20 Canadian books for kids and young adults to check out during Black History Month
CBC Books | | Posted: February 23, 2021 6:58 PM | Last Updated: August 14, 2023
Check out these children's and young adult books by Black Canadian authors.
Until We Break by Matthew Dawkins
Until We Break is a YA novel about Naomi, a young woman who is the only Black student at a prestigious ballet academy. With dreams of earning a place with the New York City Ballet, Naomi works to overcome feelings of isolation and doubt as she trains to win a national dance competition. Naomi meets a street artist named Saint, who shows her a new way of looking at life. But when she suffers an injury, Naomi has to dig deep to prove that she has what it takes to be a top dancer.
Until We Break is for ages 14 and up.
Matthew Dawkins is a Jamaican Canadian author based in London, Ont. Until We Break is his debut book.
LISTEN | Matthew Dawkins on how Wattpad kickstarted his writing career:
Twice as Perfect by Louisa Onomé
Twice as Perfect is a YA novel about 17-year-old Adanna Nkwachi. Adanna feels the pressure to be the perfect daughter and student because her older brother Sam had a fight with their parents and disappeared. But when chance brings the siblings back together, Adanna is determined to find out what happened — and keep Sam's return a secret from their parents. The more Adanna learns, the more she realizes that maybe she needs to start putting herself, and her dreams, ahead of her parents' plans and expectations.
Twice as Perfect is for ages 14 and up.
Louisa Onomé is a Nigerian Canadian author who lives in Toronto. She is also the author of the YA novels Like Home and The Melancholy of Summer.
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Swim Team follows middle schooler Bree as she navigates swim class. Bree is excited for her first day at her new middle school until she's stuck with the only elective class that fits her schedule, Swim 101. Swimming makes Bree sick to her stomach, but she's forced to dive headfirst into her fear. With the help of Etta, her elderly neighbour and former swim team captain, Bree becomes good at swimming. Her swimming obsessed community is counting on her to guide her school's failing swim team to a state championship, but first, they have to defy all odds and beat their rival, Holyoke Prep.
Swim Team is for ages 8 to 12.
Johnnie Christmas lives in Vancouver and is a #1 New York TImes bestselling graphic novelist. He's the author of the sci-fi series Tartarus and Crema, the book Firebug and is working on three middle-grade graphic novels. He's best known for creating the Angel Catbird series with Margaret Atwood and adapting the lost Alien 3 screenplay into a graphic novel of the same name. Swim Team was named one of the best books of 2022 by CBC Books.
WATCH | Meet illustrator Johnnie Christmas:
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield
The YA novel Hurricane Summer is a coming-of-age story about a teen named Tilla. Her relationship with her Jamaican-born father is straining due to his frequent absences from her life. Tilla decides to spend the summer in Jamaica in order to reconnect with her father and understand herself and the island he calls home.
Hurricane Summer is for ages 14 and up.
Asha Bromfield is an actress, singer and author best known for her role as Melody Valentine, drummer of Josie and the Pussycats in the television show Riverdale. Bromfield was named a writer to watch in 2022 by CBC Books.
LISTEN | Asha Bromfield on Hurricane Summer:
Because You Are by Jael Richardson, illustrated by Nneka Myers
Because You Are is a children's book about self-esteem, inner beauty and making a difference in the world we live in. Featuring illustrations by Toronto-based character designer and visual development artist Nneka Myers, the picture book was originally conceived of as a letter to Richardson's younger self — with a focus on being joyful and loving herself as a young Black girl.
Because You Are is a picture book for ages 4-7.
Jael Richardson is an author, the founder and the artistic director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) and the former books columnist for Q on CBC Radio. Richardson, who is from Brampton, Ont., is also the author of the nonfiction book The Stone Thrower, which was adapted into a picture book of the same name, the novel Gutter Child and picture book The Hockey Jersey.
Nneka Myers is a Toronto-based illustrator and character designer for TV animation.
The Underground Railroad by Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper & Karolyn Smardz Frost
The Underground Railroad is the 4th edition of a nonfiction book for younger readers. The book looks at the role Toronto played as a place for thousands of freedom seekers before the American Civil War. The new version features researched accounts of the pathways taken by people, enslaved and free, who made the trip to Canada in search of liberty, including biographies, images and more.
The Underground Railroad is for ages 12 and up.
Adrienne Shadd is a Canadian historian and writer focused on documenting Black Canadian history. Shadd is the author of Tollgate to Parkway: African Canadians in Hamilton.
Afua Cooper is a Jamaican-born Canadian historian, multidisciplinary scholar, artist and poet. Cooper is a professor of sociology and social anthropology at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She has published several books of poetry, including the recent collection Black Matters, which she co-created with Wilfried Raussert.
