Children's Books discussion

I have a friend with a 4 year old son who is looking for books for him that will help foster discussions about race and racism. He was born in England (his father's home country) but they now live in German (his mother's home country) so I'm hoping to find at least some books that's aren't U.S. centric. They're all bilingual English & German.

She sent me this list she already has:

https://www.embracerace.org/resources...

and I've given her a list of books I've liked/some for older than 4, including:

The Sandwich Swap by Rania Al-Abdullah

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Islandborn by Junot Dîaz

and I'll be adding more...

I thought the people in this group would be a good source of ideas.

Thank you so much for any recommendations.

I Love Saturdays y Domingos

Dreamers

A Different Pond

King of the Sky

The Day War Came

Migrant

The Rainbow Tulip

The Chinese Violin

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Tomás and the Library Lady

I Know Here

From There to Here

I'll browse through the various Listopias for any that I remember reading and enjoying/ appreciating. This is important.

Meanwhile, check out the shelves of the Native activist Debbie Reese.

Too few writers have figured out how to address Racism, per se, for the youngest audiences, unsurprisingly. More effective keywords/ tags might be Multicultural or Diversity.

Thank you Gundula and Cheryl!!

Gundula, I can also personally recommend those first two books but will give her that entire list.

Cheryl, I have been looking at Listopias. I'll check out Debbie Reese!

There are lots of books that seek to teach children that color/ race aren't important. For example I really love B Is for Baby and everything else by Atinuke, and Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho for an example of a culture not often represented in the US, and The Old Truck which is my latest love. I could come up with lots of these. But I imagine that you, Lisa, can too, and so can this family.

Here are some more

We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist

Smoky Night

Ron's Big Mission

A Sweet Smell of Roses

Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys


I Am Not a Number

When We Were Alone

When I Was Eight

Not My Girl

Thank you, Cheryl and Gundula.

Remember that this family lives in German and this boy has lived only in German and in England. Not U.S. anyway.

This Old Truck sounds good. So many of them do. I've read some of the above and have liked them.

Thanks! Passing along all of them.

Lisa wrote: "Thank you, Cheryl and Gundula.

Remember that this family lives in German and this boy has lived only in German and in England. Not U.S. anyway.

This Old Truck sounds good. So many of them do. I'..."

I am not all that familiar with recent German picture books, but the books by Nicola Davies are British. But really, the USA civil rights stories would make sense even in Germany and in the UK.

Manybooks wrote: "I am not all that familiar with recent German picture books, but the books by Nicola Davies are British. But really, the USA civil rights stories would make sense even in Germany and in the UK.

Thank you, Gundula. I agree that most books can be universally appreciated.

Let the Children March is powerful, but probably for older children.

One respected reviewer (Betsy) shared The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage with her just-turned-four girl.

A classic for all ages that touches on 'racial differences' indirectly is How My Parents Learned to Eat

I would have loved The Great Big Book of Families when I was a child. I don't know if it addresses culture clashes or racism at all, or just celebrates what we wish the world looked like, though, as I've not read it yet.

New Shoes looks just about perfect, but it is specifically about the history of the African-American experience.

More to come as I review the Listopias!

Thank you, Cheryl!

I'm passing all these along and hoping I'm not overwhelming her with so many books. She will probably need more ideas as he grows.

Cheryl wrote: "More to come as I review the Listopias!"

:-)

Thank you!!

Lisa wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I am not all that familiar with recent German picture books, but the books by Nicola Davies are British. But really, the USA civil rights stories would make sense even in Germany ..."

I think your friend will be a ble to find a pretty decent list.

Manybooks wrote: "I think your friend will be a ble to find a pretty decent list. "

I think so too! She already had a published list of suggestions. By the time her son will get though only some of these books he'll be ready for children's novels. It's great to have choices though and parents know their kids and can select the books most likely to appeal to them that the adults will hopefully also enjoy and find educational.

I did not like (as an academic) parts of In the New World: A Family in Two Centuries, but it is a pretty interesting protrayal of a German family immigrating to the USA in the 19th century (and the original book was actually penned in German). But this would defintely be more or a book when the boy gets older, as there is a lot of text.

Manybooks wrote: "I did not like (as an academic) parts of In the New World: A Family in Two Centuries, but it is a pretty interesting protrayal of a German family immigrating to the USA in the 19th ..."

Thanks, Gundula. I'll pass it along.

Lisa wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I did not like (as an academic) parts of In the New World: A Family in Two Centuries, but it is a pretty interesting protrayal of a German family immigrating to th..."

Good, but this would definitely be for later.

Manybooks wrote: "Good, but this would definitely be for later."

Thanks. I let her know.

I'm annotating to help y'all narrow the choices. :)

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom may or may not work. For example, it is short and skims the most intense aspects of the history, maybe good for a younger child. It doesn't skim over the fact that Tubman was devout (but I'm an atheist and it didn't bother me).

Yo! Yes? shows up on all the lists that I'm looking at. Very short & simple, and universal iirc.

