Serious scholarship on African American children's and young adult literature is a relatively recent phenomenon. To date, only a handful of book-length works—aside from doctoral dissertations—have been devoted to the exploration of this body of work and the historical works that are at its foundation. Embracing, Evaluating, and Examining African American Children's and Young Adult Literature features 12 original essays that present research related to African American children's literature—books intended for youth that are written by and about African Americans—conducted by scholars from leading academic institutions.

Editors Wanda M. Brooks and Jonda C. McNair offer a bouquet of diverse perspectives on African American children's and young adult literature, focusing attention on texts, on readers, and on pedagogical strategies that have the potential to bring the texts and the readers together. Beginning with a foreword by one of the leading scholars in the field of African American children's and young adult literature, Rudine Sims Bishop, the varied disciplinary perspectives put forth in this book will inspire others to embrace, evaluate, and examine African American children's and young adult literature for many years to come.