October is Black History Month in the UK, and this year we’ve put together a calendar with a selection of 31 myON and Accelerated Reader books so teachers and librarians will have recommendations for all ages on hand every day of the month. View the calendar here.

The official theme for 2024 is ‘Reclaiming narratives’, which highlights the need to correct historical inaccuracies in order to showcase the untold success stories and the full complexity of Black heritage.

Sharing non-fiction texts, stories and biographies with children is a movement towards acknowledging the contributions of Black individuals throughout history. Below are some of our favourites from this year’s calendar.

Amazing Men in Black History by Marcelle Mateki Akita, illustrated by Richy Sanchez Ayala
LY | Quiz #270161 | BL 3.2 | Rising Stars
Younger readers can learn about various Black men in history such as: Mansa Musa, the richest man ever; Walter Tull, the footballer and war hero, and William Kamkwamba, the boy that made electricity for his town in Malawi.

The information is broken up with fictional comic strip sections to keep young readers’ attention and to help explain some of the stories. Though aimed at younger children, these short biographies are still relevant for an older reader with a lower reading age.

Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi
MY | Quiz #244673 | BL 6.3 | Bloomsbury Publishing
This Carnegie-nominated book tells the eye-opening story of Britain, focusing on an aspect of the past that has mostly been left out of the history books: the Black history of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Editor Peter was ‘blown away’ by the book, which ‘transports the reader from ancient Britain to the present day’. Peter said, ‘while some of the stories in it were familiar to me, others were wholly new and I just couldn’t stop reading. It made me want to learn more about these incredible people.’

 Musical Truth: A Musical History of Modern Black Britain in 28 Songs by Jeffrey Boakye, illustrated by Ngadi Smart
UY | Quiz #242564 | BL 7.6 | Faber and Faber
This exhilarating playlist tracks some of the key shifts in modern British history and explores the emotional impact of 28 songs and the artists who performed them. The songs range from Winifred Atwell’s 1954 hit ‘Let’s Have Another Party’, right up to Stormzy’s 2019 ‘Vossi Bop’.

This is a popular book among the quiz-writing team, so much so that we named it as the winner of our 2023 Quiz Writers’ Choice Award for Secondary Non-fiction. Senior Editor Krista spoke about how Musical Truth proves that ‘music history is never “just about music”. It shows how music can reflect the culture and attitude in a specific time in our past.’ We highly recommend listening to the songs whilst you’re reading it!

Kerry McGuire
Editor