Black History Month Family Reading Guide

📚 Black History Month Family Reading Guide

Discover, Learn, and Celebrate Together

Black History Month is a time to honor the achievements, creativity, resilience, and leadership of Black individuals throughout history and today. Reading together as a family is one meaningful way to explore these stories, spark meaningful conversation, and deepen understanding across generations.

Our library may be small, but it holds powerful books for readers of all ages. We invite families to explore this curated selection from our shelves.

👧🏾 Elementary Readers (Ages 7–11)

Accessible stories about courage, family, and growing up in challenging times

• Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Christopher Paul Curtis
• Meet Addy: An American Girl Connie Porter

Discussion Starters for Younger Readers:

• What challenges does the main character face? How do they show bravery?

• What does family mean in this story?

• How is life in this book different from your life today?

• What would you have done in the same situation?

Encourage children to connect emotionally first; empathy builds historical understanding.

👩🏾‍🎓 Middle & Teen Readers (Ages 12+)

Stories that explore identity, justice, history, and belonging

• Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi
• Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
• Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward

Discussion Starters for Teens:

• How does history influence the characters’ choices?

• What does power mean in this story? Who has it and who doesn’t?

• Where do you see resilience or resistance?

• How does the setting shape the characters’ opportunities and identity?

Invite teens to think critically about systems, culture, and historical legacy.

📖 Adults & Family Read-Aloud Conversations

Foundational works that deepen historical and cultural understanding

• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass
• The Souls of Black Folk W. E. B. Du Bois
• The Color Purple Alice Walker
• Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
• Sula Toni Morrison
• Born a Crime Trevor Noah

Discussion Starters for Adults & Families:

• What historical realities does this book illuminate?

• How does the author use storytelling to challenge injustice?

• What connections can you draw between the past and the present?

• How does this work expand your understanding of identity and citizenship?

These texts offer opportunities for thoughtful, intergenerational dialogue.

🗨️ How to Talk About History with Children

1. Start with Questions.
Ask what your child notices, wonders, or feels. Curiosity opens the door to learning.

2. Be Honest, Age-Appropriate, and Clear.
Avoid minimizing difficult truths. Use language that matches your child’s developmental level while remaining accurate.

3. Focus on Strength as Well as Struggle.
Black history includes resilience, creativity, leadership, and joy, not only hardship.

4. Connect Past to Present.
Help children see how history shapes today’s world and why understanding it matters.

5. Keep the Conversation Ongoing.
One book is a beginning, not an endpoint. Encourage continued reading and reflection.

Why It Matters

Public libraries are spaces of access, learning, and belonging. By reading widely and intentionally, families help build empathy, historical understanding, and a stronger, more inclusive community.

We invite you to borrow a book, begin a conversation, and celebrate Black history through the power of storytelling, all year long. 📖✨

See you at Reading at the Rock!