Best Spanish Books with Black Characters

I always feel so lucky to be a mom in what I think is the golden age of children’s literature. Libros en español? Check. Books with Black or Afro-Latinx protagonists? Check. Spanish books with Black characters? Check!

While there still aren’t NEARLY enough books centering POC characters, and there’s definitely a reason we have the #weneeddiversebooks movement, I am so very glad to have these options to read at home with my hijas.

The last time I did a roundup of Spanish books with Black characters was a few years ago, so I thought we were due for an update! All of the books below are phenomenal ones we’ve read and loved, and I hope you love them too!

FAVORITE SPANISH BOOKS FEATURING BLACK CHARACTERS

Sirenas

Little Julián and his Abuela are on their way home from the pool one day when they see some spectacularly dressed women on the subway. They look just like mermaids! Julián is enchanted. “Yo también soy una sirena,” he tells Abuela. While Abuela goes to take a shower, Julián has a flash of inspiration! With the fronds of a potted fern in his hair and a curtain wrapped around his waist for a tail, he’s living his best life until Abuela sees him (and the mess). Is Julián in trouble? This book is such a powerful affirmation of individuality, creative expression and unconditional acceptance!

Lola y el dragón

Lola and her beloved cat, Bola, have an important event to attend: a costume party! The party is just getting good (there’s a dessert table!) when all of a sudden, a terrible dragon flies over and scoops up little Bola. Lola, a true heroine for our times, immediately recruits her friends to help with the rescue. But eventually Lola finds herself alone, with nothing but her courage and her creativity to help her rescue her beloved cat. Alone, that is, until she bumps into an unexpected little someone…

Schomburg: El hombre que creó una biblioteca

Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Puerto Rican, was a law clerk. But his passion was collecting books, letters, music and art from Africa and the African diaspora, as he worked to honor “people of African descent through the ages.” Eventually, his collection grew so much that it threatened to overtake his whole house! And that’s when he turned to the New York Public Library. This is the story of how he put together his famous collection.

¡Gracias, Omu!

Omu has made a delicious red stew for her lunch. And not only does it taste fabulous, it also smells AMAZING! So when the smell wafts out of her apartment and into the neighborhood, her neighbors can’t help but follow their noses to see where that delectable scent is coming from. One by one, Omu offers each person that knocks at her door a taste of her wonderful stew. But when dinner time finally comes around and it’s her turn to eat, the pot is empty! Has Omu been so generous that there’s nothing left for her?

El día en que descubres quién eres

The Spanish translation of “The Day You Begin” is just as lovely as the original English version! In this book, we start the school year along with Angelina, who (along with a few of her classmates) feels like an outsider. Whether because of home language, food diversity, skin color, or even the way they talk, the message here is that these differences make each child unique and, at the same time, a beautiful part of the community they now share.

El elefante

A young boy finds a book about elephants on his shelf. Along with him, we discover so many amazing facts about these giant creatures that make their home from Africa to Asia! For example: just like humans can be right- or left-handed, elephants can be right tusked or left tusked! The book’s accessible text is paired with clever and beautiful illustrations that turn interesting facts (an African elephant’s tusks grow up to 8 feet long) with visual examples (two seven-year-olds lounging toe-to-toe on an elephant’s tusk).

Ada Magnífica, científica

We love this translation of the English “Ada Twist, Scientist.” If translation is challenging, translation of rhymes is doubly so! This one is extremely well-done though, and introduces us to the curious little Ada, who is full of questions she just HAS to know the answers to (¿por qué tienes pelos en la naríz?). So when her house fills with a horrible smell, Ada knows it’s up to her to figure out why. But when her scientific experiments in the name of discovery lead to even more stink, will Ada be in big trouble?

Jabari salta

Jabari has learned to swim and is working up the courage to jump off the high dive–but he just can’t seem to take the leap! He has almost decided that actually, TOMORROW is the best day to jump, when his father tells him the little secret that helps him discover his bravery.

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I hope you’ll check out some of these Spanish books with Black characters! I’m publishing this post during Black History Month, but EVERY month of the year would be a perfect time to read them. 🙂 I’d love to know if there are any favorites of yours that I’ve missed!

P.S. 7 more phenomenal books featuring Afro-Latinx characters.

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