The new year is here along with brand new book releases for children of all ages written by Black authors. Montessori teachers can continue to create a more diversified classroom library collection by adding titles from our list below and reviewing this guide as a resource.

When researching titles further, check reviews from reliable sources, such as School Library Journal and Kirkus. Both magazines can steer educators to the best new releases and confirm age level. Librarians at your local library are another great resource for finding the next addition to your classroom library. Also, check if the public library loans books to schools. It’s a good way to save your budget.

To purchase new books while on a budget, consider teaming up with other educators who teach the same age group. Exchange your collections each month. If teachers adopt a collaborative buying approach for their classroom libraries, more individual titles can be bought and enjoyed by everyone.

*Note: the books listed below cover a wide-range of subjects that might not be suitable for all children within a classroom. Review books before sharing.

Early Childhood

• An American Story by Kwame Alexander
• All Aboard the Schooltrain: A Little Story from the Great Migration by Glenda Armand, Keisha Morris (Illustrations)
• We Are Here (An All Because You Matter Book) by Tami Charles, Bryan Collier (Illustrations)
• The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, The Big Ways We’re the Same by Linsey Davis, Lucy Fleming (Illustrations)
• A Boy and His Mirror by Marchánt Davis, Keturah A. Bobo (Illustrations)
• The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music by Roberta Flack and Tonya Bolden, Hayden Goodman (Illustrations)
• What Does Brown Mean to You? by Ron Grady
• You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!: The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce by Chiquita Mullins Lee and Carmella Van Vleet, Jennifer Mack-Watkins (Illustrations)
• The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship by Ibtihaj Muhammad, Hatem Aly, and S.K. Ali
• Jump In! by Shadra Strickland
• Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes by Traci N. Todd, Shannon Wright (Illustrations)
• My Red, White, and Blue by Alana Tyson, London Ladd (Illustrations)
• Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! by Raphael G. Warnock, Temika Grooms (Illustrations)
• You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland by Carole Boston Weatherford, E.B. Lewis (Illustrations)
• Nell Plants a Tree by Anne Wynter, Daniel Miyares (Illustrations)

Elementary

• That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown, Nikkolas Smith (Illustrations)
• My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement by Willie Mae Brown
• Sincerely Sicily by Tamika Burgess
• The Many Fortunes of Maya by Nicole D. Collier
• Figure It Out, Henri Weldon by Tanita S. Davis
• Cookie Monsters by Erika J. Kendrick
• Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney
• Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Katheryn Russell-Brown, Kim Holt (Illustrations)
• The In-Between: A Memoir in Verse by Katie Van Heidrich

Secondary

• Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant
• For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett
• The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption by Shannon Gibney
• Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
• Love Without Bounds: An IntersectionAllies Book About Families by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi, Ashley Seil Smith (Illustrations)
• A Mighty Long Way (Adapted for Young Readers): My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School by Carlotta Walls LaNier and Lisa Frazier Page
• Hands by Torrey Maldonado
• The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
• We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
• The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos
• Dark Testament: Blackout Poems by Crystal Simone Smith
• Where the Black Flowers Bloom by Ronald L. Smith
• Cool. Awkward. Black. by Karen Strong (Editor)

About the Author

V. Kulikow is a former Montessori teacher and youth services librarian. She currently works as a UX designer and enjoys content creation both with words and images. On weekends you can find her gardening, taking nature photos, and working on her garden design certification through the Native Plant Trust.

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The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.