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Best Children’s Books about Black Scientists, Artists and Inventors

Looking for the best children’s books about black scientists, artists and inventors? Check out these engaging picture books for February’s Black History Month. Fun nonfiction children’s books about Black scientists, artists and inventors. Award-winning books about famous African Americans in STEM and the arts from history. Your elementary students will love these books and connected lesson plans and activities for Kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade.

If you’re looking for any other ideas for Black History Month for kids, I have a great resource page where you can access all of my ideas for your Black History Month celebration.

If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and activity for these books! Just click on the Lesson Plans button in the menu!

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta

When George Washington Carver was just a young child, he had a secret: a garden of his own.

Here, he rolled dirt between his fingers to check if plants needed more rain or sun. He protected roots through harsh winters, so plants could be reborn in the spring. He trimmed flowers, spread soil, studied life cycles. And it was in this very place that George’s love of nature sprouted into something so much more—his future.

Get the lesson plan and activities for The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver HERE

Check out these engaging picture books for February's Black History Month. Fun nonfiction children's books about Black scientists, artists and inventors. Award-winning books about famous African Americans in STEM from history. Your elementary students will love these lesson plans and activities for Kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade. Great ideas for your classroom!

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed

When Little Mae Jemison was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering. She wanted to be an astronaut.

Her mom told her, “If you believe it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”

Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents’ encouraging words, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space.

Get the lesson plan and activities for Mae Among the Stars HERE

Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe

Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.

Get the lesson plan and activities for Radiant Child HERE

RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul by Carole Boston Weatherford

Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights.

Get the lesson plan and activities for RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul HERE

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good at math…really good. They participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America’s first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But they worked hard. They persisted. And they used their genius minds to change the world.

In this beautifully illustrated picture book edition, we explore the story of four female African American mathematicians at NASA, known as “colored computers,” and how they overcame gender and racial barriers to succeed in a highly challenging STEM-based career. This book is also one of my top books for Black History Month and Women’s History Month!

Get the lesson plan and activities for Hidden Figures HERE

Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker

As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe.

From Katherine’s early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, Counting on Katherine is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history.

Get the lesson plan and activities for Counting on Katherine HERE

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba’s Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone’s crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind.

Get the lesson plan and activities for The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind HERE

My Name is Celia by Monica Brown

This bilingual book allows young readers to enter Celia Cruz’s life as she becomes a well-known singer in her homeland of Cuba, then moves to New York City and Miami where she and others create a new type of music called salsa. School Library Journal has named My Name is Celia “[a]n exuberant picture-book biography . . . a brilliant introduction to a significant woman and her music.”

Get the lesson plan and activities for My Name is Celia HERE

Brave Ballerina by Michelle Meadows

Janet Collins wanted to be a ballerina in the 1930s and 40s, a time when racial segregation was widespread in the United States. Janet pursued dance with a passion, despite being rejected from discriminatory dance schools. When she was accepted into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as a teenager on the condition that she paint her skin white for performances, Janet refused. She continued to go after her dreams, never compromising her values along the way. From her early childhood lessons to the height of her success as the first African American prima ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera, Brave Ballerina is the story of a remarkable pioneer as told by Michelle Meadows, with fantastic illustrations from Ebony Glenn.

Get the lesson plan and activities for Brave Ballerina HERE

Best Children’s Books about Black Scientists, Artists and Inventors

What are some of your favorite childrens books about Black scientists, artists and inventors? Are there any must read children’s books about Black people in STEM and the arts that I left out? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it!

Remember: If you need any other ideas for Black History Month for kids, I have a page of resources with all of my ideas for your Black History Month celebration.

You can get a free lesson by signing up HERE:

Check out these engaging picture books for February's Black History Month. Fun nonfiction children's books about Black scientists, artists and inventors. Award-winning books about famous African Americans in STEM from history. Your elementary students will love these lesson plans and activities for Kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade. Great ideas for your classroom!
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Hey there! I’m Josh from Picture Book Brain here to share only the best literature for you to use with your students. If you are looking for a specific book, use the search bar below to check my archives. Glad you’re here, and glad to help you!

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