06/05/2026
📚 The Oklahoma Center for the Book is proud to announce Oklahoma's selections for the 2026 Great Reads from Great Places program at the National Book Festival:
📖 Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State by Caleb Gayle
📖 Braided Roots by Pasha Westbrook, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight
Each year, Centers for the Book across the nation select books that reflect their state's literary heritage, culture, people, and stories. These selected titles are featured through the Library of Congress Center for the Book's Great Reads from Great Places program and showcased at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., introducing readers from across the country to stories that help define each state and territory.
Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State by Caleb Gayle tells the remarkable story of Edward P. McCabe and his vision of creating a Black state in Oklahoma Territory. The book uncovers a powerful and often overlooked chapter of Oklahoma and American history.
Braided Roots, written by Pasha Westbrook and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight, is a debut picture book that connects a young girl to her family's history through the tradition of hair braiding. The story celebrates love, resilience, heritage, and the strength found in family connections.
"I am deeply honored (and thrilled!) to receive this beautiful recognition. Oklahoma is my dearly departed father’s hometown and the land where our Chickasaw and Choctaw Freedmen ancestors journeyed and dwelled. My heart flows with immense gratitude. Chokma’shki." — Pasha Westbrook
Congratulations to Pasha Westbrook, Madelyn Goodnight, and Caleb Gayle on this well-deserved honor. Through these outstanding works, readers across the nation will discover stories that reflect Oklahoma's history, heritage, and literary excellence.
