“Are you ready for a journey through space and time with some of the coolest Black characters in middle grade science fiction? Buckle up, grab your favorite snack, and get ready to blast off with these 15 must-read novels! From parallel worlds and time-traveling devices, to saving cities and galaxies, these books will take you on an epic adventure you won’t forget. But watch out, you might just end up wanting to become a space explorer or a time traveler yourself after reading these! So, without further ado, let’s get started on our journey through the stars with these 15 middle grade sci-fi novels featuring Black characters.”
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
Witchlings follows a 12-year-old witch who is sorted into a coven of unwanted spare witches with her bully and the new witch in town; they must now band together to defeat the fearsome Nightbeast or risk being turned into a trio of toads. This magical adventure about earning your full powers is perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers.
Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston
Amari and the Great Ga me by B.B. Alston
The long-awaited sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers!
Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.
Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Teny Issakhanian
Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Teny Issakhanian
From bestselling author Marjorie Liu and debut illustrator Teny Issakhanian comes the first in an epic new middle grade graphic novel series featuring a young girl who must stop a threat to her magical world – perfect for fans of Amulet.
It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit by Justin A. Reynolds
A hilarious middle-grade from Justin A. Reynolds that asks: What happens when five unsupervised kids face the apocalypse under outrageously silly circumstances?
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Soman Chainani, and Philip Pullman, The Marvellers is set in a global magic school in the sky where students from around the world come together to practice their cultural marvels. Ella Durand, the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, must overcome anti-Conjuror prejudice to track down a missing teacher and protect the school from a magical threat.
Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu
Black Panther meets Percy Jackson in this action-packed and empowering middle-grade series about a British-Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powers.
“The Jumbies” by Tracey Baptiste –
This novel is set in the Caribbean and tells the story of a young Black girl who must confront supernatural creatures known as Jumbies.
Dragons in a Bag
Book by Zetta Elliott The dragon’s out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author! When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she’s not his grandmother–but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they’ll be safe
Bloodmarked
Tracy Deonn All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new
J. Elle
NYT bestseller J. Elle makes her MG debut in the delightful story of a girl who bakes up a plan to save her inner-city magic school.
Twelve-year-old Kyana has just discovered she’s a witch! This means classes every Saturday at Park Row Magic Academy, a learning center hidden in the back of the local beauty shop, and Kyana can’t wait to learn spells to help out at home. The only downside is having to keep her magic a secret from her BFF, Nae. But when the magic school loses funding, the students must pay huge fees at the fancy school across town or lose their magic! Determined to help, Kyana enters a baking contest with a big cash prize. Will she be able to keep up her grades while preparing for the competition and without revealing her magic? What about when a taste of magic works its way into her cupcakes?
Exciting up-and-coming author J. Elle combines the perfect balance of real-world issues and magical mishaps to create real magic.
Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting
Roseanne A. Brown
For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it’s a matter of life and death. That’s because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.
Fibbed
A magical middle-grade graphic novel about a girl who doesn’t lie but no one believes, and who winds up tangled in the web of a trickster spider of Ghanaian lore, Ananse.
Everyone says that the wild stories Nana tells are big fibs. But she always tells the truth, as ridiculous as it sounds to hear about the troupe of circus squirrels stealing her teacher’s toupee. When another outlandish explanation lands her in hot water again, her parents announce that Nana will be spending the summer with her grandmother in Ghana.
She isn’t happy to be missing the summer camp she’s looked forward to all year, or to be living with family that she barely knows, in a country where she can’t really speak the native language. But all her worries get a whole lot bigger—literally—when she comes face-to-face with Ananse, the trickster spider of legend.
Nana soon discovers that the forest around the village is a place of magic watched over by Ananse. But a group of greedy contractors are draining the magic from the land, intent on selling the wishes for their own gain. Nana must join forces with her cousin Tiwaa, new friend Akwesi, and Ananse himself to save the magic from those who are out to steal it before the magic—and the forest—are gone for good.
Iyanu: Child of Wonder Volume 1
Soon to be an animated series from HBO Max, Cartoon Network, and Lion Forge Animation!
Part of the YouNeek YouNiverse! Extraordinary fantasy and superhero stories inspired by African history, culture, and mythology—created by the best Nigerian comics talent!
Iyanu, a teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people.
It is these abilities that are the key to bringing back an “age of wonders,” as Iyanu begins her journey to save a world on the brink of destruction! The Corrupt—cursed wildlife and strange, divine beasts—are determined to destroy humanity, unless Iyanu can stop them.
Sanity & Tallulah
It can get pretty dull living on a small, out-of-the-way station like Wilnick SS. Best Friends Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega do their best to relieve the monotony of every day space life by finding adventures, solving mysteries, and taking turns getting each other into and out of trouble. But when Sanity’s latest science project-an extremely-illegal-but-impossibly-cute three-headed kitten-escapes from the lab and starts causing havoc, the girls will have to turn the station upside down to find her-before the damage becomes irreversible!
Across a Field of Starlight: (A Graphic Novel)
An epic sci-fi graphic novel romance between two non-binary characters as they find one another through time, distance, and war. An amazing story that explores the complexity of human nature and what brings us together.
When they were kids, Fassen’s fighter spaceship crash-landed on a planet that Lu’s survey force was exploring. It was a forbidden meeting between a kid from a war-focused resistance movement and a kid whose community and planet are dedicated to peace and secrecy.
Lu and Fassen are from different worlds and separate solar systems. But their friendship keeps them in each other’s orbit as they grow up. They stay in contact in secret as their communities are increasingly threatened by the omnipresent, ever-expanding empire.
As the empire begins a new attack against Fassen’s people–and discovers Lu’s in the process–the two of them have the chance to reunite at last. They finally are able to be together…but at what cost?
This beautifully illustrated graphic novel is an epic science fiction romance between two non-binary characters as they find one another through time, distance, and war.
As always, it’s worth noting that there are many more middle-grade science fiction novels featuring Black protagonists, and this list is not exhaustive. These are just a selection of some recent titles that can be a great starting point for your search. It’s also important to support Black authors and illustrators by buying their books and giving them a platform to tell their stories and share their perspectives.