BOOKS
The Liberation Libraries Selection Committee would like to recommend the following six titles for the first iteration of the Liberation Library Project. Each title individually and collectively together, celebrates and revels in Black joy while highlighting a few powerful stories of the Black experience.
Within these six titles, there is something that will resonate with readers and listeners of every age and much to talk about and share.
Our Current Books
Preschool
Black Is a Rainbow Color
Angela Joy
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.
YA
You Should See Me in a Crown
Leah Johnson
The novel follows Liz Lighty, who hatches a plan to leave the "small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town" she lives in because she feels 'too black, too poor, too awkward' to live her best life there.
Elementary
The Making of Butterflies
Zora Neale Hurston & Ibram X. Kendi
A First Folktale from the creators of Magnolia Flower, Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, about the origin of butterflies.
Graphic Novel
Wash Day Diaries
Jamila Rowser
Tells the story of four best friends through five connected short story comics that follow these young women through the ups and downs of their daily lives in the Bronx.
Middle
Swim Team
Johnnie Christmas
A splashy, contemporary middle grade graphic novel from bestselling comics creator Johnnie Christmas!
Nonfiction
Black Joy
Tracey Michael Lewis-Giggetts
Detailing these instances of joy in the context of Black culture allows us to recognize the power of Black joy as a resource to draw upon, and to challenge the one-note narratives of Black life as solely comprised of trauma and hardship.
Our Previous Books
Preschool
Hey Black Child
Useni Eugene Perkins
A powerful celebration of Black children that is ideal for reading and sharing again and again.
YA
All Boys Aren't Blue
George Matthew Johnson
An important and empowering young-adult memoir about growing up Black and queer in America.
Elementary
Going Down Home With Daddy
Kelly Starling Lyons
The story of this multi-generational Black family shows the importance of story and togetherness in self-discovery.
Nonfiction
Breathe
Imani Perry
A thought-provoking, unflinching, and yet inspiring consideration of raising Black children today in America.
Middle
The Jumbies
Tracey Baptiste
Brave 11-year-old Corinne La Mer takes readers through a nerve-jangling, fast-paced fantasy based in Haitian folklore.
Fiction
Another Brooklyn
Jacqueline Woodson
A Black woman looks back on her girlhood and adolescence in 1970s Brooklyn and the relationships and experiences that shaped her.