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StoryTime for Young Historians
In 2018, the Alexandria Black History Museum began hosting a monthly “StoryTime for Little Historians” program, using books written by and about African American people and other communities of color to educate and inspire our youngest visitors. Along with the book reading, Museum Staff provides historical context and local community connections.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, our program went virtual with new StoryTime videos posted monthly.
Currently, the Alexandria Black History Museum is teaming up with the Alexandria Library to present StoryTime programs. Details and free registration can be found on the Library’s calendar. Search for “Storytime with the Black History Museum.”
Check out our book list below for some titles that we have featured. Find them in your local library or bookstore and enjoy your own StoryTime.
StoryTime Book List
Harriet and the Promised Land
by Jacob Lawrence
Learn about Harriet Tubman, who was born enslaved and managed to escape. This book is illustrated and written by renowned artist Jacob Lawrence.
Gordon Parks - How the Photographer Captured Black and White America
By Carole Boston Weatherford
Told through lyrical verse and atmospheric art, this is the story of how, with a single photograph, a self-taught artist got America to take notice. Find instructions for a photography project here.
Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story
By Angela Shelf Madearis and Daniel Minter
Explore the seven principles of Kwanzaa through this exquisitely illustrated book.
Lillian's Right to Vote
By Jonah Winter and Shaun W. Evans
An elderly African American woman on her way to vote remembers her family's tumultuous voting history. As Lillian, a one-hundred-year-old African American woman, makes a “long haul up a steep hill” to her polling place, she sees more than trees and sky—she sees her family's history.
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins
By Carole Boston Weatherford, paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue
Learn about the Greensboro sit-ins through the eyes of a child, who is watching the events unfold. Alexandria had its own sit-in. Discover more here.