It was the purpose of this study to identify and to describe black developmental tasks as treated in 10 randomly-selected black junior novels and to measure the extent to which they were present in the novels. Nineteen judges rated books appearing on the judges' list of 32 black junior novels, published during the period 1962-72. From these ratings, a sample of high-realistic and low-realistic novels was formed. Black cultural references were identified in the novels through the use of the Cultural Thematic Model, designed for the study. Findings indicated that when the Cultural Thematic Model was applied to the selected black junior novels, it was possible for concepts relating to personalities and life styles of the young black adolescent to be identified; use of the Cultural Thematic Model tended not to result in the same realistic ratings of the novels by the judges; and when the data collected from high-realistic novels were analyzed, there were greater numbers of references to achievement of individuality, the social milieu, and group-peer relationships than to relationships in the family, social values and ethnic understandings, and world view and social change. The implications of the findings are examined at length. (Author/RB)