NPR's Expert List of Kids Book Recommendations for Black History Month

"It's a book that I would recommend for anyone, and particularly though, in Black History Month because it features a young African American girl and she takes so many adventures through books. And to have a young African American child having those adventures in a library at this time is very significant when so many things are being challenged."

"The book, published in 1946, is about a young African American girl named April who experiences racial prejudice for the first time. The main character has pigtails and is a Brownie — a Girl Scout in the second or third grade of elementary school — which blew the mind of a young Hayden, who also was a Brownie with pigtails.."

"Robertson Powell said she and her 10-year-old son regularly drive past the New Orleans elementary school Bridges integrated in 1960 in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education... They recently read Bridge's book together, and since then, he's been applying the story to his own life, she said. When someone didn't want to play with him recently, 'He was like, 'I wonder if that's how Ruby felt?,' she said.

"Even though it is a picture book, I think we should think about picture books as everybody books, especially a book like this...The book tells the story of Arturo Schomburg, a historian, writer, book collector and activist who lived during the Harlem Renaissance."

"Kling said she recommends the book for teens ages 14 through 18, because it's easy for readers to relate to Ashley, since the book reads like a memoir or autobiography. While the (Rodney) King riots might be a heavy topic, Kling said reading about these issues through Ashley's eyes gives people a 'safe way to interface with those difficult topics.'"

"ABC Black History and Me by Queenbe Monyei is a classic ABC picture book, featuring Black historical figures for to each letter of the alphabet...It's also one of the few board books — tough enough to withstand a toddler's hands and mouth — that she's come across that feature Black characters, she said."