February is Black History Month, and it is a time to celebrate African American’s contributions to the United States. However, it’s also a time to bring awareness to the continued work that needs to be done for racial justice in the United States. 2020 made it obvious that this is not something we should reserve for one month of the year. As educators, one way we can do this continued work is by reading books with students and opening up time for thought and discussion about these books. Unity and shared understanding comes from learning and talking so that we can keep growing. Below, I’m going to recommend some novels, short stories, poems, and picture books that can help us do just that.
The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake
This novel is the perfect length for a middle school read aloud across the course of a reading unit. The main character, Maleeka, is not only struggling with the loss of her father and living with her mother who is also grieving. She is also struggling to fit in at school because of her appearance and clothes and gets caught up in the wrong social group. Maleeka has to find her voice and her identity before she loses the relationships that are truly important to her, including her relationship with herself.
Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi
A collection of short stories in the form of memoir vignettes written by some of the best young adult authors today as they describe what it’s like to be young and black in America. I love the short story format and that it can also encourage students to go out and read novels written by these fabulous authors.
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson
This book contains essays, poems, letters, and art from African American authors that will empower and encourage children of color in America. This book needs to be in your classroom library. It could be used in so many ways. Each individual piece is beautiful and offers endless possibilities for reading, reflecting, and discussion.
The last four books I am recommending are picture books that can be read to students during a single class period. These books all contain beautiful language and illustrations while informing students about a person, event, or time.
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull and David Diaz
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis
Testing the Ice: True Story About Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson and Kadir Nelson
Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
If you choose to read any of these books with students, there doesn’t have to be a crazy lesson plan that goes along with it that asks students to over-analyze the text. This is an opportunity for students to soak in words, have time to think about text, and have time to talk about texts. After all, learning and talking is what leads us to growing.
Kasey
