Black Panthers For Beginners by Herb Boyd illustrated by Lance Tooks

This book is the only non-fiction text I've come across devoted to illuminating a narrative about the Panthers written in a manner that speaks to the young people I serve.  (If you’re reading this and you’re aware of others, please speak up in the comments!)  Interestingly structured as narrative history through the Panthers’ Ten Point Program, readers may find it helpful to create their own timelines as they read through the story Boyd weaves.  Helpful backmatter includes “The Panther Pantheon,” an illustrated who’s who of the most famous Panthers; a short list of political prisoners with mailing addresses; an illustrated version of the Black Panther Party Program and Platform; a short timeline; a bibliography; and an index. Some readers may view the text as  inflammatory where others read it as honest, but school librarians will be hard-pressed to find this essential history documented in a volume this accessible to teen readers.  —Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Boyd, Herb.  Black Panthers for Beginners.  Danbury: For Beginners, 2015.  Print.