Join Project Humanities for Black Children's Book Week, Feb. 22–March 1

Phoenix will host Arizona’s second annual Black Children’s Book Week from Feb. 22–March1, marking a weeklong, community-centered celebration of early literacy, storytelling and cultural affirmation through African American children’s books.

Black Children’s Book Week is a national initiative created in 2022 and is dedicated to uplifting children, families and communities through books and literacy. In Phoenix, the event celebrates childhood literacy and fosters sustained community-building around family reading, writing and belonging.

In a recent Arizona PBS interview, Foundation Professor Neal A. Lester, founding director of ASU's Project Humanities, says the event is “a celebration of literacy and stories about and by Black people … but their stories are not just about and for Black people. They’re for everybody."

Lester is the Phoenix committee co-chair of Black Children’s Book Week and Project Humanities is a co-sponsor of the event.

The 2026 celebration will feature 13 author story times, literacy vendors and family-centered activities designed to affirm identity and nurture a lifelong love of reading. Following the kickoff week, Black Children’s Book Week Phoenix will extend its impact through monthly early literacy events and workshops at local early learning centers, including author visits and community story times.

The week will culminate in a special finale partnership with the Great Arizona Puppet Theater, featuring two performances: one based on a featured local Black Children’s Book Week author and another showcasing a story written by a local child.