I originally wasn’t sure if I was going to create a booklist, because many people have already compiled more extensive lists. But I think I can play a small part in boosting Black authors by sharing my knowledge of middle grade speculative fiction. Because I’m highlighting what I know here, this isn’t the most comprehensive list. I’ve linked lists that offer more middle grade recs, as well as books for all ages, at the end of the post. This list is primarily books I’ve read and can heartily recommend, plus a few on my TBR and six that haven’t been released yet.
12 Books to Read Now
- Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Book 1 of 2)
- Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes (TBR)
- Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott (Book 1 of 2)
- Everlost by Neal Shusterman (Book 1 of 3)
- The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown (TBR)
- Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith
- Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender (TBR)
- The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste (Book 1 of 3)
- Just South of Home by Karen Strong
- The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles (Book 1 of 2)
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
- (For some reason I think this is MG even though most places call it YA. I just read read it a few days ago. It definitely has YA vibes, and the protagonist is 15, but I think an argument can be made for upper middle grade so I’m calling it that for now.)
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Universe by Kwame Mbalia (Book 1 of 3)
6 Books for Your TBR
- Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron (Sept. 2020 – available for preorder)
- Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon (Sept. 2020 – available for preorder)
- Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland (2021)
- Root Magic by Eden Royce (2021)
- A Taste of Magic by J. Elle (2022)
- Dark Tide by Lisa Stringfellow (2022)
Further Reading
Middle Grade
📕 Magical Middle Grade Fantasy by Black Authors (a Bookshop.org list by middle grade fantasy author Kmailla Benko)
📕 16 Books with Black Characters Written by Black Authors by Laura @ Literacious (mostly contemporary fiction)
All Ages
Generations Book Club @ The Brown Bookshelf: A summer reading initiative with a different theme every two weeks. Includes book recommendations for picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult.
31 children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance @ Embrace Race
Red Balloon Bookshop’s Black Lives Matter reading list (ranges from board books through to adult)
What books by Black authors have you been enjoying lately?
I love this! So many of these books are on my TBR! Bayou Magic, Dragons in a Bag, The Jumbies, The Last Day of Summer… I need more time to read all these great books!
Thank-you! Each of those particular titles are pretty quick reads, so hopefully you can get to one or two this summer 😉
I just need the library to open….
Ugh, yes. I have been reading a lot of ebooks but there are still key titles not in my library’s collection (and we aren’t taking requests for digital materials).
I’ve notice my library’s e-book collection doesn’t really have the latest releases, even though I have tried recommending a few. The wait lists for the books they do have can be up to six months. Maybe they’ve spent their online digital budget already or they spent it all trying to get the waitlist down on older titles instead of new ones. But I can’t wait for the library to reopen so I don’t miss all the books of 2020!
Yeah, my library is a bit infamous for being delayed on new releases but we have definitely been purchasing a lot more ebooks than we would normally. I saw an article in the news this morning about special agreements currently in place with publishers, allowing better access to ebooks.
But speaking of 2020 releases: My library hasn’t been acquiring physical books since we closed mid-March, afaik. I wonder what we are going to do about titles released before we fully reopen.
I’ve been wondering how physical book collection is going, too. I don’t think there is anyone in the buildings to receive shipments or catalog the books? I think it would have made more sense to have a few people in there the whole time, though, because otherwise you have to deal with a few months’ worth of backlogged books all at once. Yikes!
That’s correct for my library at least, with 80% of staff laid off. We have budget concerns so I am also wondering how that will affect the ‘backlog’. Maybe we will only acquire physical titles of requested books published during closure?? Who knows…
That’s quite scary! I hope everything works out!
I use the request button on Overdrive, but I don’t know who looks at the requests because they sure don’t like mine! I’ve been asking for stuff like Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang. It is Gene Luen Yang! Why would you NOT buy that? Why would I even have to recommend it? Haha.
Ah, I didn’t even realize Overdrive has a request button because my library clearly doesn’t have it enabled, haha. Yeah some titles seem so obvious but take awhile to show up. I was searching for From the Desk of Zoe Washington (Jan. 2020 release) back in March… it showed up a couple weeks ago.
Yeah, normally if you scroll to the bottom of the screen, book covers will pop up with a band saying “not owned” and you can click to request. There is a limit on requests, though, which I don’t fully understand seeing as they never buy my requests. Do I wait a specified amount of time, give up, delete a request, and put in a new one??
I still have to read From the Desk of Zoe Washington! It looks so good!
Thank you for the links to those book lists! I don’t reach for MG very often, but when I do I need to make sure I’m not only reaching for white authors. I love the sound of Root Magic, and one of these days I need to cross Akata Witch off my TBR. 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you found this post helpful 🙂 I’m also happy to hear that you’ll keep an eye on author diversity when you do choose to pick up MG.
Several of these are on my TBR. I am particular eager to pick up The Jumbies, Pet, and Tristan Strong. Great list!
Sorry, I just realized I missed replying to this comment! Thanks for reading 🙂