Collection: Shop Black

A New York Times Notable Books of 2020

Like Ocean's Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby's Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.

"Sensationally good--new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart. More than recommended." --Lee Child

A husband, a father, a son, a business owner...And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.

Beauregard "Bug" Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there's no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.

He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

A high-stakes, propulsive YA thriller with a body-swap twist thoughtfully exploring themes of friendship and identity, perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson.

Seventeen-year-old Megan Allen has been jumping from friend group to friend group in her high school, trying on identities like outfits. Nothing ever seems to fit--until she meets LC, the adventurous, charismatic girl who appears at her favorite coffee shop one day like magic. Finally, Megan feels like she's becoming the person she's meant to be: someone like LC.

On the night of their friendiversary, what was supposed to be a bonding experience ends in a waking nightmare. Suddenly, Megan is no longer herself. Too late, she realizes that LC has secrets--dangerous ones. Betrayed by her best friend, thrust into another girl's life, and targeted by LC's enemies, she must claim what makes Megan Megan to get her life back . . . or die trying.

This NAACP Image Award winner is the companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller Stacey's Extraordinary Words, from political leader Stacey Abrams and artist Kitt Thomas.

Stacey's favorite day of the week is Thursday, when the whole class goes to the library and she gets to lose herself in her beloved books.

On one of these special days, Stacey discovers that a new student named Julie has trouble reading in English, so they begin sharing books and stories to practice. Soon, more students start to join them.

Books take the group on magical adventures and reveal other worlds and cultures--but best of all, they bring them together as friends.

This is another inspiring tale, based on a true story from Stacey Abrams's childhood, about the life-changing power of books.

As featured on Humans of New York

"Hartland's joyful folk-art illustrations bop from the gray-toned jazzy vibrancy of a bustling city neighborhood to the colorful harvest of a lush urban farm." --The New York Times
"An inspiring picture book for youngsters with meaningful ties to the environment, sustainability, and community engagement." --Booklist

​Discover the incredible true story of Harlem Grown, a lush garden in New York City that grew out of an abandoned lot and now feeds a neighborhood.

Once
In a big city called New York
In a bustling neighborhood
There was an empty lot.
Nevaeh called it the haunted garden.

Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration.

Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families. The incredible story is vividly brought to life with Jessie Hartland's "charmingly busy art" (Booklist) that readers will pore over in search of new details as they revisit this poignant and uplifting tale over and over again.

Harlem Grown is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The author's share of the proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to Harlem Grown.

Princess Truly is curious to learn about the world around her, in these rhyming stories perfect for beginning readers!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!

Princess Truly is very curious! In these three rhyming stories, Princess Truly visits a museum and learns about dinosaurs and butterflies, she solves a mystery when her snack goes missing, and she takes a trip to outer space in a rocket ship with her pug, Sir Noodles.

These funny and empowering short stories promote believing in yourself, building confidence, and having a positive self-image. Perfect for the fans of Ada Twist, this series fosters imagination and curiosity. With full-color artwork and easy-to-read rhyming text throughout, Princess Truly is just-right for new readers!

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria's court and adapting to life in Victorian England--based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.

With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a "gift." To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria's magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.

But embedded in Sarah's past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.

From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James's Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.

Based on the real life of Queen Victoria's Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta's story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.

American Girl(R) Claudie(TM) discovers her true talent in this all-new Step 3 Step into Reading leveled reader that takes place in 1922 during the Harlem Renaissance!

Meet Claudie Wells. She is 9 years old and is surrounded by artists, writers, dancers, and the culture of the Harlem Renaissance during 1922. Everyone seems to be good at something, but Claudie can't find her special talent. Claudie's story will engage today's readers as they learn what it was like to be a girl during that time in history. This Step 3 Step into Reading leveled reader is great for American Girl fans ages 5 to 8, and is based on an American Girl story by Brit Bennett.

Step 3 readers feature engaging characters in easy-to-follow plots about popular topics for children who are ready to read on their own.

Introduced in 1986, American Girl's flagship line of historical characters features 18-inch dolls, books, and accessories that give girls a dramatic understanding of the role women and girls played in shaping our country.

Originally published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk is a classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of the twentieth century. With its singular combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, this book vaulted Du Bois to the forefront of American political commentary and civil rights activism. It is an impassioned, at times searing account of the situation of African Americans in the United States, making a forceful case for the access of African Americans to higher education and extolling the achievements of black culture. Du Bois advances the provocative and influential argument that due to the inequalities and pressures of the "race problem," African American identity is characterized by "double consciousness." This edition includes a valuable appendix of other writings by Du Bois, which sheds light on his motivation and his goals.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Playing peekaboo is more fun than ever with this rhythmic, whimsical board book from New York Times bestselling and award-winning duo Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney!

Peek-a-you, peek-a-you, can you see?

Here's the pretty brown face of me?

