Reading folks tales to celebrate Black History Month is something our family has done in the past, and I’ve compiled a list of some favorites here. Typically African-American folk tales were passed by word of mouth, but reading them along with these beautiful illustrations make them even more meaningful. I particularly recommend the Tales of Uncle Remus, which are wonderful stories at any point in the year!
If you’re looking for a comprehensive, printable Black History Month book list, you can go here!
Also, if you’d like a list of posts about different topics in black history, you can go here!
The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus (Joel Chandler Harris)
The beloved tales of Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Brer Wolf, and Brer Rabbit, first compiled over one hundred years ago in 1881.
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Virginia Hamilton)
A collection 24 of black American folk tales, including animal stories, slave narratives, didactic fables, and more.
John Henry (Julius Lester)
Nothing can stand in the way of John Henry, whose claims to fame include scaring the sun, being visited by a unicorn, smashing rocks, and being stronger than ten men.
Thunder Rose (Jerdine Nolen)
Kids will love the folk character of Thunder Rose, whose confidence and can-do attitude will inspire young girls everywhere.
The Talking Eggs (Robert D. San Souci)
An adapation of a Creole folktale about two sisters who live in Louisiana.
Finally, do you have any favorite folk tales to celebrate Black History Month that I missed? If you do, I’d love for you to share them below in the comments!