If you're looking for titles for your own reading, scroll down to the next section!
Research and experience teaches us the importance of children meeting all different kinds of people through books. It's a great place to learn more about cultures, perspectives, and experiences that are different than our own and cultivate empathy. It's also a great way to help our children see their own experiences represented in books!
Reading with our children can also give us a way to have important conversations about the world. Sometimes having conversations surrounding topics such as equity, bias, and racial injustice can be difficult because we don't always know where to begin. Books can be valuable tools to help us have these conversations.
According to psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum, we should start talking about topics such as race and racism when children are toddlers because they are building their understanding about race from birth. For more on this topic, check out the podcast from Silence is Not an Option on Raising an Antiracist Generation.
Here are a few recommendations for sparking conversations not just about race, but all the different experiences and perspectives that expand our understanding of the world. Please note that many of these have "read-aloud" versions by teachers and/or authors (not associated with BHPRSD) on YouTube. Just like you would while reading, you can pause the videos to ask questions, have children notice, etc. We've linked some below, but you can always check to see if a title you're interested in has a read-aloud available on YouTube.
Recommended for Baby-3
description condensed from Penguin Random House:
This New York Times Bestseller from the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning outlines nine (9) easy steps for building a more equitable world. This text introduced our youngest readers (and the grown-ups in their lives!) to the concept and power of antiracism, providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age.
Kendrick Sampson Reads "Antiracist Baby" on Bookmarks from Netflix Jr . The Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices series on Netflix Jr. features the reading of many great texts in addition to this one. Here's a playlist that includes all the of the read-alouds.
Recommended for ages 3-5
Fry bread is food.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.
Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.
Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.
Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.
Recommended for ages 3-7
"Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it—Yoon-Hey."
Recommended for ages 4-8
I am Yoga, I am Peace, I am Human, I am Love, and I am One is a 5 book series that focus on mindfulness, compassion, action, and empathy in ways that are both practical and friendly for elementary aged children.
Here's a youtube read aloud of I am Yoga
Here's a youtube read aloud of I am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness
Recommended for ages 4-8
"In this full, bright, and beautiful picture book, many different perspectives around the world are deftly and empathetically explored—from a pair of bird-watchers to the pigeons they’re feeding. Young readers will be drawn into the luminous illustrations inviting them to engage with the world in a new way and see how everyone is connected, and that everyone matter "
Enjoy this author read-aloud from Christian Robinson's home studio.
Recommended for ages 4-8
Rooted in the idea that we're all a story, and some of those stories are true and some aren't, this children's book provides an opportunity to talk about what race is and why we are who we are.
Common Reads "Let's Talk About Race" on Bookmarks from Netflix Jr . The Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices series on Netflix Jr. features the reading of many great texts in addition to this one. Here's a playlist that includes all the of the read-alouds.
Recommended for ages 4-8
"Feeling different, especially as a kid, can be tough. But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful.
In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges--and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask."
Recommended for ages 4-8 by Beverly Daniel Tatum, psychologist and author.
This book explores how two children and their families, one white and one black, respond to questions and process a news report of a shooting of a black man by a police officer.
Here's a YouTube Read Aloud version that you can use if you don't have the book. You can just as easily stop the video and ask questions while you're listening.
Recommended for ages 5+
This is a great series of books to aid important but sometimes difficult conversations with our children. We're sharing a selection of titles here, but head over to the website to see all the topics that are available.
A Kids Book about Disabilities by Kristine Napper
A Kids Book about Gender by Dale Mueller
A Kids Book about Empathy by Daron K. Roberts, teacher read-aloud available
A Kids Book about Failure by Dr. Laymon Hicks, teacher read-aloud available
A Kids Book about Racism by Jelani Memory; author read-aloud available
Check out A Kids Book About on YouTube to see when they release more read-alouds.
Recommended for ages 5-7
"Learning to understand and care about the feelings of others is one of the most important steps in a child’s development―and it’s never too early to help little ones build those skills. This beautifully illustrated storybook teaches young kids how to recognize and practice empathy through simple real-life scenarios that are easy for them to understand. It’s written with clear language for adults to read aloud and features discussion questions and activities that encourage kids to talk about what they learned and use it in their lives."
Recommended for 5-8 years
from Goodreads.com
There will be times when you walk into a room
and no one there is quite like you.
There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.
Hear author Jacqueline Woodson read The Day You Begin as part of the Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices series on Netflix, Jr. Here's a playlist that includes all the of the read-alouds.
Recommended for 6-8 years (elementary school age) by the Tutu Teacher
Books that give a different perspective:
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña (Author) and Christian Robinson (Illustrator); author read-aloud available
Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
Meesha Makes Friends by Tom Percival
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith; teacher read-aloud available
Boys Dance! by John Robert Allman (Author) and Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)
Books about different cultures:
All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle (Author), Mike Curato (Illustrator); teacher read-aloud available
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and El Ballet Folklórico de México by Duncan Tonatiuh; teacher read-aloud available
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell by Frané Lessac
Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal (Author), Suristha Sehgal (Author), and Vashti Harrison (Illustrator); teacher read-aloud available
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan (Authors) and Mehrdokht Amini (Illustrator)
Books about taking action:
Sometimes People March by Tessa Allen
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty (Author) and David Roberts (Illustrator); author read-aloud available
Kamala and Maya's Big Idea by Meena Harris (Author) and Ana González (Illustrator)
One Girl by Andrea Beaty (Author) and Dow Phumiruk
Intersection Allies: We Make Room for All by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, Carolyn Choi, Ashley Seil Smith (Illustrator)
Awesomely Emma: A Charley and Emma Story by Amy Webb (Author) and Merrilee Liddiard (Illustrator)
Books that celebrate voices:
All Because You Matter by Tami Charles (Author) and Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
I am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes (Author) and Gordon C. James (Illustrator), YouTube read-aloud available
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho (Author) and Dung Ho (Illustrator)
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (Author) and Luisa Uribe (Illustrator); read-aloud available; check out this YouTube video by author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow pronounces the names from the book
Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy (Author) and Ekua Holmes (Illustrator)
Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff and Luciano Lozano
Check out the Tutu Teacher via her website or on social media for more book recommendations!
Recommended for ages 11+
A great action-based guide to use with teens or yourself on your anti-racist journey. Jewell centers the activities around knowing ourselves and our identities first, beginning with self-reflection before taking the work beyond ourselves.
Recommended for ages 12 & up
Recommended for Young Adults
from Goodreads.com: Stamped traces the history of racism and the many political, literary, and philosophical narratives that have been used to justify slavery, oppression, and genocide. Framed through the ideologies and thoughts of segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists throughout history, the book demonstrates that the “construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, whether financially or politically,” and that this power has been used to systemically and systematically oppress Black people in the United States for more than four hundred years.
Recommended for 12 & up
"Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live."
Recommended for ages 13+ by Tara Wood
The March series is a wonderful graphic-novel telling of John Lewis's life and participation in the Civil Rights Movement. Learning about the pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement through this graphic memoir is powerful and moving because you're getting personal experiences, visuals, and a strong narrative centered around John Lewis's lived experiences. It is the Civil Rights Movement and John Lewis as contemporary story and art, making it accessible to a whole new generation.
Recommended for 14 years & up
From Goodreads.com:
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.
But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new...the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel's disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself--or worse.
Recommended for 14 years & up
"A Stonewall Honor Book
From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle....
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself."
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideals in America by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to be by Cornelius Minor
Multiplication is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit