Why am I passionate about this?

Christia Spears Brown is an author, researcher, and professor of Developmental Psychology. She is also the Director of the Center for Equality and Social Justice at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. Brown began her academic career on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles. Her research focuses on how children develop gender and ethnic stereotypes, how children understand gender and ethnic discrimination, and how discrimination and stereotypes affect children and teens’ lives. As part of her research on discrimination, she also examines the perpetration and acceptance of sexual harassment and how children understand politics, public policies, and societal inequalities.


I wrote

Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and Why It's Time to Break the Cycle

By Christia Spears Brown,

Book cover of Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and Why It's Time to Break the Cycle

What is my book about?

Biases and prejudice don’t just develop as people become adults. They begin when children are young, slowly growing, and exposed…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race

Christia Spears Brown Why did I love this book?

This classic book, which has been recently updated, is a must-read for all parents or people who work with children. Tatum does an excellent job of describing how children think about race and the role race plays in their lives. She describes how racial identity develops for Black children, for White children, and for mixed-race children and clearly identifies why it is important for all children. By using lots of quotes and conversations with children and teens, this accessible read leads to “Aha!” moments in every chapter. 

By Beverly Daniel Tatum,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This well-balanced book, written in lively prose, brings new insights and a fresh perspective to this frequent query and the issue of racial identity development.. There is a moment when every child leaves color-blindness behind and enters the world of race consciousness. At that moment, there are two roads parents, educators, and therapists can take: they can follow the status quo, internalizing racial expectations, and becomeconsciously or unconsciouslypart of the problem. Or, they can question stereotypes, and, actively work against racism to become part of the solution. This book provides the tools we all need to become part of the…


Book cover of How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting--From Tots to Teens

Christia Spears Brown Why did I love this book?

Everyone wants to raise honest, generous, and kind kids, right?. And the science of parenting has a lot to say about the best ways to raise children who will care about others. Moyer, as a science journalist who focuses on parenting, draws from all of that research and boils down the best evidence-based strategies for raising compassionate, and anti-biased, kids.

By Melinda Wenner Moyer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As featured in The Guardian, How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes is a clear, actionable, sometimes humorous (but always science-based) guide for parents on how to shape their kids into honest, kind, generous, confident, independent, and resilient people . . . who just might save the world one day.

As an award-winning science journalist, Melinda Wenner Moyer was regularly asked to investigate and address all kinds of parenting questions: how to potty train, when and whether to get vaccines, and how to help kids sleep through the night. But as Melinda's children grew, she found that one huge area…


Book cover of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

Christia Spears Brown Why did I love this book?

The first step in raising anti-biased kids is checking our own biases. Eberhardt is a highly renowned social psychologist who has woven together her own personal stories with the science of implicit biases. In the wake of repeated shootings of unarmed Black men, her award-winning research is extremely timely. By relating cutting-edge research to her own experiences as a Black woman, this book feels both intellectually engaging and deeply personal.  

By Jennifer L. Eberhardt,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Biased as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Poignant....important and illuminating."-The New York Times Book Review

"Groundbreaking."-Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy

From one of the world's leading experts on unconscious racial bias come stories, science, and strategies to address one of the central controversies of our time

How do we talk about bias? How do we address racial disparities and inequities? What role do our institutions play in creating, maintaining, and magnifying those inequities? What role do we play? With a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt offers us the language and courage we…


Book cover of Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps -- And What We Can Do about It

Christia Spears Brown Why did I love this book?

This book holds a magnifying glass up to the gender differences and stereotypes we see every day. Eliot describes in easy-to-understand language the neuroscience behind gender differences and details how small differences between boys and girls at birth become amplified over the course of childhood by parents, teachers, and the culture. 

By Lise Eliot,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pink Brain, Blue Brain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An important scientific exploration of the differences between boys and girls that breaks down damaging gender stereotypes and offers practical guidance for parents and educators.

In the past decade, we've heard a lot about the innate differences between males and females. As a result, we've come to accept that boys can't focus in a classroom and girls are obsessed with relationships. That's just the way they're built.

In Pink Brain, Blue Brain, neuroscientist Lise Eliot turns that thinking on its head. Based on years of exhaustive research and her own work in the new field of plasticity, Eliot argues that…


Book cover of This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias

Christia Spears Brown Why did I love this book?

One important way to reduce bias in children is to teach them about stereotypes and prejudice. Once they learn to spot and understand stereotypes, they are better at battling them. This visually engaging book, geared towards middle schoolers, provides a great (even humorous) science-based explanation of stereotypes, discrimination, racism, sexism, ableism, and homophobia.   

By Tanya Lloyd Kyi, Drew Shannon (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 11, 12, 13, and 14.

What is this book about?

An essential overview of the science behind stereotypes: from why our brains form them to how recognizing them can help us be less biased. From the time we're babies, our brains constantly sort and label the world around us --- a skill that's crucial for our survival. But, as adolescents are all too aware, there's a tremendous downside: when we do this to groups of people it can cause great harm. Here's a comprehensive introduction to the science behind stereotypes that will help young people make sense of why we classify people, and how we can change our thinking. It…


Explore my book 😀

Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and Why It's Time to Break the Cycle

By Christia Spears Brown,

Book cover of Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and Why It's Time to Break the Cycle

What is my book about?

Biases and prejudice don’t just develop as people become adults. They begin when children are young, slowly growing, and exposed to prejudice in their classrooms, after-school activities, and, yes, even in their homes, no matter how enlightened their parents may consider themselves to be. The only way to have a more just and equitable world—not to mention more broad-minded, empathetic children—is for parents to closely examine biases beginning in childhood and how they infiltrate our kids’ lives.

Unraveling Bias uncovers what scientists have learned about how children are impacted by race, gender, immigration, and LGBTQ biases, and how we adults can help protect them from those biases. Part science, part history, part current events, and part call to arms, Unraveling Bias provides readers with the answers to vital questions.

Book cover of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race
Book cover of How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting--From Tots to Teens
Book cover of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

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Book cover of Medical Hostages

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What is my book about?

Duke, the leader of a bike gang, is in custody for murder. He plans an escape by feigning illness and hospitalization. But an unexpected turn of events results in two gang members and Duke holding a medical floor of patients hostage. Patients will die if the police don't meet their demands within hours.
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Medical Hostages

By Shawn Jennings,

What is this book about?

Duke, the leader of a bike gang, is in custody for murder. He plans an escape by feigning illness and hospitalization. But an unexpected turn of events results in two gang members and Duke holding a medical floor of patients hostage.


Patients will die if the police don't meet their demands within hours.


The drama follows Duke and Drs. Mindy Fletch, director of the Intensive Care Unit; and Craig Russell, a family medicine resident; in this tense hostage stand-off.


Will the bikers find freedom? Will hostages die? Can Mindy and Craig survive and prevent deaths?


In times of stress, people…


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