Recommended Children's Books on Culture, Race, and Racism
June 2020
In light of the need for intentional conversations around race and social justice as protests persist across America in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, our staff has compiled a list of recommended books for children. We have grouped the books by age, highlighting mostly African American, Arab, Asian, and Muslim authors.
If you're thinking about purchasing from independent bookstores, check out this list of black-owned bookstores in cities across America.
Baby to Kindergarden:
Jabari Asim – Whose Knees Are These?
Norah Dooley – Everybody... a series of books on baking bread, bringing noodles, cooking rice, serving rice Bakes Bread
Mem Fox - Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and Whoever You Are
Mark Gonzales - Yo Soy Muslim: A Father's Letter to His Daughter
Bell Hooks and Christopher Raschka – Skin Again
Ibram X. Kendi - Antiracist Baby
Hena Khan - Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets • Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story • Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
Fran Manushkin and Lauren Tobia – Happy In Our Skin
Tiffany Rose - M is for Melanin
Shelley Rotner – Shades of People
Anastasia Suen - Subway
Michael Tyler Any - The Skin You Live In
Grades 1-3:
Shaila Abdullah – My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy
Arnold Adoff - Black is Brown is Tan
Elizabeth Alalou and Ali Alalou – The Butter Man
Jeannie Baker – Mirror (English & Arabic)
Derrick Barnes and Gordon C James – I Am Every Good Thing
James Berry and Anna Cunha - A Story About Afiya
Karamo Brown and Jason “Rachel” Brown - I Am Perfectly Designed
Monica Brown- Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol Mcdonald No Combina
Grace Byers – I Am Enough
Tami Charles – All Because You Matter
Matthew Cherry – Hair Love
Yangsook Choi – The Name Jar
Kelly Cunnane – Deep in the Sahara
Parker Curry – Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment
Katie De Palma, Tessa Strickland, and David Dean – Children of the World and other Barefoot Books
Kelly S. DiPucchio - Grace for President
Norah Dooley – Everybody... a series of books on baking bread, bringing noodles, cooking rice, serving rice Bakes Bread
Reem Faruqi – Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story
Saadia Faruqi – A Place at the Table and Meet Yasmin... a series of books about Yasmin the writer, chef, gardener, soccer player, the Writer and more
Ashley Franklin - Not Quite Snow White
Barbara Joose Any - Mama, Do You Love Me?
Ibram X. Kendi - Antiracist Baby
Kerascoët - I Walk With Vanessa
Aya Khalil - The Arabic Quilt
Hena Khan – Under My Hijab
Rukhsana Khan - Big Red Lollipop
Katie Kissinger and Chris Bohnhoff – All The Colors We Are / Todos Los Colores de Nuestra Piel
Julius Lester – Let's Talk About Race
Stephanie Ledyard and Chris Sasaki - Home Is a Window
Siman Nuurali – Sadiq and the Desert Star
Lupita Nyong’o - Sulwe
Patricia C McKissack – What Is Given From the Heart
Asma Mobin-Uddin – My Name is Bilal
Ibtihaj Muhammad – The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family
Naomi Shihab Nye – Sitti’s Secret
Sharon Purtill – It's OK to be Different
Kobe Rogers - I'm an ANTIRACIST: Coloring book for Adults and Kids Featuring Powerful Quotes on Overcoming Racism
Aisha Saeed - Bilal Cooks Daal
Allen Say – The Favorite Daughter
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow – Mommy's Khimar
Jacqueline Woodson – The Day You Begin/ El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres!
Grades 4-8:
Dana Alison Levy – The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
Wendy Ewald - America Border Culture Dreamer: The Young Immigrant Experience from A to ZAn Immigrant Alphabet - produced by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
Hena Khan - Amina's Voice
Irene Latham, Charles Waters, and Sean Qualls – Can I Touch Your Hair?Grace Lin - When the Sea Turned to Silver
Susan Muaddi Darraj – Farah Rocks the Fifth Grade
LaTashia M Perry - Skin Like Mine
Jewell Parker Rhodes – Ninth Ward
Kobe Rogers - I'm an ANTIRACIST: Coloring book for Adults and Kids Featuring Powerful Quotes on Overcoming Racism
Naomi Shihab Nye - Habibi
Danette Vigilante – The Trouble With Half a Moon
Jasmine Warga – Other Words for Home
Grades 9-12:
Samira Ahmed – Internment
Kwame Alexander - The Crossover
Julia Alvarez – Return to Sender
Wendy Ewald - America Border Culture Dreamer: The Young Immigrant Experience from A to Z
An Immigrant Alphabet - produced by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
Florence Gonsalves – Dear Universe
David Barclay Moore - The Stars Beneath Our Feet
Trevor Noah – It’s Trevor Noah: Bone a Crime
Neesha Meminger - Shine Coconut Moon
Matt de La Peña - Mexican Whiteboy
Pam Muñoz Ryan – Esperanza Rising
Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give
Bryan Stevenson – Just Mercy
Nic Stone - Dear Martin
Angie Thomas - On the Come Up
Renée Watson – This Side of Home
Jacqueline Woodson – Brown Girl Dreaming
Gene Luen Yang - American-Born Chinese
Ibi Zoboi - Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America and Pride