Anti-Racism Reading List for Kids and Grown-Ups!
We are sharing books that have been recommended by some of our favorite Instagram accounts that curate lists of books on race, diversity and inclusion.
The social accounts we love and follow for booklists and resources for educating our children are as follows: (Donate, Join their Patreon and follow)
Buy Black: Support Black-owned indie bookstores
- Black Pearl Bookstore in Austin, TX
- Semicolon Bookstore in Chicago, IL
- Mahogany Books in Washington DC
- Ashay By The Bay in Vallejo, CA
- The Lit Bar in Bronx, NY
- AfriWare Books in Maywood, IL
We have broken them down by age group and included ways you can use the books as tools to discuss race with your children based on where they are developmentally.
The List:
- Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
- Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee
- Full, Full, Full of Love by Trish Cooke
- Peekaboo Morning and Peekaboo Bedtime by Rachel Isadora
The Why & How:
- Expose babies and toddlers to a diverse environment and diverse characters in their books and toys
- Talk about people’s differences and how they make them special. “Everyone is special, and one of the things that makes him special is that he speaks two languages.”
The List:
- Sesame Street’s We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Jane Kates
- Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers
- The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Cole
The Why & How:
- You don’t need to wait for them to bring up differences first! While playing with toys, you can say, “This one is wearing shoes, but that one isn’t. This one has dark skin, but that one doesn’t.”
- As kiddos become vocal, it’s normal for them to spontaneously (and publicly!) point out differences. Don’t hush them or ignore it, but rather stay calm and positive. “Yes, her skin is brown. It’s not the same as yours, but it’s a beautiful color, too.”
The List:
- Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
- Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
The Why & How:
- It’s common at this age for children to assign positive traits to people who look like them and negative traits to people who look different. You might hear, “His skin is dirty.” Calmly refute this by saying, “His skin isn’t dirty, it’s just not like yours. People have lots of different skin colors.”
- Highlight the accomplishments and important contributions made by people of color to combat negative stereotypes they may start to absorb.
These lists are far from exhaustive. FIND MORE DIVERSE AND ANTIRACIST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN HERE, HERE, and HERE. Tips for talking to your children about race found HERE.
The List:
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
As an organization, it is our responsibility to stand up and speak truth to what we believe.
We believe that:
- Love is stronger than hate.
- Hate is taught and we will have no part in that teaching.
- Racism exists.
- Black lives matter.
To the Black members of our community who are hurting right now – we see you, we hear you, and we will continue to learn, listen and take action to make the world a better place for your children.
