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Topic: African Americans in Children's Literature at UConn Archives & Special Collections — By African American Authors and Illustrators

This guide serves as a resource for researching African American representation in children's literature, as well as African American children's authors and illustrators in the UConn Archives & Special Collections.

You can use this page to explore a selection of books related to African Americans in children's literature by author or illustrator. Clicking on each tab will show you a list of titles by that individual held in Archives & Special Collections. Clicking on a book title will take you to the book's catalog record.

The authors and illustrators represented below were primarily drawn from Augusta Baker's bibliographies and her 1974 article in the Horn Book. More recent authors and illustrators were included whose body of work is represented in the UConn Archives & Special Collections holdings. 

Shirley Graham Du Bois (1896-1977) was an American-Gahnian writer, playwright, composer, and activist. She also wrote several non-fiction books for children, particularly biographies. 
Elton Clay Fax (1909-1993) was an illustrator, cartoonist, and writer. In addition to creating comics and illustrations for newspapers, magazines and comic book publishers, Fax illustrated several children's books and wrote on black culture. 
Ernest Crichlow (1914–2005) was an American painter and illustrator. Crichlow worked as an artist for the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Federal Arts Program in the 1930s, was a part of the Harlem Renaissance art movement, illustrated several children’s books, and taught for the Art Students League of New York.  
Virginia Esther Hamilton (1936 – 2002) was an American children's books author. During the course of her career, she wrote 41 books, many of which one various awards, including the National Book Award, the Newberry Medal, the Hans Christen Anderson Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.
John Steptoe (1950 – 1989) was an author and illustrator of children’s books that explored the African-American experience. John Steptoe began his first children's book, Stevie, when he was 16, and it was published in 1969, when Steptoe was just 19. John Steptoe illustrated 16 children's books in total, 10 of which he also wrote. Following his death at 38, the American Library Association established the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Floyd Cooper (1956 – 2021) was an award-winning illustrator of children's books. His work often explored the African American experience, and he worked with a wide range of authors. The UConn Archives & Special Collections holds a collection of Mr. Cooper's papers: Floyd Cooper Collection

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