Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood is a children’s short story collection edited by #1 New York Times best-selling author, Kwame Mbalia, and was first published by Delacorte Press on 3 August 2021.
The collection of stories covers the real life joys and experiences of seventeen black male authors, including: B. B. Alston, Dean Atta, P. Djèlí Clark, Jay Coles, Jerry Craft, Lamar Giles, Don P. Hooper, George M. Johnson, Varian Johnson, Kwame Mbalia, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Tochi Onyebuchi, Julian Randall, Jason Reynolds, Justin Reynolds, DaVaun Sanders, and Julian Winters. Throughout the books, many themes relevant to young impressionable black children come to the forefront, including that of gender identity and the types of friendships formed throughout one’s life.
The book was highly praised, with Publishers Weekly calling it “an exuberant celebration of carefree Black experiences; while it will especially resonate with Black readers, any reader will appreciate how this genre-bending collection expands the horizons of what joy for Black boys can be.” Kirkus Reviews also called it “ A unique, timely, and necessary read.”
