6 Canadian books for younger readers to check out during Black History Month

Check out these six children's and young reader books created by black Canadian authors for Black History Month.

The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Journey of Little Charliefollows a 12-year-old boy who agrees to track down thieves in order to settle his debts with a cruel man named Cap'n Buck. But when Charlie discovers the thieves he's hunting are people who escaped from slavery, his conscience intervenes. The middle-grade novel was a finalist for the2018 Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature text.(ages 9-12)

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AfricvillebyShauntay Grant, illustrated byEva Campbell

Shauntay GrantandEva Campbelltell the story of Africville through the eyes of a young girl visiting for the annual Africville Reunion/Festival. She brings her family's stories to life by imagining brightly painted houses on the hillside and visiting the sundial in the park where her great-grandmother's name is carved. Africville was home to a vibrant black community in Halifax, N.S., for more than 150 years, but never received basic city services and was demolished in the 1960s.Africvillewas afinalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature illustrated books.(ages 4-7)

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HarrietTubmanbyNadiaL.Hohn

Toronto-based authorNadiaL.Hohnexamines the life of American abolitionist and political activist HarrietTubmanin this biography geared toward younger readers. The illustrated book looks at the dramatic real-life exploits of the brave womanand former slave,who enlisted black men to be soldiers in the U.S. Civil War. She also helped slaves flee from America to Canada between 1850 to 1860 via a journey known today as the Underground Railroad.(ages 4-8)

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This Book Betrays My Brother by Kagiso Lesego Molope

Kagiso Lesego Molope'sYA novel follows a 13-year-old narrator named Nalediwho witnesses her beloved older brother committing a terrible act of violence. Nalediis lost in the aftermath, unsure how to reconcile who she thought her brother was with what he has done. Setin the 1990s,This Book Betrays My Brotherreceived the 2013 Percy FitzPatrick Prize for Youth Literature in South Africa where it was first published.(ages 14 and up)

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The Field Guide to the North American Teenagerby Ben Philippe

Norris Kaplan, a wisecracking black French Canadian teenager, knows he's in for a major culture shock when his family moves to Austin, Texas. He keeps track of his fellow high schoolers by placing them in categories: Cheerleaders, Jocks, Loners and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. When people from the categories try and befriend him, Norris learns a lesson about his snarkyattitude. Haitian-born Philippe, who now lives in New York was raised in Montreal.(ages 13 and up)

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Legacy of Light by Sarah Raughley

In this third instalment of Sarah Raughley'sYA Effigies series, which includesFate of FlamesandSiege of Shadows,Raughleydrops readers into a world where four young women are imbued with the powers of the four elements fire, water, air and earth and taskedwith protecting the world from the evil Phantoms.After a man with the power to control the Phantoms frames the Effigies for an attack in Oslo, they have to find a way to clear their names while being hunted by the governments of the world.(ages 14 and up)

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