Welcome to the

Books! Crafts! Dances! Activities!

AMAZING CONTENT AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 2022

This year’s festival featured book:

Ashley Bryan’s ABC of African American Poetry

Award-winner Ashley Bryan’s collection of inspiring excerpts of poems by celebrated African American poets. Beautifully illustrated with his own tempera and gouache paintings, Ashley Bryan’s unique alphabet book will delight readers of any age.

Releasing August 2nd

Read alouds! Interviews with the creators! Art activities! Plus all sorts of educational activities for children and adults alike!

Releasing August 9th

Joseph’s Big Ride
By Terry Farish & Illustrated by Ken Daley

Releasing August 17th

So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom
By Gary D. Schmidt & Illustrated by Daniel Minter

Releasing August 24th

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
By Derrick Barnes & Illustrated by Gordon C. James

Releasing August 31st

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
By Kwame Mbalia

Releasing September 7th

The Red Pencil
By Andrea Davis Pinkney & Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Releasing September 14th

Your Name Is a Song
By Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Release date for videos and activities. Tune in!

It’s time for the 2nd annual Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival! This site is your homebase for engaging with all of the wonderful new content we have for you this year. Like last year’s Festival, this program celebrates the voices, artistry, and impact of children’s literature created by and featuring Black people. Just like last year, we’ve been hard at work creating fresh new videos and dreaming up fun activities to help bring the books to life.

We’re giving away even more books this year – over 2,600! We are featuring seven new titles in this year’s Festival, and we’re so excited to introduce you to them. We invite you to take a look around the website to learn more about the books and the illustrators and writers who created them.

Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival 2021