Cuddle up with your little one and play a happy game of peekaboo! You won't be able to resist this adorable board book with adorable rhymes and endless brown baby energy and fun. With bouncing, rhythmic text from New York Times bestselling author Andrea Davis Pinkney and warm, winsome illustrations from Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney, this joyful celebration of roly-poly, perfectly huggable, oh-so-lovable little ones is just-right for the whole family all throughout the year! Take a peek to see what you can find! And what's the prize? The wonderous gaze of your bright brown bundle of joy!

This board book is part of the Bright Brown Baby publishing program, a celebration of Black and brown joy, babies, and families. And if you're looking for a gift-able picture book? Be sure to also check out the beautiful picture book treasury Bright Brown Baby to read "Peek-a-You" alongside four more poems. Just-right for new and expectant parents, baby showers, birthdays, graduations, and more!

In Nature Knows No Color-Line, historian Joel Augustus Rogers examines the origins of racial hierarchy and the color problem. Rogers was a humanist who believed that there were no scientifically evident racial divisions--all humans belong to one "race." He believed that color prejudice generally evolved from issues of domination and power between two physiologically different groups. According to Rogers, color prejudice was then used a rationale for domination, subjugation and warfare. Societies developed myths and prejudices in order to pursue their own interests at the expense of other groups. This book argues that many instances of the contributions of black people had been left out of the history books, and gives many examples.

A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson.

In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes
about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender.

Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power.

Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a strong sense of sisterhood and celebration. With full-color art by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes throughout, this collection offers guidance and is a gift for anyone who reads it.

Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López's highly anticipated companion to their #1 New York Times bestseller The Day You Begin illuminates the power in each of us to face challenges with confidence.

On a dreary, stuck-inside kind of day, a brother and sister heed their grandmother's advice: "Use those beautiful and brilliant minds of yours. Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing. Somebody somewhere at some point was just as bored you are now." And before they know it, their imaginations lift them up and out of their boredom. Then, on a day full of quarrels, it's time for a trip outside their minds again, and they are able to leave their anger behind. This precious skill, their grandmother tells them, harkens back to the days long before they were born, when their ancestors showed the world the strength and resilience of their beautiful and brilliant minds. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael Lopez's dazzling art celebrate the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world.

Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this debut YA novel by author Autumn Allen is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.

In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.

In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus...

In September 1995, amidst controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the "See No Color" hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school...

As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.

"The Blueprint is an astounding work, an unflinching portrait of misogyny and racism in a speculative world terrifyingly close to our own. Rae Giana Rashad chronicles the generational ghosts of womanhood, and how we understand ourselves through the stories of those we come from, in a way I've never read before. A remarkable new talent, and a timeless literary voice."--Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States--a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences.

Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman's occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who'd been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.

Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, The Blueprint unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation's most unprotected: a Black girl.

The United States of America has more people behind bars than any other country in the world and every year nearly 700,000 prisoners get released back into society, the largest percentage of them being black males. "Getting Out & Staying Out" is a short, easy to read set of guidelines intended to help incarcerated and newly freed African-American men (a) learn how to most productively do their time while in prison (b) know what to expect once they are released (c) understand that entrepreneurship and self-employment is what their long-term focus should be on instead of a job, and (d) understand the importance of stable relationships and how they aid in successful re-entry. If followed, the advice and suggestions given in this very simple guide should prove very helpful for black men who are serious about getting out of prison and not ever going back.

"It's a good thing that this is only the first book of a trilogy, because after getting to know Tabitha, you won't want to leave her at the end. . . . Written intimately as if you're peering into the mind of a close friend, this book is a true testament to the stresses on women today and how great girlfriends (and grandmothers) are often the key to our sanity." -- Good Morning America

The first novel in a captivating three-book series about modern womanhood, in which a young Black woman must rely on courage, laughter, and love--and the support of her two longtime friends--to overcome an unexpected setback that threatens the most precious thing she's ever wanted.

Tabitha Walker is a black woman with a plan to "have it all." At 33 years old, the checklist for the life of her dreams is well underway. Education? Check. Good job? Check. Down payment for a nice house? Check. Dating marriage material? Check, check, and check. With a coveted position as a local news reporter, a "paper-perfect" boyfriend, and even a standing Saturday morning appointment with a reliable hairstylist, everything seems to be falling into place.

Then Tabby receives an unexpected diagnosis that brings her picture-perfect life crashing down, jeopardizing the keystone she took for granted: having children. With her dreams at risk of falling through the cracks of her checklist, suddenly she is faced with an impossible choice between her career, her dream home, and a family of her own.

With the help of her best friends, the irreverent and headstrong Laila and Alexis, the mom jeans-wearing former "Sexy Lexi," and the generational wisdom of her grandmother and the nonagenarian firebrand Ms. Gretchen, Tabby explores the reaches of modern medicine and tests the limits of her relationships, hoping to salvage the future she always dreamed of. But the fight is all consuming, demanding a steep price that forces an honest reckoning for nearly everyone in her life. As Tabby soon learns, her grandmother's age-old adage just might still be true: Black girls must die exhausted.