated that list periodically when important titles were brought to my attention or were newly published, like Caroline Pignat’s Governor-General award-winning book, The Gospel Truth. But, it gets to the point when that list becomes a bit ragged and the formatting starts to go wonky and I thought it best to update it and reorganize it completely. I hope that, in this more complete list of 76 titles, enhanced with the addition of titles brought to my attention by readers, everyone will find something that helps them grasp the importance of Black History Month to all Canadians.
by Cheryl Foggo
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
2011
Immigration to Canada
by Tololwa M. Mollel
Illustrated by Darrell McCalla
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
January, 2014
East African traditional stories, celebration
by Nadia L. Hohn
Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2016
Carnival, immigration to Canada
by The Honourable Mayann Francis
Illustrated by Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo
Nimbus Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 4-9
2015
Biography
by Denise Gillard
Illustrated by Stephen Taylor
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2011
African-Canadian intergenerational relationship
by Adwoa Badoe
Illustrated by Bushra Junaid
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2002
Visit to Canada from Africa
by Tololwa M. Mollel
Illustrated by Paul Morin
Oxford University Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-9
1990
Masai folklore
by Adwoa Badoe
Illustrated by Baba Wagué Diakité
Groundwood
62 pp.
Ages 7-10
2001
African folklore
by Shauntay Grant
Illustrated by Susan Tooke
Nimbus
32 pp.
Ages 7-11
2011
North Preston’s black community
by Jody Nyasha Warner
Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki
Groundwood
32 pp.
Ages 7-10
2010
Biography, civil rights
by Eric Walters
Puffin
232 pp.
Ages 10-13
2009
Racism, friendship
by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Scholastic Canada
231 pp.
Ages 10+
2010
Slavery, freedom
by Barbara Haworth-Attard
Roussan Publishers
136 pp.
Ages 9-12
1995
Underground Railroad
by Karleen Bradford
Scholastic Canada
240 pp.
Ages 9-13
2009
Slavery, Underground Railroad
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
288 pp.
Ages 9+
2007
Freedom, slavery, Ontario
by Julie Burtinshaw
Raincoast Books
182 pp.
Ages 7-10
2005
Underground Railroad, British Columbia
by Ann Towell
Tundra
192 pp.
Ages 10-13
2010
Racism, Ontario
by Deborah Ellis
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
192 pp.
Ages 10-14
2004
Malawi, HIV/AIDS
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Maple Tree Press
81 pp.
Ages 6-9
2008
Underground Railroad
by Bryan Prince
Tundra Books
160 pp.
Ages 11-14
2004
Underground Railroad, slavery
by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Stoddart Kids
221 pp.
Ages 11+
2001
Underground Railroad, slavery
by Dorothy Perkyns
Sandcastle Books/Beach Holme
110 pp.
Ages 8-12
2003
Africville, Nova Scotia, racism
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic
384 pp.
Ages 9+
2014
Sequel to "Elijah of Buxton"
by Judith Plaxton
Second Story Press
277 pp.
Ages 11-14
2011
Underground Railroad
by Ann Walsh
Dundurn
112 pp.
Ages 10-14
2013
Based on a Gold Rush murder
by Afua Cooper
Kid Can Press
160 pp.
Ages 10-14
2009
Historical fiction, slavery, abolitionism
by Afua Cooper
Kid Can Press
152 pp.
Ages 11+
2009
Biography, slavery, poetry
by Lynne Kositsky
Penguin Canada
112 pp.
Ages 8-12
2003
Slavery, racism, freedom, Nova Scotia
by Lynne Kositsky
Penguin Canada
84 pp.
Ages 9-11
2004
Racism, Nova Scotia
by Lynne Kositsky
Penguin Canada
83 pp.
Ages 9-11
2002
Loyalists, slavery, racism, Nova Scotia
by Lynne Kositsky
Penguin Books
64 pp.
Ages 8-11
2001
Slavery, freedom
by Philip Roy
Ronsdale Press
200 pp.
Ages 10+
2013
Racism, violence, South Africa, apartheid
by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Holiday House
163 pp.
Ages 12-14
2000
Slavery, racism
by William Bell
Doubleday Canada
210 pp.
Ages 10+
2001
Racism, intolerance
by Barbara Smucker
Puffin Canada
144pp.
Ages 9-12
2003
Slavery, Underground Railroad, freedom
by Adwoa Badoe
Groundwood
205 pp.
Ages 13+
2010
Ghana
by Marthe Jocelyn
Orca Book Publisher
249 pp.
Ages 12+
2015
Heritage
by Brenda Hammond
Great Plains Teen Fiction
326 pp.
Ages 14+
2012
Apartheid, South Africa
by Gloria Ann Wesley
Fernwood Publishing
240 pp.
