10 Canadian books for kids and young adults to check out during Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Check out these children's and YA books created by Black Canadian authors.
Today I Am edited by Jael Richardson
Edited by writer and activist, Jael Richardson, Today I Am is a collection of short stories written by emerging writers in Canada that examine the meaning of home. From growing up on a faraway planet to being stranded on an island to a difficult school assignment, this collection reflects the adventurous and courageous nature of kids today.
Told through prose, verse and illustrations, Today I Am features stories by writers Jael Richardson, Marty Chan, Rosena Fung, Michael Hutchinson, Chad Lucas, Angela Misri, Mahtab Narsimhan, Danny Ramadan, Liselle Sambury and Brandon Wint.
Today I Am is for ages 10-14.
Richardson is a writer, editor and the executive director of the Festival for Literary Diversity (FOLD). Her other books include the picture book Because You Are and the nonfiction book The Stone Thrower, which was adapted into a picture book of the same name. Her debut novel, Gutter Child, was published in 2021 and was a finalist for the 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
Is There a Boy Like Me? by Kern Carter
In the middle-grade novel, Is There a Boy Like Me?, a boy called London is feeling pressured to be the person his school friends and parents think he is. But he doesn't want to be the confident video gamer, or the genius coder, London just wants to be by himself and read his books. So one day he starts an anonymous online comic called Is There A Boy Like Me. London's comic goes viral and a conversation ensues about what being a boy today really means.
Is There a Boy Like Me? is for ages 10-14.
Kern Carter is a Toronto author and freelance writer. His other books include the novella Thoughts of a Fractured Soul, the novel Beauty Scars and the YA novels Boys and Girls Screaming and And Then There Was Us. Kern also has writing credits in Forbes, the New York Times, Global Citizen, Elle Magazine and Fatherly.com.
The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett
In the middle-grade novel, The Shape of Lost Things, Skye's world completely changed four years ago when her brother Finn went on the run with her dad. One day, they get a call saying that Finn has been found, but the boy who returns home — who is quiet and secretive — is nothing like the brother that Skye remembers. Skye tries to piece together what happened and how to deal with all the changes that she and her family are going through.
The Shape of Lost Things is for ages 8-12.
Sarah Everett is a writer based in Alberta. She has written several books for children and teenagers, including The Probability of Everything, which won the 2023 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text, Some Other Now, How to Live without You and No One Here is Lonely. CBC Books named Everett a Black Canadian writer to watch in 2024.
I Am Cherished by Onome Ako, illustrated by Ken Daley
In the picture book I Am Cherished, it's Kikelomo's first day of school and she is excited to meet her new classmates. However, during circle time, some of the other children make fun of her name when she introduces herself. She tells her parents and they explain the origin of her name — that it means 'a child who is cherished' in Yoruba. When Kikelomo goes to school the next day, she is proud and excited to tell her classmates where her name comes from.
I Am Cherished is for ages 4-8.
Onome Ako is a writer and the CEO of Action Against Hunger Canada. In 2021, Ako received the Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award and more recently she received the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award for her impact in social change. Ako was born in Nigeria and lives in Toronto.
Ken Daley is an illustrator from Cambridge, Ont. His previous books include Joseph's Big Ride, Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings and Jayden's Impossible Garden.
Getting Us to Grandma's by Nadia L. Hohn, illustrated by TeMika Grooms
In Getting Us to Grandma's, a young girl is helping her family navigate from their home in Toronto to her grandmother's house in the Bronx for a family wedding. Nikki and her family are taking a long road trip and Nikki loves nothing more than reading from her big map book. As they drive to the wedding, Nikki also uses the trip as a chance to trace routes to other places her relatives live — such as Florida, Atlanta, Boston and England.
Getting Us to Grandma's is for ages 3-6.
Nadia L. Hohn is a Toronto-based award-winning writer and educator. She is the author of numerous picture books which includes Malaika, Carnival Queen, Malaika's Costume, Malaika's Winter Carnival, Malaika's Surprise and Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter, illustrated by Gustavo Mazali.
TeMika Grooms is a writer and illustrator living in Atlanta, Georgia.
A Recipe for Rhyme and Rescue by Wanda Taylor
A Recipe for Rhyme and Rescue is a middle-grade novel about friendship, food and poetry. Darla meets with the Food Poets every week at Carol's Café where they share poetry with each other and the customers that has been inspired by cooking. When it's announced that Carol's Café might close, Darla and the Food Poets do everything they can to save the café.
A Recipe for Rhyme and Rescue is for ages 8-12.
Wanda Taylor is a writer, freelance journalist, screenwriter and college instructor. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications such as Atlantic Books Today, Black2Business magazine, Peak Magazine and anthologies across Canada, the US and the UK. Her previous books include The Grover School Pledge.
With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo
With Love, Miss Americanah is a contemporary romance novel about Enore Adesuwa, a Nigerian girl having just moved to America for her senior year following the death of her father. Still grappling with her own grief and her mother's high standards, Enore turns to her cousin Adrian for his expertise on American high schools, all of which comes in the form of classic teen movies. However, when Enore meets the handsome Davi Santiago, she forgets all the rules she and her mother had set for her and begins to chart her own path.
With Love, Miss Americanah is for ages 14 and up.
Jane Igharo came to Canada from Nigeria when she was 12 years old. Her books include Ties That Tether, Where We End & Begin and The Sweetest Remedy. She currently lives in Toronto.
Under All the Lights by Maya Ameyaw
When Ollie Cheriet's song becomes popular online, he's approached to write an album, go on tour and fulfill all his dreams as long — as he can learn to manage his stage fright. As the pressure of being in the spotlight grows, his new touring partner Jesse begins to make him feel more at ease. In the coming-of-age novel Under All the Lights Ollie explores what it means to be an artist in the spotlight while he learns more about his anxiety disorder and bisexuality.
Under All the Lights is for ages 14 and up.
Maya Ameyaw is a writing instructor and author based in Toronto. Her books include the YA novel When It All Syncs Up and the anthology Brilliance is the Clothing I Wear.
The War of the Witches by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Cherise Harris
In the fifth and final book in the middle-grade series, Dragons in a Bag, Jax is finding a balance between regular life in Brooklyn and the magical world of Palmara where dragons roam. When an ancient monster called the Scourge wishes to make all magic vanish, a war begins to brew. In The War of the Witches Jax must fight alongside his mystic friends to save both worlds.
The War of the Witches is for ages 8 to 12.
Zetta Elliott is a writer, teacher and poet born in Ajax, Ont., and now based in the U.S. She is the author of the children's fantasy series Dragons in a Bag and the longform poem A Place Inside of Me.
Cherise Harris is an illustrator and artist from Barbados. She has also illustrated Carla and the Christmas Cornbread and Jerry Changed the Game!.
Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas
In the middle-grade graphic novel Gamerville, Max Lightning is destined to compete in a video game championship when his plans are thwarted by his parents, who decide to send him to a camp where electronics are not allowed. Stuck in Camp Reset, Max is forced to spend time outside in nature with other people and longs to escape and level up once again.
Gamerville is for ages 8 to 12.
Johnnie Christmas is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, raised in Florida and currently based in Vancouver. He is the illustrator of Angel Catbird, a graphic novel series written by novelist Margaret Atwood, and the creator of Swim Team. CBC Books named Johnnie Christmas a Writer to Watch in 2022.
