Children’s Books

The following children’s books have been mentioned on Raising Race Conscious Children. Blog posts are referenced that model how to read a particular book using race conscious practices. This section will be updated periodically to reflect new blog posts–and we invite guest bloggers to blog about reading additional books with children!

In addition, you may consider purchasing books directly from this Book List!

Children’s books that explicitly name race or show a diverse cast of characters:

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara (referenced in Activism, the police, and my three-and-a-half-year-old)

All the Colors We Are Todos Los Colores de Nuestra Piel The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color by Katie Kissinger (referenced in It’s time to make race talk more common and less awkward)

Baby Faces by Margaret Miller (referenced in Race, board books, and my 5-day-old baby)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle (referenced in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what (colors) do you see?)

Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz

Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs

Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers (references in Why I don’t normalize Whiteness with my children)

Harlem’s Little Blackbird by Renee Watson (referenced in A hard but needed conversation: New York City’s segregated schools)

It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr (referenced in How to help children feel it is “all right” to ask questions about differences)

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni (referenced in A Color of his Own: Cross-race versus same-race spaces)

Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel by Anthony Robles (reference in “Who lived here before?”: Brooklyn’s changing skyline”)

Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald No Combina Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald No Combina by Monica Brown

“More More More,” Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams (referenced in Why I talk about race when I read with my toddler)

Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila Kelly (referenced in It’s time to make race talk more common and less awkward)

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (referenced in SURJ Mother’s Day Action Toolkit and Negative stereotypes and the danger of students learning not to talk about race)

Additional children’s books that can be used to talk about various themes of diversity:

About Chris by Nina Berndadetto (referenced in Raising children who sparkle: Gender, patriarchy, and interupting shame)

And Tango Makes Three (referenced in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what (colors) do you see?)

Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza (references in Does your family’s skin match?)

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis (referenced in Raising children who sparkle: Gender, patriarchy, and interupting shame and How (and why) I introduced gender identity to my three-year-old)

Additional children’s books that can be used to name Whiteness:

Too Many Mittens by Florence and Louis Slobodkin

Books about protest:

Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (referenced in “That’s not fair!” and the concept of protest)

We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy

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