Here are 100 books that A Kids Book About Racism fans have personally recommended if you like
A Kids Book About Racism.
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There is something so magical about creating art and bringing an idea to life. As a writer and an art teacher, I love watching artists of any age find their own inspiration and joy in creating. I have used these books to launch all kinds of projects, from paintings to pottery, for every age and stage of artist. I hope you will find inspiration in these pages, too!
I love the message of this fun, 3-dimensional book: that what may seem like a mistake can actually become the best part of our art. It’s something my high school art teacher called “serendipity.” Perhaps a drip of paint can actually become a part of the painting you hadn’t even considered before.
The concept of going with the flow and solving problems instead of just reaching for a new piece of paper is such a good reminder for artists of all ages.
We all make mistakes - grown-ups and children alike. But little kids sometimes have trouble dealing with their mistakes, whether it's a piece of artwork they've torn by accident, or juice they've spilled on their favorite drawing. In this book, every page begins with a 'mistake' that ultimately unravels, lifts out, or pulls up to become a surprising work of beauty. Kids see firsthand as they go through the book that any smudge, smear or stain can lead to something absolutely marvelous - with a little imagination. Inspiring and inventive, this interactive board book teaches a valuable lesson: 'When you…
I’m a parent who along with my co-parent is raising a Black and Puerto Rican child in a world that is consumed with misunderstanding our communities of people. We seek books that speak volumes to our core, and that can expand our son’s horizons so that he understands himself as well as others.
I honestly think I enjoyed this book even more than my son, ha ha!
The richness of the illustrations are stunning, and Celia’s narrative is groundbreaking. Ultimately, it’s a wonderful story told in both Spanish and English, which has worked to connect us to two languages that are dear to our family.
This bilingual book allows young readers to enter Celia Cruz's life as she becomes a well-known singer in her homeland of Cuba, then moves to New York City and Miami where she and others create a new type of music called salsa. School Library Journal has named My Name is Celia "[a]n exuberant picture-book biography ...a brilliant introduction to a significant woman and her music."
I’m a parent who along with my co-parent is raising a Black and Puerto Rican child in a world that is consumed with misunderstanding our communities of people. We seek books that speak volumes to our core, and that can expand our son’s horizons so that he understands himself as well as others.
The third installment in the New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, featuring 100 immigrant women who have shaped, and will continue to shape, our world.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World is packed with 100 all-new bedtime stories about the lives of incredible female figures from the past and the present such as:
Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief
Carmen Miranda, Singer and Actress
Diane von Fürstenberg, Fashion Designer
Gloria Estefan, Singer
Ilhan Omar, Politician
Josephine Baker, Entertainer and Activist
Lupita Nyong'o,…
I’m a parent who along with my co-parent is raising a Black and Puerto Rican child in a world that is consumed with misunderstanding our communities of people. We seek books that speak volumes to our core, and that can expand our son’s horizons so that he understands himself as well as others.
This is an empowering narrative that reveals what gentrification is, and how a community can approach how to deal with it positively.
The illustrations by Robert Liu-Trujillo give depth and lightness to another heavy topic, particularly for Latinos in certain areas. I also love that both Spanish and English words appear in the text, just as they would in real day-to-day life.
For nine-year-old Alejandria, home isn't just the apartment she shares with Mami and her abuela, Tita, but rather the whole neighborhood. Home is the bakery where Ms. Beatrice makes yummy picos; the sidewalk where Ms. Alicia sells flowers with her little dog, Duende; and the corner store with friendly Mr. Amir.
But lately the city has been changing, and rent prices are going up. Many people in el barrio are leaving because they can no longer afford their homes, and "For Sale" signs are popping up everywhere. Then the worst thing happens: Mami receives a letter saying they'll have to…
Tenacity—that can’t quit, won’t quit attitude—isn’t always seen as a particularly good quality to have for women and girls. As a tenacious woman myself, I know from where I speak. My mother once told me no one would ever marry me because I argued too much (she was wrong). That was part of the inspiration for Amanda in Fair Game—a young woman who just won’t quit, even when she’s not sure exactly what winning looks like. Here are some of my favorite stories about women and girls refusing to give up in the face of challenging circumstances.
As a professor, I know that sometimes just getting through four years of college can be its own epic struggle, especially when you’re queer and half-Nigerian, like Sahara.
“The unfortunates” is the name Sahara and her friends use to describe the deaths of too many of their fellow Black students. As if that isn’t enough, Sahara sometimes feels like her only companion is her “Life Partner,” the name she gives to the ugly voice of her depression.
I loved the way The Unfortunates is told as an in-your-face “thesis” to Sahara’s university committee that mixes humor with high-stakes struggles. Follow along as Sahara figures out how to survive in the face of a campus and culture that is not just indifferent, but outright hostile.
An edgy, bitingly funny debut about a queer, half-Nigerian college sophomore who, enraged and exhausted by the racism at her elite college, is determined to reveal the truth about The Unfortunates—the unlucky subset of Black undergrads who Just. Keep. Disappearing.
