Building a Black History Month Book Nook

This was my Black History Month Book Nook in 2020.  There are a few things that I do to make the book nook work in my class- and I'm going to share those tips with you!

1. Plan your nook in January: Start collecting books in January so you are not scrambling.  You don't have to buy books for the nook.  My nook includes library books, borrowed books and books I bought.  However, I know that as teachers, we end up buying a lot of our libraries.  In this post, I will list some great books by division that you might think about adding to your collection.

2. Choose a spot in your room that is accessible to everyone: My nook used to be in the window sill, but students would have to interrupt each other to access the books, so I moved it to the front of the room, with an unobstructed path.  The goal was to make it easy for students to pick up a book when they had time.  My nook is also near the classroom door- I found that students and teachers from other classes would come in and ask to borrow books.  Which is great!  Spread the knowledge!

3. Draw attention to the books: I had Black History Month Posters and decorations, and art to draw attention to the books.  I wear a celebrate Black History Month t-shirt! You can't help but be interested in the books!

4. (This is the hard one) Introduce these books in February.  While I feature a range of books in my classroom that centre the lives of Black people throughout the year, I keep my Black History Month display books separate from the class library, because the novelty is important to grab student interest.

5. Choose at least 3 books that you are going to read aloud to the class and work on.  This year we read: Pink and Say; Viola Desmond Won't be Budged and Before She Was Harriet. (Lesson plans for these books will be in later blog posts.)

6. Choose books that are varied and reflect a wide range of subjects.  If you look at the titles in the picture, there are a few history books, some non-fiction, biographies, and books about music.  There are even a few graphic novels in the mix.  I like picture books, because students can read through them in a few periods.  Below is a list (not complete, and still growing) of books by division that are great for a Black History Month book nook (or your classroom library ANYTIME).

*Where is was possible in the list below, I linked to the books in stores run by Black-owned, Canadian Booksellers.  If that was not possible, I linked to a Canadian Independent Booksellers, then a Canadian Bookseller.

Symbols: 📘= novel     [NF]= non fiction    🍁= Canadian Black History   📖= Poetry/ Music


Primary (Grade K-3):

• The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez
• A is for Activist by Innsanto Nagara 
• The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore [NF]
• These Hands by Margaret Mason [NF]
• We March by Shane W. Evans 
• Of Thee I Sing by Barrack Obama [NF]
• If A Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold [NF]
• Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Boston Weatherford 
• Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine 
• Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange 📖
• Oscar Lives Next Door by Bonnie Farmer 🍁 📖
• The Case for Loving by Selena Alko [NF]
• Africville by Shauntay Grant 🍁 [NF]
• Up Home by Shauntay Grant 🍁 [NF]

Junior (Grades 4- 6):

• The Children of Africville by Christine Welldon 🍁[NF]
• The Kids Book of Canadian Black History by Rosemarie Sadlier 🍁[NF]
• A Change of Heart by Alice Walsh 
• Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker [NF]
• From the Heart of Africa: A Book of Wisdom by Eric Walters 📖
• The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson 
• Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
• Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford
• A Spy Called James by Anne Rockwell
• Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport 
• Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged by by Jody Nyasha Wanrer 🍁[NF]
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles [NF]
• Like a Bird: The Art of the American Slave Song By Cynthia Grady 📖
• Hip Hop Speaks to Children by Nikki Giovanni 📖
• Pink and Say by Patricia Pollaco
• Birchtown and the Black Loyalists by Wanda Lauren Taylor [NF] 🍁
• Black Women who Dared by Naomi Moyer  [NF]
• Meet Viola Desmond by Elizabeth MacLeod [NF] 🍁
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘
• The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘 🍁
• If I Just Had Two Wings by Virginia Frances Schwarz 📘
• Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome 📖

Intermediate (Grade 7- 8):

• Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson [NF]
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis📘
• Hidden Figures (Young Reader's Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly📘[NF]
• A Big Dose of Lucky by Marthe Jocelyn📘
• Chasing Freedom by Gloria Ann Wesley📘
• We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson📘
• The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine📘
• Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Melissa McKissak📘
• Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford 🍁
• Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges 📘 [NF]
• The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers📘[NF]
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kankwamba📘[NF]

That's a list that should get you started!  I hope you will share your Book Nooks with me- use #BlackBookNook on Twitter to share!