[ad_1]
Black children should have the chance to see that—as Bennett has made his mission in books like Hey A.J., It’s Bedtime! But white kids should also see that it’s possible for great stories to center around Black or Brown kids, that whiteness isn’t the only story worth telling. All kids should understand that and believe in its possibility, not as the subject of a lecture, but as the core of vibrant, joyful stories.
I’m trying to keep a running list of such books as I find them, of good stories with diverse characters—like Ezra Jack Keats’ classic The Snowy Day—not books lecturing little kids on the importance of diversity. (If you want the latter, you are no doubt enthusiastic about A is for Activist. I am not.) I know there are lots more to be found, and I hope you’ll find them. I hope I will, too.
Here are some, geared to my own preschooler’s age:
How to Find a Fox, by Nilah Magruder
Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala, by Meenal Patel
Harlem Grown, by Tony Hillery, illustrated by Jessie Hartland
Rocket Says Look Up! by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola
The Airport Book, by Lisa Brown
Leo Can Swim, by Anna McQuinn
More, mostly from a previous post on this subject:
Red is a Dragon, by Roseanne Thong
What Should I Make, by Nandini Nayar
Lola Plants a Garden, by Anna McQuinn
Julián is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love
Please Baby Please, by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Everywhere Babies, by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee
All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
Because, by Mo Willems, illustrated by Amber Ren
Books for older kids:
The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Dactyl Hill Squad, Freedom Fire, and Thunder Run, by Daniel José Older
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
[ad_2]
Source link
