CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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James: Retellings & Reimaginings and 19th-Century Black Experiences

Compiled by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

This booklist was developed by the CCBC librarians to complement the 2025-2026 Go Big Read selection, James by Percival Everett, a novel that retells the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man who journeys with Huckleberry Finn. To complement the dual thematic components of James—the retelling of a familiar story and the perspectives on racial identity—the booklist below provides two avenues for exploring similar themes in books for older children and teens.

Retellings & Reimaginings (Fiction)

Lovely War
by Berry, Julie
Penguin Random House/Viking, 2019. 468 pages. Age 14 and older

Star-Crossed
by Dee, Barbara
Aladdin, 2017. 277 pages. Ages 9-12

Stepsister
by Donnelly, Jennifer
Scholastic Press, 2019. 342 pages. Age 12 and older

Made Glorious
by Eagar, Lindsay
Candlewick, 2024. 388 pages. Age 14 and older

Dateline: Troy
by Fleischman, Paul
Illustrated by Gwen Frankfeldt and Glen Morrow. Candlewick, 2006. 79 pages. Age 11 and older

Twelfth Knight
by Follmuth, Alexene Farol
Macmillan/Tor Teen, 2024. 320 pages. Age 12 and older

Eagle Drums
by Hopson, Nasugraq Rainey
Roaring Brook, 2023. 245 pages. Ages 10-13

Voices of the Trojan War
by Hovey, Kate
Illustrated by Leonid Gore. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. 117 pages. Age 13 and older

Adventures of Mary Jane
by Jahren, Hope
Delacorte/Random House, 2024. 441 pages. Age 11 and older

Spindle
by Johnston, E. K.
Hyperion, 2016. 355 pages. Age 13 and older

More to the Story
by Khan, Hena
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster, 2019. 262 pages. Ages 8-12

Enter the Body
by McCullough, Joy
Dutton, 2023. 318 pages. Age 14 and older

Far, Far Away
by McNeal, Tom
Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. 371 pages. Age 14 and older

And the Ocean Was Our Sky
by Ness, Patrick
Illustrated by Rovina Cai. HarperTeen, 2018. 158 pages. Age 13 and older

Bone Gap
by Ruby, Laura
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2015. 345 pages. Age 14 and older

A Wish in the Dark
by Soontornvat, Christina
Candlewick, 2020. 375 pages. Ages 9-12

Breadcrumbs
by Ursu, Anne
HarperCollins/Walden Pond, 2011. 312 pages. Ages 9-12

Greymist Fair
by Zappia, Francesca
Illustrated by Julia Iredale. Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2023. 314 pages. Age 12 and older

Pride
by Zoboi, Ibi
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2018. 289 pages. Age 12 and older

Perspectives on 19th Century Black Experience (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Crossing Ebenezer Creek
by Bolden, Tonya
Bloomsbury, 2017. 230 pages. Age 11 and older

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life
by Bryan, Ashley
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2016. 56 pages. Age 9 and older

Seeking Freedom: The Untold Story of Fortress Monroe and the Ending of Slavery in America
by Castrovilla, Selene
Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Astra/Calkins Creek, 2022. 40 pages. Ages 7-10

Before She Was Harriet
by Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Holiday House, 2017. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

One Big Open Sky
by Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Holiday House, 2024. 296 pages. Ages 9-13

The Journey of Little Charlie
by Curtis, Christopher Paul
Scholastic, 2018. 234 pages. Age 11 and older

Ain't Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
by Nelson, Scott Reynolds and Marc Aronson
National Geographic, 2008. 64 pages. Age 11 and older

The Bell Rang
by Ransome, James E.
Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2019. 32 pages. Ages 7-10

Will's Race for Home: A Western
by Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Little, Brown, 2025. 196 pages. 8-12

Freedom in Congo Square
by Weatherford, Carole Boston
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Little Bee, 2016. 32 pages. Age 6 and older

Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Weatherford, Carole Boston
Illustrated by Michele Wood. Candlewick, 2020. 56 pages. Age 10 and older

A Sitting in St. James
by Williams-Garcia, Rita
HarperCollins/Quill Tree, 2021. 460 pages. Age 16 and older

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.