Karolyn Smardz Frost is an archaeologist, historian and author of books such as Steal Away Home. She and her team at the Toronto Board of Education's Archaeological Resource Centre uncovered the first Underground Railroad site in Canada.
The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley
The Bones of Ruin is the latest fantasy YA novel by Ontario author Sarah Raughley. It's a tale set in 1880s London, featuring an immortal African tightrope walker named Iris who's caught up in a secret society's gladiatorial tournament of supernatural freaks. Iris must learn more about her past, her identity and her power in order to survive her circumstances. But when she learns of a potentially world-ending threat, Iris needs to decide if learning her identity is worth the cost involved.
The Bones of Ruin is for ages 14 and up.
Raughley is a fantasy novelist from Southern Ontario. Raughley's YA Effigies series, which includes Fate of Flames, Siege of Shadows and Legacy of Light, drops readers into a world where four young women are imbued with the powers of the four elements — fire, water, air and earth — and tasked with protecting the world from the evil Phantoms. Raughley is the 2022 judge for CBC's student writing challenge, The First Page.
LISTEN | Sarah Raughley on her YA novel The Bones of Ruin:
Welcome to the Cypher by Khodi Dill, illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful
Welcome to the Cypher is a picture book of music and fun hip-hop wordplay. This read-aloud book features children learning confidence and self-expression as they rap together in a group.
Welcome to the Cypher is for ages 4 to 7.
Khodi Dill is a Bahamian Canadian educator and writer of everything from rap songs to children's literature based in Saskatoon. Dill was named a writer to watch in 2022 by CBC Books.
Awuradwoa Afful is a Ghanaian Canadian designer, illustrator and animator based in Toronto.
LISTEN | Khodi Dill on his picture book Welcome the the Cypher:
I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner, illustrated by Michaela Goade
I Sang You Down from the Stars is a story of birth and creation for younger readers. With poetic language and watercolours, the picture book uses Indigenous creation stories and traditional teachings to celebrate nature and the bond behind mother and child.
I Sang You Down from the Stars is for ages 2 to 5.
Tasha Spillett-Sumner is an educator, poet and scholar of Nehiyaw and Trinidadian descent. She is also the author of graphic novel Surviving the City, which won the $2,000 Indigenous Voices Award for works in an alternative format in 2019.
Michaela Goade is an American-born illustrator from the Tlingit and Haida tribes. Goade won the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom.
I Promise by Catherine Hernandez, illustrated by Syrus Marcus Ware
I Promise is a portrayal of all the joys and challenges of parenting and a celebration of the many different forms that loving families come in.
I Promise is for readers aged 3-8.
Catherine Hernandez is a playwright, performer and the author of the novels Scarborough and Crosshairs.
Syrus Marcus Ware is a visual artist, activist and scholar whose work has appeared in the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Globe and Mail and in Nuit Blanche. Ware is also an editor for the nonfiction book Until We Are Free, which reflects on the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada. They contributed the piece Emmett to 21 Black Futures, which you can watch now on CBC Gem.
Where Are You, Agnes? by Tessa McWatt, illustrated by Zuzanna Celej
In Where Are You, Agnes?, Tessa McWatt writes a story of abstract expressionist artist Agnes Martin's childhood on the Canadian Prairies and how it might have shaped her adult work. In McWatt's imagining of Martin's early life, Martin's family moves to a house in a big city, leaving behind the wheat fields and straight horizon of the prairies that she loved to capture in her paintings.
Where Are You, Agnes? is for ages 5 to 9.
McWatt is the author of novels for adults and young people. Her work in fiction has been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. Where Are You, Agnes? is her first picture book.
Zuzanna Celej is an illustrator based in Spain.
Hockey Night in Kenya by Danson Mutinda & Eric Walters, illustrated by Claudia Dávila
In Hockey Night in Kenya, two orphans from Kenya, Kitoo and Nigosi, love to read, play soccer and help with chores around the orphanage. They discover a book called Sports Around the World and one of the children becomes fascinated with an image of the Canadian national men's ice hockey team. The boy teaches himself how to skate and dreams of one day playing hockey just like the players in the book.
Hockey Night in Kenya is for ages 6-8.
Danson Mutinda is an author based in Kenya. His parents, Ruth and Henry Kyatha, co-founded the Hope Development Centre orphanage with Eric and Anita Walters in 2007.
Eric Walters is a Canadian author of children's books.
