Remember?!? Classic Children's Books That Defined Black Childhood

If you were a fan of the Reading Rainbow series, you probably remember Jeannette Caine’s 1984 classic picture book, “Just Us Women.” The story centers around the relationship between a young girl, her aunt and the experience the have on a very special road trip with one important rule – “No boys and no men-just us women.”

Mary Hoffman’s “Amazing Grace” is an inspiring example of Black Girl Magic. When a young girl named Grace wants to be Peter Pan in her school play, she ignores the haters in her class who tell her the role wasn’t meant for a Black girl and instead listens to her grandmother, who tells her she can be anything she wants.

There’s nothing sweeter than experiencing a snowy day through the eyes of a child. And that’s exactly what Ezra Jack Keats does in his 1963 Caldecott Medal- winning picture book, “The Snowy Day.” In this beautifully illustrated book, we meet Peter (who happens to be the first Black protagonist in a mass market children’s book), who is enjoying the first snowfall of the year in his New York City neighborhood.

Since the late 1980s, “The Magic School Bus” series has done something none of my science teachers could manage to do – make science cool. In each story, Ms. Fizzle took her class on out-of-this-world field trips – inside the human body, to the Earth’s core, to the solar system and more.

In 1994, the book was adapted into an animated television series that lasted two seasons. But when they tried to revive it in 2017, Black Twitter erupted with folks who were understandably pissed that Keesha and Tim, Ms. Fizzle’s Black students, had lighter skin and a totally different hair texture for the short-lived reboot.

One of our favorite books from Stan and Jan Berenstain’s Berenstain Bears series is the 1981 picture book, “The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day.” Geared toward little readers up to preschool age, the book is a great resource to help young ones prepare for a move.

“The Berenstain Bears and The Truth,” the hilarious story of how Brother and Sister try to hide breaking a lamp from their mother, is another favorite in this series.

Author Marc Brown took inspiration from his own childhood to create the Arthur series. The main character is an adorable aardvark named Arthur and the relationships with his family and friends.

“Beezus & Ramona” is the first book in the Ramona series by Newbery Award winner Beverly Cleary. This story centers around the relationship between Beezus Quimby and her annoying little sister Ramona, who everyone else in the world seems to think is sweet. “Ramona Quimby, Age 8" and “Ramona The Brave” are other great titles in this series.

In 1986, author Ann M. Martin dropped the first book in “The Baby-Sitters Club” series. The books, which were eventually adapted into a movie and television series, centered around the adventures of a group of four friends who ran an babysitting service in their town.

“Charlotte’s Web” is the ultimate story of friendship. Set on a farm, a spider named Charlotte uses her web-spinning abilities to write positive messages about Wilbur the pig, in hopes of saving him from being slaughtered.

Judy Blume’s classic “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” was written in 1970. But she might as well have been writing for teens and tweens today – except that cell phones and social media weren’t around yet. The story centers around Margaret, a middle schooler in a new town that shares a special relationship with God, who she talks to about everything from the challenges of puberty to her secret crush.

“Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” is another Judy Blume classic. The story follows Peter and his younger brother Fudge and everything that is great and annoying about having a little sibling.

When a little boy is sent to bed without dinner after causing trouble, he imagines sailing off to the land of Wild Things, where the creatures make him their king in Maurice Sendak’s 1963 fascinating fantasy “Where the Wild Things Are.” 

In 1992, author Barbara Park introduced us to almost-six-year-old “Junie B. Jones,” and how she copes with everything from making new friends at school to losing teeth.

When their parents are killed and their home is destroyed in a fire, orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny are placed with an evil distant relative in Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Friends and fourth graders George and Harold love creating their own superhero comics. But things get crazy when they hypnotize their mean school principal, and he turns into one of their most hilarious heroes, “Captain Underpants.”