Ages 13+
2011
Black Loyalists coming to Nova Scotia
by Allan Stratton
Annick
193 pp.
Ages 12-15
2004
HIV/AIDS
by Allan Stratton
HarperCollins
382 pp.
Ages 13-17
2008
Civil war, child soldiers
by Caroline Pignat
Red Deer Press
328 pp.
Ages 12+
2014
Slavery, freedom
by Donn Kushner
Lester & Orpen Dennys
214 pp.
Ages 12-15
1990
Racism, slavery, African folktales
by Gloria Ann Wesley
Fernwood Publishing
272 pp.
Ages 13+
2013
Black loyalist settlers in Nova Scotia
by Norah McClintock
Orca Book Publishers
248 pp.
Ages 12+
2015
Civil rights, racism
by Lori Lansens
Back Bay Books
387 pp.
Ages 16+
2011
Town founded by fugitive slaves
by William Bell
Doubleday Canada
165 pp.
Ages 12-16
1998
Slavery, racism, Richard Pierpoint
by Bathseba Opini and Richard B. Lee
Annick Press
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
2011
Inventions
by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2010
Biography
by Richard Bridnall
Lorimer
152 pp.
Ages 11-13
2010
Biography, Fergie Jenkins
by Mariatu Kumara with Susan McClelland
Annick Press
216 pp.
Ages 14+
2008
Sierra Leone, civil war
by Christine Welldon
Nimbus
81 pp.
Ages 8-12
2009
Africville, racism, community
by Marjorie Gann and Janet Willen
Tundra
168 pp.
Ages 11-16
2011
Slavery
by Rosemary Sadlier
Dundurn
190 pp.
2012
Biography, Harriet Tubman
by Fil Fraser
Dragon Hill
255 pp.
Ages 16+
2009
Achievement, Canada, settlement
by Bill Swan
Lorimer
144 pp.
Ages 13-17
2014
Biography, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, injustice, racism
by Nicole Mortillaro
Lorimer
112 pp.
Ages 11-14
2010
Biography
by Rosemary Sadlier
Illustrated by Wang Qijun
Kids Can Press
56 pp.
Ages 9-12
2003
Canada, history
by Simon Rose
Weigl Publishers
24 pp.
Ages 8-12
2010
Nelson Mandela, South Africa
by Rona Arato
Illustrated by Ben Shannon
Owlkids Books
96 pp.
Ages 9-13
2011
by Rona Arato
Illustrated by Peter Ferguson
Maple Tree Press/Owlkids Books
96 pp.
Ages 9-13
2009
Underground Railroad
by Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
Tundra Books
40 pp.
Ages 9+
2009
Slavery, John Newton
by Laura Scandiffio
Annick Press
168 pp.
Ages 9-14
2012
Civil rights, Rosa Parks, NAACP, apartheid, South Africa
by John Cooper
Tundra Books
71 pp.
Ages 10-15
2005
Racism, civil rights, Ontario
by Lian Goodall
Illustrated by Liz Milkau
Napoleon Publishing
63 pp.
Ages 9-11
2004
Biography, Portia White
by Natalie Hyde
Clockwise Press
160 pp.
Ages 12-16
2015
Biography
by Natasha L. Henry
Dundurn
174 pp.
Ages 12+
2012
Slavery, emancipation
by Steve Pitt
Dundurn
144 pp.
Ages 10+
2008
War of 1812, Richard Pierpoint, soldiers, Canada
by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by David Parkins
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2016
Biography
by Lawrence Hill
Umbrella Press
64 pp.
Ages 11+
1993
Settlement, slavery, racism, achievements
by L. D. Cross
James Lorimer
144 pp.
Ages 12+
2010
Slavery, Underground Railroad, freedom
by K’NAAN with Sol Guy
Illustrated by Rudy Guttierez
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 7-12
2012
Biography
by Nicole Mortillaro
James Lorimer
140 pp.
Ages 11-13
2012
Biography, hockey, Willie O'Ree
by Rona Arato
Napoleon
78 pp.
Ages 10-13
2009
Biography, Josiah Henson, slavery, Underground Railroad
by Michael A. Miller
Playwrights Canada Press
67 pp.
Ages 14+
2003
Biography, Nelson Mandela
Directed by Lesley Ann Patten
Produced by Kent Martin and Lesley Ann Patten
National Film Board of Canada
57 min., 3 sec.
Ages 11+
1999
Heritage, slavery, South Carolina, Halifax
You might consider adding my new middle grade novel out with Red Deer Press, RUNNER, Harry Jerome, World's Fastest Man.
ReplyDeleteI think Runner will be an important addition to this list, Norma. A great number of titles have been published in the past 2 years since I posted this updated list so it looks like I'll need to find the time to update the update. Perhaps it will just have to be an addendum post of new books. My only limit is time, never books.
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