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin and The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore are both non-fiction. I'm not familiar with them but they look wonderful to me.

(more later)

Julius Lester has several titles, as QNPoohBear reminded me of in another thread, the one about 17th C. slavery.

Duck for Turkey Day looks wonderful for little ones. Set in America, but about a child of Vietnamese heritage.

Tree of Cranes and others by Allen Say are about feeling out-of-place, either because of external racism or internal self-consciousness.

You gave Freedom Summer five stars... ;)

I don't know if Sleep Well, Siba and Saba talks about racism, but it's certainly intriguing as it's set in Uganda, according to reviews.

Oh, I cannot forget to mention my favorite book from when I was learning to be a teacher, An Enchanted Hair Tale. It's a little longer than most picturebooks, but it's fully illustrated and easy to understand.

There's also this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... But that's probably better saved for when the child is older. The only suggestion I gleaned from scanning that is the classic The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.

Don't forget about your favorite author, Patricia Polacco.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist got five stars from me.

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag is another one going on my to-read lists. It's a picture-book, but I can't guess the actual audience.

I'm adding Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down and I see that you gave it four stars.

And then there's Woke Baby which seems potentially a bit off, but I hope to find it, and expect to love it.

And I'm done... for now.... :)

Racism for preschoolers... hmm....
Seems like a lot of titles that I've listed are non-fiction.
A lot are about the immigrant experience.
Or are historical fiction.
Or are advocacy for social justice.
All very good... but a fiction story that takes place now would be good, too.

Thank you, Cheryl. I passed all along.

I'm afraid she'll be on overwhelm, but hopefully she'll find just the right books for her son.

Fyi, I'll add more if I run across any, and hope everyone else does, too. This is a thread for all of us!

Cheryl wrote: "Fyi, I'll add more if I run across any, and hope everyone else does, too. This is a thread for all of us!"

Thanks, Cheryl.

Yes I think all these threads can help many group members.

I'm a bit late to the discussion but I'm also very interested in this topic so will follow it eagerly. I know some of them have already been mentioned here. If I think of anything new to add I will surely do so. Thanks for posting and I wish your friend and her family the best.

Cheryl wrote: "There are lots of books that seek to teach children that color/ race aren't important. For example I really love B Is for Baby and everything else by Atinuke, and [..."

I heartily second the Atinuke books. Even my four year old listened to the Anna Hibiscus chapter books and he loved the picture books, too. I don't believe they were originally published in the US (If I'm remembering correctly, Atinuke now lives in the UK). These books are incredible at addressing complicated topics in a gentle, child-friendly way. The books where Anna Hibiscus visits her (white) grandmother in Canada might especially fit what your friend is looking for. [book:Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!|9486628]

Kathryn wrote: "I heartily second the Atinuke books. Even my four year old listened to the Anna Hibiscus chapter books and he loved the picture books, too. I"

Thank you, Kathryn!

The World Needs More Purple People
I haven't read it yet but it sounds cute. It is about a “purple person” who “looks for similarities before differences”.

QNPoohBear wrote: "The World Needs More Purple People
I haven't read it yet but it sounds cute. It is about a “purple person” who “looks for similarities before differences”."

Thank you.

QNPoohBear wrote: "The World Needs More Purple People
I haven't read it yet but it sounds cute. It is about a “purple person” who “looks for similarities before differences”."

That does look great and not too specific with regard to one particular culture.

This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World is a lovely book. It simply shows how one child from each country goes about his/her day, so you will see the differences in housing, socio-economic background, the foods they eat, what school is like etc. but it is presented without a "lesson" attached. I'm not sure that it is specific enough for what your friend is wanting (nothing specifically about racism) but it can be a good springboard for discussion of different cultures while showing that fundamentally children are so much the same in their basic needs for nourishment and shelter, love, education, and play. I think it helps foster respect for differences. Also, none of the children is from the US so I thought of this as not being US-centric for your friend, Lisa.

Kathryn wrote: "This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World is a lovely book. It simply shows how one child from each country goes about his/her day, so you will ..."

Thanks so much, Kathryn.

What about Mr. Rogers? Fred Rogers I bet there are some books that would be useful. Certainly the show was groundbreaking.

QNPoohBear wrote: "What about Mr. Rogers? Fred Rogers I bet there are some books that would be useful. Certainly the show was groundbreaking."

That's a good idea. I know there are books about him but I don't know if he or his show put out books for young kids. It's worth looking.

QNPoohBear wrote: "What about Mr. Rogers? Fred Rogers I bet there are some books that would be useful. Certainly the show was groundbreaking."

Absolutely! My sister actually heard something about that recently, how during the civil rights movement Mr Rogers did an episode where he and a black man were at a swimming pool. Mr. Rogers asked if the black man would like to get his feet wet, too. The man said, "I don't have a towel." Mr. Rogers said, "That's okay, you can share mine." And they just... sat there, and put their feet in the water together... and talked (not about racism or segregation but just talked...) and got out and shared a towel. And it was so powerful, just that quiet but profound gesture of sharing. I'm guessing in later years maybe the discussions were a bit more pointed or went a little deeper but I don't know. I just remember the diversity on the show but I just remember it being "there" not necessarily talked about. I know that he was very adamant that he wanted a black man to play Officer Clemens and I know having the character Mayor Maggie (a black woman as mayor at a time when few women let alone women of color were in such positions) was probably a very concerted effort, also.

