Dionne, Yvette. Lifting As We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box. 2020. 170p. Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99 (9780451481542). Gr. 5-8.
Lifting As We Climb chronicles the racism and discrimination Black women in America faced when fighting for women’s suffrage.
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. Fighting Words. 2020. 272p. Dial, $17.99 (9781984815682). Gr.5 and up.
Shielded from the harsh realities of abuse in her home, 10 year-old Della must come to terms with the fact that nobody was there to do the same for her older sister.
Slade, Suzanne. Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Illus. by Cozbi Cabrera. 2020. 48p. Abrams, $17.99 (9781419734113). K – Gr. 2.
Writing and publishing poetry from the age of eleven, Gwendolyn Brooks went on to become the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Kimmel, Allison Crotzer. Unbeatable Betty: Betty Robinson, the First Female Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist. Illus. by Joanie Stone. 2020. 40p. Harper Collins, $17.99 (9780062896070). K – Gr. 2.
Betty Robinson was the first female Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist and survived a plane crash and a crushing leg injury to win a second Gold Medal in 1936.
Russell-Brown, Katheryn. She was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm. Illus. by Eric Velasquez. 2019. 40p. Lee & Low, $19.95 (9781620143469). Gr. 2-6.
As the first black woman elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm stood up for women, children, poor people, farmworkers, Native people, and others who were often pushed aside.
Churnin, Nancy. For Spacious Skies: Katharine Lee Bates and the Inspiration for “America the Beautiful”. Illus. by Olga Baumert. 2020. 32p. Albert Whitman & Co, $16.99 (9780807525302). K-Gr. 2.
Inspired by the beauty of the country during a long trip, Katheine Lee Bates wrote the poem that would become “America the Beautiful”.
Lyon, Lea and A. LaFaye. Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina. 2020. 40p. Harper, $18.99 (9780062888785). PreS-Gr. 2.
In the 1950s, Sylvia dreams of being a ballerina, but her parents cannot afford lessons. Using books from the bookmobile, she teaches herself to dance, and then teaches others, too.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers’ Rights. Illus. by Kristy Caldwell. 2020. 36p. Peachtree, $18.99 (9781682631362). Gr. 1-4.
The first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet, Frances Perkins spent her life advocating for workers, leading the establishment of social security, federal minimum wage, and child labor laws.
Johnson, Angela. A Girl Like Me. Illus. By Nina Crews. 2020. 32p. Lerner / Millbrook Press, $19.99 (9781541557772). PreS- Gr. 3
In Johnson’s profound but simple poem and Crews’ accompanying collage illustrations, girls who dream of greatness are encouraged to reject societal limitations and naysayers and embrace their own power and agency.
Powell, Patricia Hruby. Lift As You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker . Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. 2020. 48p. Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry, $17.99 (9781534406230). Gr. K-3.
This biography of civil rights activist Ella Baker, details her constant fight against racial injustice and fostering community empowerment through grassroots organization and mentoring of young activists.
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