“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Black History Month - Reading Recommendations

Celebrating diversity is more important today than ever. Throughout Black History Month we will be sharing resources that are available for students and families. 

Please find below our reading recommendations for the month.  All these books are available from our Learning Resources Centre.

KS3

'Ghost Boys', by Jewell Parker Rhodes. In line with BHM 2023 theme, ‘saluting our sisters’.

‘Somebody Give This Heart a Pen’, Sophia Thakur's debut, became a bestseller. A powerful collection of poems exploring issues of identity, difference, faith and joy.

‘The Fastest Boy in The World’ by Elizabeth Laird. Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.

‘The Life of Stephen Lawrence’ by Verna Williams.

‘Boy 87’ by Ele Fountain.  Multi-award winning.  Also recommended for our KS4 students. 

‘Black and British’ by David Olusoga. Winner of the Book of the Year, Children's Illustrated and Non-Fiction at The British Book Awards, 2021.

KS4

‘The Poet’ by Elizabeth Acevedo, winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. 

'The Bluest Eye' written by Toni Morison.

‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas. Winner of the Waterstones' Children’s Book Prize.

‘Boy 87’ by Ele Fountain.  Multi-award winning.  Also recommended for our KS3 students. 

KS5

'The New Jim Crow', by Michelle Alexander, lawyer, civil rights activist and author.

'So You Want to Talk About Race', a number 1 bestseller, by Ijeoma Oluo.

‘The Fire This Time’ by Jesmyn Ward, a two-time National Book Award winner and Women's Prize shortlist. Jesmyn Ward gathers a new generation of writers and thinkers to speak on race. 

‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker. The classic, PULITZER PRIZE-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name