I've seen that episode, Kathryn, and others too. Fred Rogers was a great man!

Kathryn wrote: "Absolutely! My sister actually heard something about that recently, how during the civil rights movement Mr Rogers did an episode where he and a black man were at a swimming pool.

Yes that episode, episode 1065 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, aired on May 9, 1969, has gotten a lot of buzz lately and was recreated in the recent Hollywood movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (not recommended... Mom and I both preferred a straight up biopic about Mr. Rogers and not a whiny reporter). Mr. Rogers and "Officer Clemmons" shared the kiddie pool again in 1993, this time Mr. Rogers took the towel and dried Clemmons' feet himself.

The man who portrayed officer Clemmons is a gay man as well as black and Mr. Rogers helped save the man's life.

We all could use a lot of Mr. Rogers right now. I didn't appreciate him as a kid but now I do.

The scene is on YouTube.

For further reading:
https://www.biography.com/news/mister...

https://storycorps.org/podcast/storyc...

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is a spin-off of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. There are several Daniel books but I don't see one about racism yet.

Sesame Street and CNN just held a town hall on racism too. I wouldn't be surprised if they publish something in book format too.

QNPoohBear wrote: "We all could use a lot of Mr. Rogers right now.

The scene is on YouTube.."

Thank you, PoohBear!

Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged just to show that segregation was NOT just a USA thing.

Manybooks wrote: "Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged just to show that segregation was NOT just a USA thing."

Thank you. I might check out this one. I've stopped giving her the suggestions because there were so many... (I did tell her about the group/thread.)

Any/more will be useful to others though.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Absolutely! My sister actually heard something about that recently, how during the civil rights movement Mr Rogers did an episode where he and a black man were at a swimming pool.

..."

Thank you! I loved Mister Rogers as a child and appreciate him even more now. Often lately I to think of his words to "look for the helpers" when there are difficult times, tragedies, etc. etc.

Kathryn wrote: "Often lately I to think of his words to "look for the helpers" when there are difficult times, tragedies, etc. etc."

Me too!

Sorry, I haven't read most of the threads here and this isn't a children's book, but do you know about this book?: Officer Clemmons by François S. Clemmons

Lisa wrote: "Sorry, I haven't read most of the threads here and this isn't a children's book, but do you know about this book?: Officer Clemmons by François S. Clemmons"

Yes, I just heard about it earlier this week. It is getting really good reviews. Thank you for posting :-)

Not a picture book, but a few four year olds might be ready for this as a read aloud: Betsy's Busy Summer is a delightful story of the old-fashioned pleasures of a child's summer. But, relevant to this topic, one of Betsy's neighborhood friends is a little African-American girl (daughter of the neighbor's housekeeper) and they play together frequently. There's a thread in which the neighbors build a pool and Betsy and her friends get it into their head that they will form an exclusive club and not let in Lillybelle or Betsy's little sister. The exclusivity is based on age, not race (race is not mentioned at all). However, when they go to the pool the first time, they find Lillybelle and little sis already swimming in the pool with the neighbor who decided to make his own club to allow anyone in -- after all, it is his pool and it's not up to Betsy to make the rules. Anyway, it really struck me as I was reading this how progressive this was for a book written in the 1950s (the earlier Betsy book are 1940s when she first befriends Lillybelle) and our discussion about Mister Rogers and "Officer Clemmons" and the kiddie pool made me think of recommending this book on our list. It has a similar not-overt but still impactful approach, IMO.

Kathryn wrote: "Not a picture book, but a few four year olds might be ready for this as a read aloud: Betsy's Busy Summer is a delightful story of the old-fashioned pleasures of a child's summer. But, ..."

Thank you, Kathryn!

A New Friend. I think this would be a great, gentle story to share with young readers about acceptance, not listening to prejudice, being the change even if your friends aren’t, etc. For a four-year-old it would have to be a read-aloud but there are so many illustrations and my four-year-old listened attentively.

Sophie Mouse feels afraid when she learns her new classmate is a snake*. After all, she has heard scary stories about snakes... but when she meets Owen he seems.... really nice! She almost asks him to join her at recess... he seems so lonely and sad... but none of the others want him to play, and she feels too nervous on her own. Later, she tells her mom and dad about the new student and is surprised to learn that her parents actually had a dear friend who happened to be a snake when they were younger and that they don't have a problem with Sophie playing with Owen. Later, when Owen helps Sophie out of a tough spot, she overcomes her fears and hopes he will come back to school.

*yes, suspend what you know about the food chain while reading this ;-)

Hm. I'll have to investigate that one. I'm glad that Own has agency of his own.