Claudia Dávila is a Toronto-based artist and illustrator. Her other books include Super Red Riding Hood and Child Soldier, which was written by Michel Chikwanine and Jessica Dee Humphreys.
Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats by Cylita Guy, illustrated by Cornelia Li
Ecologist Cylita Guy shows how observing urban wildlife — from city bees to coyotes — can make cities a healthier environment for everyone in Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats. Guy highlights the fieldwork of 11 scientists, including herself, and demonstrates how social injustices, like racism, can impact how scientists study wildlife and where urban critters are more likely to thrive.
Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats is for ages 9 to 12.
Guy is a Toronto-based ecologist, data scientist and science communicator who studies bats.
Cornelia Li is a Chinese-born illustrator based in Toronto.
My Hair by Danielle Murrell Cox
Danielle Murrell Cox's debut picture book, My Hair, is a celebration of Black hair and natural hairstyles for younger readers.
My Hair is for ages 4 to 8.
Cox is a Canadian illustrator and graphic designer. With a focus on minimalist art, Cox is best known for her self-published colouring books Black Queens and Black Kings.
My Soca Birthday Party by Yolanda T. Marshall, illustrated by Subi Bosa
My Soca Birthday Party is about a young girl named Anne who can't wait to celebrate her birthday. Her school friends are excited to celebrate as well and talk about the food and music that they will experience. When the day arrives, Anne's birthday party is an evening celebration of everything Anne loves, including Caribbean soca music played on steel pans and West Africa's spicy jollof rice.
My Soca Birthday Party is for ages 3 and up.
Yolanda T. Marshall is a Guyanese Canadian author of children's books based in Ontario.
Subi Bosa is a South African children's book illustrator.
My Hair Is Beautiful by Shauntay Grant
Shauntay Grant's latest children's book is a celebration of natural hair. My Hair Is Beautiful is a board book that encourages self-love and self-expression.
My Hair Is Beautiful is for readers up to 3.
Grant is a Canadian writer and performance artist based in Halifax. Her children's books include Up Home, which won the 2009 Best Atlantic-Published Book Prize, and Africville, which was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature – illustrated books.
Idia of the Benin Kingdom by Ekiuwa Aire, illustrated by Alina Shabelnyk
Based on the real life story of Queen Idia, the traditional ruler of Benin who reigned from 1504 to 1550, picture book Idia of the Benin Kingdom explores the life of young Idia and how she realized her dreams of becoming a warrior queen. Idia of the Benin Kingdom teaches children about strength, courage and the power of believing in yourself.
Ekiuwa Aire is a Nigerian Canadian author of children's books.
Alina Shabelnyk is an illustrator and designer from Ukraine.
Facing the Sun by Janice Lynn Mather
Facing the Sun is a coming-of-age story set in the Bahamas. It's about four young girls — Eve, Faith, KeeKee and Nia — and the choices they are forced to make one fateful summer. When a hotel developer makes a move to buy the community's beloved beach, all four teens are faced with life decisions that might change them forever.
Facing the Sun is for ages 14 and up.
Janice Lynn Mather was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas. She is now a novelist and short story writer based in Vancouver. She holds a BFA and MFA from the University of British Columbia. In 2018, she released her debut novel Learning to Breathe. The book was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text.
LISTEN | Janice Lynn Mather on Uncertain Kin:
Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe
Charming as a Verb is a YA novel about Henri "Halti" Haltiwanger, a teen with swagger who is convinced he can charm just about anyone. As one of the most popular kids in his prestigious high school — and as the operator of a highly successful dog-walking business — Henri has it made and his dream of attending his dream college awaits. But when Henri meets Corinne Troy, a girl who sees right through his charms and exposes his less-than-ethical business practices, it becomes a battle of wits — with potential love looming on the horizon.
Charming as a Verb is for ages 12 and up.
Ben Philippe is a writer who was raised in Montreal and currently lives in New York. He published his debut novel The Field Guide to the North American Teenager in 2019. He has contributed to publications like Vanity Fair, the Guardian and Playboy. CBC Books named Philippe a writer to watch in 2019.
LISTEN | Ben Philippe on Charming as a Verb:
Dear Black Girls by Shanice Nicole, illustrated by Kezna Dalz
Canadian poet and educator Shanice Nicole created the picture book Dear Black Girls as a letter to young Black girls to remind them of their value and worth. Featuring illustrations by Montreal artist Kezna Dalz, Dear Black Girls features the message of feeling special, unique and loved in the world.
Dear Black Girls is for readers up to five years old.
Shanice Nicole is a Black Canadian feminist educator, facilitator, writer and spoken word artist.
Kezna Dalz is a Montreal-based illustrator and artist.