In honor of Black History Month, we are highlighting collections of books for children and adults that celebrate and support Black identity, beauty, and achievement for raising young children.
Children are little human sponges, absorbing information subconsciously that shape future preferences. Research shows that the lack of exposure to racial diversity can negatively influence racial preference in children as young as infants. Conversely, by familiarizing our youngest learners with racial diversity through books (and other things), we provide opportunities for positive belief formation around race and identity.
All of the amazing titles below are available through the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Resource Library, a branch of the St. Paul Public Library.
Children’s titles
Parker looks up (Age Focus: 2 – 7 Years)
When Parker Curry came face-to-face with Amy Sherald’s transcendent portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery, she didn’t just see the First Lady of the United States. She saw a queen—one with dynamic self-assurance, regality, beauty, and truth who captured this young girl’s imagination. When a nearby museum-goer snapped a photo of a mesmerized Parker, it became an internet sensation. Inspired by this visit, Parker, and her mother, Jessica Curry, tell the story of a young girl and her family, whose trip to a museum becomes an extraordinary moment, in a moving picture book. From the publisher
The me I choose to be (Age Focus: 4 – 7 Years)
Shelf Awareness Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book Pick
Imagination, ingenuity and passion combine on the pages of this inspiring tribute to children of color….The models’ expressions are natural and authentic, including spirited, open-mouth laughs, mischievous grins and thoughtful countenances. These raw portrayals not only exude beauty and confidence, they also invite the audience to linger on the pages and absorb all the fine details present: hair adornments, fabric prints, backgrounds. The focus is always sharp, reinforcing the clarity of each child’s individual charm.
Taken individually, the photographs and text are exceptional. Blended together, they create a book of outstanding aspiration and inspiration. Young children of color should revel in the beauty of the subjects that bear resemblance to them… From Shelf Awareness review
Something, someday (Age Focus: 4 – 8 Years)
Kirkus Starred Review
School Library Journal Starred Review
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
In this collaboration from National Youth Poet Laureate Gorman and Caldecott Medalist Robinson, a small child finds a way to make a big impact on the community.
The Black youngster notices something wrong but is told it is “not a problem,” that it “cannot be fixed,” and that it is “too big for you.” But the child is determined to try. Writing in second person, Gorman immerses readers in the experience, assuring them that they are not alone in their longings for a better world. The powerfully spare lines of text convey the concerns that can occupy the mind of a thoughtful person in a society full of problems and complacency. Robinson’s signature simple, child-friendly collage art brings the text into concrete detail as the protagonist notices an oversized trash heap on the sidewalk and begins to work at cleaning it up. With help from diverse friends who are eager to make a difference, too, the child replaces the trash with a raised bed garden, which disappoints with withered seedlings before ultimately blooming into “something that work[s],” something to be proud of. From Kirkus review
Jayden’s impossible garden (Age Focus: 4 – 9 Years)
Booklist Starred Review
Jayden loves nature; however, there aren’t many places to explore near his apartment in the city, a fact of which his mother often reminds him. But that doesn’t stop the boy from observing the urban birds and squirrels and collecting acorns. One day, Jayden bonds with his wheelchair-using neighbor, Mr. Curtis, who loves nature as much as Jayden does, and they begin transforming part of the apartment building’s lawn into a garden. Mr. Curtis shows Jayden how to reuse materials, like empty coffee cans and milk cartons, as planters, and soon the entire neighborhood is abuzz with butterflies and hummingbirds visiting the garden. Daley’s soft pastel illustrations utilize vibrance and interesting perspectives to show the varied life that finds its way into cities, as well as a sweet intergenerational friendship…Kids will fall in love with the idea that they can build a garden wherever they reside, and they’ll get assistance from the book’s back matter, which provides instructions for making recycled garden crafts, such as a birdfeeder. From Booklist review
The book itch: Freedom, truth, and Harlem’s greatest bookstore (Age focus: 7 – 10 Years)
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
ALA Notable Children’s Book
CCBC Best Children’s Book of the Year
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
Kirkus Best Children’s Books
NCTE Notable
In the 1930s, Lewis’s dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed to scratch―a book itch. How to scratch it? He started a bookstore in Harlem and named it the National Memorial African Bookstore.
