How have you been teaching your young readers about Black History Month? Add another layer to their learning with audiobooks. We’ve curated a starter pack of stories by bestselling black authors, as well as a couple informative listens about pioneers in Black History.
There are many reasons we each sometimes feel “different.” Maybe it’s how we look or talk, or where we’re from; maybe it’s what we eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows us yet, but somehow we all do it. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical prose and warm narration reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes — and how brave it is that we go forth anyway.
Harriet Tubman’s heroic and pivotal role in the fight against slavery is the subject of the fourteenth entry in the New York Times bestselling biography series for young children, Ordinary People Change the World. Fan favorite January LaVoy’s narration brings to life Harriet Tubman’s brave heroism, and young listeners will be engrossed in the story of her pivotal role in the Underground Railroad helping enslaved African Americans escape and find freedom.
Coretta Scott King Author Honor
Caleb Franklin and his big brother Bobby Gene are excited to have adventures in the woods behind their house. But Caleb dreams of venturing beyond their ordinary small town. Then Caleb and Bobby Gene meet new neighbor Styx Malone. Styx is sixteen and oozes cool. Styx promises the brothers that together, the three of them can pull off the Great Escalator Trade–exchanging one small thing for something better until they achieve their wildest dream. But as the trades get bigger, the brothers soon find themselves in over their heads. Styx has secrets–secrets so big they could ruin everything.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned Rosa Parks the title “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” Hear her whole story, read by celebrated narrator Adenrele Ojo.
Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.