5 Kid Lit Books About Black Girls and Women You Should Have on Your Bookshelves

Oh, I love kid lit.  I love reading children’s literature. I love literature for the younger readers coming up in the world.  My childhood was defined by books about Black girls and women created by Black creatives. When I heard that Maya Angelou was receiving the Golden Book treatment, I was so excited as I had been working on this piece and looking for another book to complete it.  Perfect timing as I wanted to get this piece out for Black History Month or for Women’s History Month and even found another book to tail end this short list of books, celebrating Black girls and women that you should strongly consider having for your bookshelves.

Maya Angelou: A Little Golden Book Biography (Publisher: ‎Penguin Random House) Words by Anne Wynter & Illustrated by Courtney Lovett Reading Age: 4 – 8 years, Grade Level: Preschool – 3, 24 pages Maya, Maya, Maya. What an incredible life Maya Angelou lived, and I adored reading this version of her life for the little ones here by the creative team of two Black women creatives. Reading along to see that while Maya was born during a time that sought to stifle her thirst for knowledge, her creativity, and her aspirations because of her skin color only to see her rise above made me so proud of her. Seeing the pages of the therapeutic healing process she underwent to overcome trauma and open back up brought tears to my eyes as I was reminded of reading through her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  Writer Ann…