And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father’s bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people―Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. In his father’s bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other. People swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. They came together here all because of his father’s book itch. Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in. From the publisher
Adult titles & teacher resources
I like myself: Fostering positive racial identity in young Black children
I Like Myself uses the latest research into positive identity formation to provide practical solutions for educators. It links together lesson planning insights, academic activities, and children’s book recommendations that are designed to facilitate positive racial identity in Black children, covering topics including hair texture, skin tone, language, self-esteem, and media representation. Supplementing and complementing any curriculum, this critical resource provides information across social-emotional, academic, and fine arts domains that stay faithful to curricular goals while specifically targeting the racial identity needs of Black preschoolers. Targeting the Black identity specifically, the lessons are designed to be engaging, meaningful and effective for all students, so each child feels valued and accepted while also gaining the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful.
Featuring recommendations for over 150 children’s books to support positive identity formation in Black children and 70+ activities and ideas to pair with children’s book read-alouds. From the publisher
Celebrating Black History Month DVD
For ages 8 – 14. Learn all about why and how we celebrate Black History Month. Who was Carter G. Woodson? How was his research and documentation of Black history beyond their enslavement in the United States important to Black people then and now? Why did history books, newspapers, newsreels and movies historically record and present only negative stereotypes of Blacks, if any representation at all? How did celebrating Black history inspire recent great Black achievers like Barack Obama, Thurgood Marshall, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson? The answers to all these questions and more are covered in depth with detailed graphics, diagrams and exciting video that reinforce important concepts. From the publisher
Stories of resistance: learning from Black women in early care and education
Stories of Resistance is a robust and meaningful collection, weaving threads of the personal, professional and political into a vibrant tapestry of becoming. Twelve leaders in early care and education come together to share authentically and proudly their vision, fortitude, passion and courage. Their stories invite you to join a circle, draw strength and inspiration, and take new action in your own work in the world. From the publisher
Bright, talented, and Black: a guide for families of Black gifted learners
Bright, Talented & Black 2.0 is the book that so many have been waiting for. The one that addresses the specific needs of high potential needs of students who are most at risk in schools across the nation. Parents, families, educators, and advocates will read and be able to use the resources provided in this book to save the dreams of countless Black gifted students and others who have been overlooked and marginalized while improving the outcomes for humanity as a whole. From the publisher
Raising Confident Black Kids includes everything Black and multi-racial families need to know to raise empowered, confident children.
It’s hard to balance protecting your child’s innocence with preparing them for the realities of Black life. When—and how—do you approach racism with your children? How do you protect their physical and mental health while also preparing them for a country full of systemic racism?
Now, there’s a guide to help you teach your kids how to thrive—even when it feels like the world is against them. From racial profiling and police encounters to the whitewashed lessons of history taught in schools, raising Black kids is no easy feat. In Raising Confident Black Kids, teacher M.J. Fievre passes on the tips and guidance that have helped her educate her Black students, including:
- How to encourage creativity and build self-confidence in your kids
- Ways to engage in activism and help build a safer community with and for your children—and ways to rest when you need to
- How to explain systemic racism, intersectionality, and micro-aggressions
From the publisher
Teaching to transgress: education as the practice of freedom
In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks–writer, teacher, and insurgent black intellectual–writes about a new kind of education, education as the practice of freedom. Teaching students to “transgress” against racial, sexual, and class boundaries in order to achieve the gift of freedom is, for hooks, the teacher’s most important goal.
bell hooks speaks to the heart of education today: how can we rethink teaching practices in the age of multiculturalism? What do we do about teachers who do not want to teach, and students who do not want to learn? How should we deal with racism and sexism in the classroom?
Full of passion and politics, Teaching to Transgress combines a practical knowledge of the classroom with a deeply felt connection to the world of emotions and feelings. This is the rare book about teachers and students that dares to raise questions about eros and rage, grief and reconciliation, and the future of teaching itself. From the publisher
By Jennie Walker Knoot