Meet the Trailblazers

Through our collection of wonderful picture book biographies, you’ll meet remarkable men and women of color who helped to shape our world.

Trailblazers go places. Trailblazers explore uncharted areas. They do things first.

collage of picture book biographies about trailblazing people of color

Trailblazers are bold, brave, and persistent. They are creative, confident, and strong. The trailblazers in these books are people of color. All of them have pursued their passion, overcome obstacles, fought prejudice, and changed the world.

Despite challenges, trailblazers move forward. They mark the way. Others follow.

As trailblazers, the men and women of color in these picture book biographies faced unique obstacles. They pursued their passions despite racism, prejudice, poverty, and injustice. Many were born disadvantaged, lacked opportunity, or had limited access to educational opportunities. Yet, they excelled. They were scientists, writers, poets, athletes, pilots, activists, dancers, musicians, inventors, astronauts, and more.

Meet the Trailblazers activity guide

From the booklists below, we've selected 14 picture book biographies to inspire the young learners in your life! For each featured book, we provide reflection questions, hands-on activities, and writing prompts — to jump-start conversations, curiosity, and exploration.

Note: Be sure to view and print from Adobe Reader (or an alternative PDF reader), not your web browser.


Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of A Computer Called Katherine showing a little girl looking up at the title above her.

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...

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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

Horace Pippin was born in Pennsylvania in the late 19th century to become a talented — and...

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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-...

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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...

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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...

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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

Charles Henry Turner, the first Black entomologist, was fascinated by plants and animals and bugs....

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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...

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Cover for the children's nonfiction book Counting on Katherine

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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cover of "Fly High" showing a pilot in a prop plane

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...

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Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight

By: Karyn Parsons

Illustrated by: R. Gregory Christie

Age Level: 6-9 years old

...

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""

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...

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""

Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills

By: Renee Watson

Illustrated by: Christian Robinson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Bold, bright illustrations and a cheerful text that includes song lyrics introduce the life of an...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw

By: Don Tate

Illustrated by: Gregory Christie

Age Level: 6-9 years old

A former slave and sharecropper Bill Traylor moved to the city after his wife's death. Though he...

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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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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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....

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illustrated cover of Mae Among the Stars showing girl in space helmet with night sky behind her

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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-...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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cover of "wind flyers" showing boy and dog on the wing of a prop plane

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...

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Age Level: 9-12 years old

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...

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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...

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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...

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Black Pioneers of Science and Invention

By: Louis Haber

Age Level: 9-12 years old

...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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