Here is a list of engaging children’s books specifically about segregation. Though a difficult time in our nation’s history, reading picture books with your children is a gentle yet truthful way to study this period of time.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive, printable Black History Month book list, you can go here!
If you’d like a list of posts about different topics in black history, you can go here!
Freedom Summer (Deborah Wiles)
Two boys, one white and one black, are best friends who are thrilled when segregation is finally banned, but they realize the issue is deeper-rooted than they can understand.
Through My Eyes (Ruby Bridges)
The autobiographical account of the first black child to attend an all-white school after segregation was finally outlawed.
White Water (Michael S. Bandy)
The author recounts his own memory of being forced to drink from a dirty, gritty water fountain rather than the clean “whites only” one nearby.
Glory Be (August Scattergood)
This book is based on true events that occurred at a segregated pool in Mississippi in 1964, told from the view point of an 11-year-old girl.
Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: The Brown vs. Board of Education Decision (Joyce Carol Thomas)
Reflections on the desegregation of public schools by noted children’s authors.
The Other Side (Jacqueline Woodson)
Two girls become friends by the fence that separates the white and black parts of town.
White Socks Only (Evelyn Coleman)
A young girl in the segregated South thinks her white socks will allow her to drink from the “Whites Only” water fountain.
I hope these children’s books about segregation are helpful as you delve deeper into this period of history! Do you have any favorites I missed? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!