Sahara is Not Okay. Entering her sophomore year, she already feels like a failure: her body is too much, her love life is nonexistent, she’s not Nigerian enough for her family, her grades are subpar, and, well, the few Black classmates she has are vanishing—or dying. Sahara herself is close to giving up: depression has been her longtime “Life Partner."…
I love increasing the diversity seen on our family’s bookshelves but also on the TBR (to-be-read) piles of relatives, babysitters, educators—everyone who might come across my little list of five books. I’m a very visual person, which is why picture books have always been my thing, even back in college when my roommate and I used to spend our study breaks in the children’s area of the public library reading stacks and stacks of picture books. It’s only natural, then, that my list should mix books written and illustrated by people of color* with my love for picture books. *with the exception of Mary Jo Udry and Eleanor Mill
I discovered a tattered book in my mom’s basement that had the sweetest illustrations—little did I know there were 3 books by the same author/illustrator pair. Since finding the book in the basement, I have found all three books: What Mary Jo Wanted is all about Mary Jo’s obsession with dogs and her campaign to convince her parents she should get a dog. The illustrations of this sweet child with the baby-doll dresses are wonderful; What Mary Jo Shared is about a girl determined to find just the right thing to show at show-and-tell. It was reprinted with new artwork some time ago, but we prefer the original. Mary Jo and her Grandmother has a different tone—about Mary Jo’s first overnight at her grandmother’s house and what happens when her grandmother falls and hurts her ankle.
Based on which one we read most often, it’s clear that What Mary Jo…
I’m passionate about young adult sapphic romance books because this is something I wished I would have read in high school. If I had novels similar to these when I was growing up I might have realized that I identify as queer sooner and it could have helped me understand more about myself. Because of this, I’ve been an avid reader, and writer, of sapphic young adult romances. If it’s sapphic, send it my way. I hope you enjoy these sapphic novels as much as I have!
I flew through The Lesiana’s Guide to Catholic School book.
It was set, as the title suggests at a Catholic School. There were a lot of themes that I really related to, such as growing up in a religious family and being scared to reveal yourself true identity to your family and friends. I thought the family dynamics were very realistic, as were the characters.
No one knows Yami is gay, least of all her mum, and Yami intends to keep it that way . . . Until, uh oh, she's falling in love again.
Yami prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, rich Catholic school - or for being gay. So after being outed by her ex-best friend, before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami decides to lie low, make her mum proud and definitely NOT fall in love. The thing is, it's hard to fake being straight when Bo,…
I wrote my first novel in a quest to create a story about a girl who loves girls surviving a violent, repressive world. Reading novels pertinent to the life I’ve lived was both affirming and life-saving. After graduate school, I developed a class at UC Berkeley where I focused on novels written by and about women of color, knowing compelling stories gave the students a chance to live in someone else’s universe. I still believe books can change hearts and minds, and reading them propels me to continue seeking well-told stories by authors—particularly writers of color—who have the courage to put their words on the page.
This compelling and beautifully written story begins in 1968 during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria, creating a unique setting of hardship, hunger, and death afflicting the people living in the area. Ijeoma, the 11-year-old protagonist, is sent away after a life-changing event and lives in a squalid hut when a young girl from another tribe comes to stay. Despite the difficulties surrounding them, the girls fall in love and the intensity of their desire continues as they grow. I enjoyed how Okparanta writes of the naturalness of this first love and how they cared for each other. Though the girls are separated, they reunite, but face religious repression from their community, which uses the Bible against them. The girls move on with their lives and Ijeoma finds another love, but this too, suffers from cultural and religious constraints. According to Okparanta (who lives in NY), Nigeria is a very…
"Okparanta is major new voice not only because of her mesmerizing storytelling, but for her bravery and originality. She is a truth teller and soothsayer... Under the Udala Trees is breathtaking, rich with history and heart" - Tayari Jones
One day in 1968, at the height of the Biafran civil war, Ijeoma's father is killed and her world is transformed forever. Separated from her grief-stricken mother, she meets another young lost girl, Amina, and the two become inseparable. Theirs is a relationship that will shake the foundations of Ijeoma's faith, test her resolve and flood her heart.
I am a gay, neurodivergent, Mexican American, who grew up in a poor family riddled with domestic violence, in a small mid-western town. I’ve always been proud of my identities, but I’ve been particularly fascinated by their intersections. For example, a white gay man will face certain prejudices and discrimination, but a gay man of color, or a neurodivergent gay man, will have compounded challenges . . . and distinct joys . . . resulting from their combination. One of my writing goals is to include intersectional characters in all of my stories. When I read a wonderful, similar story, I like to herald the accomplishment.
I love everything about this book: the writing, the story, and the characters.
The audiobook narrator, Donald Corren, is phenomenal; it’s hard to believe that one person can voice so many varied characters. There is terrific queer and gender representation. There are many fascinating examples of Jewish customs and folklore that add to the rich storytelling that is at times historical, and other times fantastical. Brilliant!
In publishing-speak, here's what we at the LQ office sometimes describe as the Queer lovechild of Sholem Aleichem and Philip Roth:
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying Talmud together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn the young people from their village to America. And suddenly a murder forces the study partners to follow them.
At age thirteen, sprawled on our shag-carpeted living room floor, I watched Poltergeist’s scariest scenes reflected in the glass doors of an old-school encyclopedia case. The blur made the film less scary—and aftewards, I noticed two smaller books leaned against Volumes 15-16: Italy to Lord. Reading Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time back-to-back that night rattled me harder than seeing Carol Anne sucked into the netherworld. I woke up with my worldview rearranged, and I hope you’ll find these books every bit as pleasantly unsettling.
Sometimes I want to sink into the Sunken Place, and this collection of scary stories by authors ranging from sci-fi icon NK Jemisin to writer-illustrator Ezra Clayton Daniels does the trick.
Here’s the thing about short story collections: you’ll love at least one, right? Especially when the book’s edited by someone like quirky genius Jordan Peele, of Get Out, Us, Nope, and Key & Peele fame.
Without giving any spoilers, I’ll say this book’s got cops, creeps, and cousins, human and (utterly) inhuman monsters.
Jordan Peele, the visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us and Nope, curates this anthology of brand new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but also the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our world.
'A glorious showcase of Black American horror' - Guardian
Featuring an introduction by Jordan Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a masterclass in horror, and - like his spine-chilling films - its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world, and…
