As a parent, it can be difficult to know where to begin when tackling an important subject, like racism, with your kids. One way is to take the lead from a good book to get the conversation started.
Antiracist Baby
This book introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. This board book provides the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age.
Age Range: 3 months – 3 years
A Is For Activist
An ABC board book for families that want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and so on. The author originally wrote the book for his son, out of a perceived need for a “pro-activist, pro-social justice, pro-gay, pro-labor, pro-diversity, pro-gressive ABC book.”
Age Range: 3-5 years
We Say NO!: A Child’s Guide to Resistance
A follow-up to the bestselling A Rule Is To Break: A Child’s Guide to Anarchy. The “wee rebels” form a smiling mob to resist biggies and baddies. We learn that differences and creativity make us all stronger. Together we tear down walls, celebrate truth, make new friends, and happily work to create a better world!
Age Range 3-6 years
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice
This book follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. Includes an extensive note to parents and caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues.
Age Range: 4-8 years
Let’s Talk About Race
I am a story. So are you. So is everyone. Author Julius Lester says, “I write because our lives are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details.” Now Mr. Lester shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. Karen Barbour’s dramatic, vibrant paintings speak to the heart of Lester’s unique vision, truly a celebration of all of us.
Age Range: 4-8 years
I Didn’t Stand Up
A picture book inspired by the iconic poem “First They Came for the Socialists” written by Pastor Martin Niem ller in opposition to the oppression from the Nazi regime, this book looks at common circumstances of oppression that children encounter through the eyes of the bystander—until he or she becomes a victim.
Age Range: 6-9 years
Let the Children March
In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.
Age Range: 6-9 years
Can I Touch Your Hair?
Two poets, one white and one black, explore race and childhood in this must-have collection tailored to provoke thought and conversation. Using the fictional setup of two 5th-graders who have to work together on their poetry project together, the authors delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners.
Age Range: 8-12 years
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness
A white child sees TV news coverage of a white police officer shooting a brown person whose hands were up. The book’s narrator accompanies the child as he faces history and himself. The activities section urges kids to grow justice inside of themselves, seek out and listen to the truth about racism and white supremacy, and prepare to be changed, heartbroken, and liberated by this experience.
Age Range: 8-12 years
Ghost Boys
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
Age Range 9-14
The Hate U Give
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
Ages: 13+
Dear Martin
Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it’s Justyce who is under attack.
Ages: 14+
