*Soul School by Amber O’Neal Johnston

Soul School is a well-researched, thoughtful, and joyful exploration of Black literature for children and teens. Highly recommended.

*Soul School: Taking Kids on a Joy-Filled Journey Through the Heart of Black American Culture. Amber O’Neal Johnston. Tarcher Perigree, 2025. 304 pages.

• Reading Level: Ages 16+/Grown-ups
• Recommended For: parents and educators

What Soul School Is

Soul School is truly a joy-filled exploration of Black American literary culture. Amber begins with a few chapters about what Black literature and culture are, why this book is needed (trust me, it is), and what she looks for in books. This last is key; if you haven’t spent much time in the world of children’s literature recently, you may not know that Black literature for kids tends to emphasize “problem novels” (i.e., drugs, racism, foster care, etc.). It’s especially hard to find fun books with Black protagonists, fantasy books with Black protagonists, or books simply featuring a slice of life with two loving parents and a few siblings who are all Black. Amber specifically tried to include these in her book recommendations alongside the more challenging titles.

In her introduction, she reminds her readers that this book isn’t just for Black families or educators. This book is for everyone. We have many excellent books-about-books on our shelves today, but most of them lack good representation in terms of ethnic and cultural diversity. Amber describes this book as a “both/AND” book: keep those excellent books on your shelves, but add in some cultural diversity to the mix (regardless of your own cultural background).

And then she offers more than 100 titles for you to explore. I have read about a quarter of the titles recommended, and they are some of my personal favorites (like One Big Open Sky, Freedom in Congo Square, and anything illustrated by Jerry Pinkney). I’m anxious to dive into the ones that are new to me.

What Soul School Does

What really sets this book apart, though, is the discussion material. For each core title, Amber offers several outstanding discussion questions. They work with readers of any cultural background, and they would make excellent classroom discussion questions or book club discussion questions. For example, with The Crossover (another Redeemed Reader favorite), she asks:

Many people expect twins to be exactly alike. Is that the case with Josh and Jordan? How are they similar? How are they different? Which one would you most want to be friends with and why?

I have identical boy twins, so I particularly appreciate this question! In her “Digging Deeper” section for the same book, she asks

Have you ever had to forgive someone you love? Have you ever hurt someone and needed to ask forgiveness? Write a letter as the forgiver or the forgiven explaining what the experience was like for you. You don’t have to mail the letter unless you want to.

Wow, talk about a deep dive! And yes, this book is also about a Black family.

Soul School book recommendations are divided by ages and include a wide mix of genres. Core titles have the discussion questions, but each title includes two similar titles—helpful if the core title isn’t readily available in your library.

Our regular readers here at Redeemed Reader know that we try hard to review books that represent God’s magnificent church in its created diversity; Revelation reminds us that every tribe and tongue will be represented. His church is not limited to any one ethnic or cultural manifestation. We are glad to count Amber as a fellow Christ-follower, and this book is a help towards reading more broadly as we seek to read about all of God’s children.

Read more about our ratings here. *indicates a starred review (the “best of the best” in its field)

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• A Review: Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt (the gold standard for our Literary Nightstand titles)
• A Resource: The Hive (select blog posts from the late Gladys Hunt that we are privileged to house here at Redeemed Reader!)
• A Resource: All of our Literary Nightstand book reviews in one place

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