Six Great Antiracist Books to Spark Conversations with Young Kids About Race

Books are a great way to spark conversations about race and racial justice.

Given recent news headlines, parents and educators may be thinking more about how to talk with young kids about race and racial justice.

Research indicates kids develop ideas about race early on, whether adults choose to talk with them about it or not. This is why it’s important to start those conversations as soon as possible and help guide them instead of letting them come to potentially problematic conclusions on their own.

But where to begin?

Books are a great place to start. We have a few suggestions for some good ones here, plus tips on how to navigate conversations about race with kids. Please know that there are many more amazing books out there covering a range of important topics (gender expressions, immigration, etc.) and these are only a few examples.

Books About Skin

Remember in kindergarten when you learned about differences and similarities (one of these things is not like the other)? One way to start conversations with kids about race is simply discussing differences and similarities between people in terms of skin tones. My favorite book to help teach kids about the origins of these differences and similarities is called “All the Colors We Are” by Katie Kissinger.

“All the Colors We Are” is a great book for starting conversations with kids about skin color.

In this book, the author teaches kids about melanin and describes how our skin color comes from our ancestors. The book offers an easy entry point for simple conversations to help kids understand why we look different from one another.

Another book about skin color is called “Shades of People,” by Shelley Rotner. I like this book in particular because it has so many great photos, and exposes kids to the enormous range of skin colors they might encounter when meeting new people.

Books About Discrimination

Young kids are great at understanding nuance, even when it comes to topics that might seem too fraught or over-complex .There are a lot of great books out there that help translate those more challenging conversation topics into concepts all kids understand, like the concept of fairness or the concept of pride.

A great book to help kids learn about racial discrimination is called “New Shoes,” which tells the story of a young black girl buying shoes with her mother. I won’t spoil the end of the story, but it ends with an empowering message. The author also includes a note with historical context around the Civil Rights Movement.

There are also a lot of phenomenal kids books out there that tell the stories of racial justice leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and other lesser-known heroes. Most all kids understand the concept of “heroes,” which is what the book “Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History” by Vashti Harrison is about, telling the stories of historical heroes like Alice Ball, Josephine Baker, and 38 other trailblazers.

These books offer parents and educators a way to talk with kids about the history of our country and provide important context for the current political climate.

“New Shoes” is a good book to start conversations with kids about racial discrimination.

Books About Pride & Belonging

In addition to “heroes,” most kids also understand the concepts of pride and belonging, which is why books like “Don’t Touch My Hair” by Sharee Miller can be both enjoyable and impactful for all students. The little girl in this book finds her voice to self-advocate around asking people to stop touching her hair, which everyone wants to do.

Another book on the same topic of pride and belonging is called “The Day You Begin,” by Jacqueline Woodson, which highlights the importance of resilience when we feel like outsiders.

Reading Tips

While reading these books (or any other books), parents and educators might consider the following ideas for sparking conversation:

*Note: these ideas are from a toolkit called “Talking About Race in Storytimes,” created by Jessica Anne Bratt, Youth Services Manager in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.

1) Point out cultural differences and explore them, reinforcing that “different” and “weird” are not the same thing (i.e. if your child asks: “Why is her hair weird?” one response might be: “Her hair type is different. Some people have straight hair, other people have wavy hair, other people have curly hair. Isn’t it great how different people are?”).

2) Share your personal feelings about race when reading picture books (i.e. “It makes me sad that laws allowed certain groups of people like African-Americans to be treated differently.”).

3) Don’t be afraid to point out racial differences in books (i.e. “Is that skin darker or lighter than your own?”).

4) Use “fair/unfair” when talking about racial stereotypes in picture books (i.e. “Wow, this book only included white male inventors. That’s unfair. Did you know that [choose a race] also invented things too? Let’s explore some of those inventors on our own.”).

5) Respect your child’s curiosity of the world around them by answering their hard and sometimes embarrassing observations (i.e. “Let me think about that for awhile,” or “That’s a good question. Let me get back to you.”).