For Readers

Virtual Book Club

For nearly a decade, I’ve facilitated book clubs for girls and boys. We’ve read countless picture books that celebrate literary treasures by Black children’s book creators of today and the past. Sometimes, I get emails from parents, community group leaders and teachers asking me to recommend good books about kids of color. Here’s the list for the Birdy Book Club, a group of African-American boys that has been coming together to celebrate reading for the past four years: Birdy Book Club list.

Please join us in reading these titles and saluting the wonderful authors and illustrators who created them. If you enjoy a particular selection, please post a review on Goodreads or Amazon. Your feedback may help keep a good book in print.

Also, to find more great reads, please check out The Brown Bookshelf, a site created by a team of authors and illustrators dedicated to raising awareness of African-American children’s literature. I’m honored to be part of that group. I created a few Listmania lists below that offer more wonderful books to consider sharing with young people you love too. There’s also a list of resources where you can find more multicultural kidlit recommendations.

Finally, I offer children’s book club consulting. Would you like to start a book club for kids that introduces them to children’s books by Black authors and illustrators, but you don’t know where to begin? I can help. We’ll discuss themes, reading level, mission and then I’ll create a year-long reading list for your club complete with fun extension activities and links to reviews, discussion guides (if available) and author and illustrator web sites. If you’re interested, contact me at email@kellystarlinglyons.com.

Here’s to celebrating children’s literature every day.

Happy Reading!

Kelly