Patricia C. McKissack was a prolific African American children's writer. She was the author of over 100 books, including Dear America books A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl;Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North; and Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl. She also wrote a novel for The Royal Diaries series: Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba. Notable standalone works include Flossie & the Fox (1986), The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992), and Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? (1992). What is Given from the Heart was published posthumously in 2019.
Beetle Boy is a 2016 middle grade novel written by M. G. Leonard, illustrated by Júlia Sardà, and published by The Chicken House and Scholastic.
John Henry is a 1994 children's picture book by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about the American legendary figure John Henry. In 1998, a 19-minute film adaptation of the book was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and released by Weston Woods Studios.
Goin' Someplace Special is a 2001 children's book by Pat McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a young African American girl, Tricia Ann, who goes to the public library by herself during the time of the Jim Crow laws.
Zomo the Rabbit is a 1992 book by Gerald McDermott based on a Nigerian folktale that explains why the rabbit runs so fast from other animals.
Albidaro and the Mischievous Dream is a 2000 book by Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney telling why teddy bears look as if they have a secret.
A Million Fish ... more or less is a 1992 children's picture book by Patricia McKissack. It is about a boy of the bayou, Hugh Thomas, who has a fishing adventure.
The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll is a 2007 picture book by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Nella, living during the Great Depression who amazingly receives a doll for Christmas, initially doesn't share with her sisters but then relents after discovering that it's not fun to play by herself.
Run Away Home is a 1997 book by Patricia McKissack. Set in the late 19th century, it is about an African-American girl, Sarah Jane, who finds an Apache boy in the family barn and the subsequent affects on their lives.
Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers is a 1999 book by Patricia McKissack and Frederick McKissack about the involvement of African-Americans in the history of whaling in the United States.
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North is a 2000 book by Patricia McKissack about a girl, Nellie, who from 1919 records her thoughts and experiences in a diary including her home in rural Tennessee, as a part of The Great Migration, and her new home in Chicago. It is part of the Dear America book series.
A Friendship for Today is a 2007 book by Patricia McKissack about the life of a girl, Rosemary Patterson, attending one of the first integrated Missouri schools during the 1950s.
Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues is a 1994 book by Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack, Jr. It tells the history African-American and Latin American involvement with baseball in the United States.
The Clone Codes is a 2010 science fiction novel by American writers Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. It is about a girl, Leanna, who lives in 22nd century America where human clones and cyborgs are treated like second-class citizens, and what happens when she discovers that her parents are activists and that she is a clone.
I Want to Be is a 1993 picture book by Thylias Moss and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl who is asked what she wants to be and the imaginative answers she gives.
Ma Dear's Aprons is a 1997 book by Patricia McKissack about the relationship between a son, David Earl, and his mother, Ma dear.
Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt is a 2008 picture book by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. It is about a young girl, Baby girl, who, growing up amongst the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, makes her first quilt.
Scraps of Time: 1928, A Song for Harlem is a 2007 book by Patricia McKissack about a girl, Lilly Belle, who spends the Summer of 1928 in Harlem attending a writers' workshop led by Zora Neale Hurston.
Ol' Clip-Clop: A Ghost Story is a 2013 children's picture book written by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Eric Velásquez. It is about John Leep, a stingy landlord, who cheats a tenant but then gets his come-uppance.
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl is a 2003 picture book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by James Ransome. It is a retelling by Hamilton, in the Gullah dialect, of the classic story of Bruh Rabbit outwitting Bruh Wolf.
