Soul School: Taking Kids on a Joy-Filled Journey Through the Heart of Black American Culture

By Amber O'Neal Johnston

A must-have addition to the shelf for any parent hoping to introduce more inclusive books into the home, with 100+ essential titles for early readers through high school

Brimming with the history and culture of Black America, this one-of-a-kind resource is delivered in a package that all children find irresistible: stories. Education expert Amber O'Neal Johnston--who homeschools her four children--offers masterfully curated booklists, sorted by age, for diving into the fullness of the African American cultural experience.

Soul School books are must-have mirrors for Black children and priceless windows for others, but first and foremost, they're captivating stories. And while they're sure to hold a special place in the hearts of Black families, they are unequivocally and without hesitation for all children.

In addition to the booklists, Johnston artfully weaves together knowledge of the past and awareness of the present by examining cultural values, historical highlights, and the power of storytelling while teaching families what to look for and how to enjoy prose, verse, and illustrations that celebrate Black American culture.

Soul School offers the best children's, middle grade, and young adult books available today, each accompanied by discussion questions, activities, and related resource recommendations. Covering toddlers to teens and everyone in between, Soul School is an education for us all.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593716825
• ISBN13: 9780593716823
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Your library will never be the same!

From the content, to the irreplaceable book list, to the activities and digging deep. My kids have already enjoyed the activities. This book has been a blessing to my home. I have learned a lot and have been exposed to many beautiful books I had no idea existed and we love books in my house. I love how Amber reminds us the literary history of black culture and how it has always been there and how much it has shaped our culture today. This book has already been a lighthouse for my home and I can see it being that for years to come. Thank you Amber for begin courageous! From the content, to the irreplaceable book list, to the activities and digging deep. My kids have already enjoyed the activities. This book has been a blessing to my home. I have learned a lot and have been exposed to many beautiful books I had no idea existed and we love books in my house. I love how Amber reminds us the literary history of black culture and how it has always been there and how much it has shaped our culture today. This book has already been a lighthouse for my home and I can see it being that for years to come. Thank you Amber for begin courageous!

Life-giving book!

Reading ‘Soul School’ is like spending the day wandering around a newly discovered book store, warm beverage in hand, with a guide who knows all the hidden gems! The author has done all the heavy lifting supplying not only the booklists, but ways to effortless dig into each story through thoughtful questions and activities as well as by outlining cultural markers and threads that we can pull on that can lead us to connections between stories. Every teacher, librarian, homeschool mama and parent, do yourself a favor and get this book! And someone please alert my spouse because I want to buy every book listed 🤣

Great Resource!

Soul School is a beautifully, well written book about the importance of Black history and why Black people should be talked about with our children. There’s so much beauty in Black culture that our eyes need to be opened to see it. Amber does a magnificent job in opening our eyes throughout her book! She curated an extensive list of beautiful books about Black culture that we should take the time to read to our children. She even divided them up by age groups! Everyone should have a copy of Soul School in their homes and should refer to it for books to read! Teach your children about Black history because it’s important and is far more than just slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.

Must have resource for your children’s home library

The book we’ve all been waiting for! If you’ve read books like Honey for a Child’s Heart or Read Aloud Revival and thought, “where are the books with black children?” this is the book for you. Whether you are raising a black child and looking for books that reflect black characters, culture, and positive, hopeful, joyful stories, or trying to give your child a window into black American culture and history to grow in understanding and appreciation of diversity, Amber has done the work for you and saved you hours and hours of research, curating book lists for different age groups, and giving you great questions to guide discussions with your child. There are also further recommendations to dig deeper if there’s a particular book your child loves! I know I will refer back to this over and over again in the years to come. It will have a treasured space in my home library.

You need this book!

This book is a rare gem! I am always on the look out for resources to share with my kids that teach them important messages with positive representation of their culture and heritage. This book has it all, from picture books to chapter books, books about simply living and having joy while Black to rich history and information about Black culture that you don’t get to see in the history books. I love it. Trust me. This book is about Black culture and history, but this book is informative for all people. If you want fresh resources that tell about the Black experience over time, that shares a larger picture and not one simply told from a dark and depressing place, you will find something in this book that is for you. Black culture and Black history is more than slavery and oppression. Thank you Amber for writing this book.

Thoughtful, concise, helpful - this book is a gem!

If you are a parent, educator, or in any way interact with the young people of today - get yourself a copy of this book! In a thorough, honest, concise, and conversational way, Johnston has crafted a resource that makes thoughtful book purchases and library trips as simple as possible. As a white parent raising white children, resources such as Soul School are immensely helpful to me in prioritizing culturally diverse and relevant texts that children will actually enjoy. I especially appreciate Johnston's brief descriptions of each book and "second helpings" for additional study, as well as the different indices included. I had the immense honor of being given a copy of this book for review and it did not disappoint. I have already procured copies of books recommended within Soul School and look forward to continuing to use this resource as my children grow. It is truly evident that the author has poured so much of her own soul into this book and I'm so grateful for her gifting herself to us in this way.