I originally published this post on August 13, 2021. I have edited and updated it since then, though the heart of it remains the same. All of the photos included are of inclusive books I’ve reviewed in the past and highly recommend. Once upon a time, a subscriber asked me:
WeStories was an organization founded in St Louis after Mike Brown’s murder, focused on using children’s literature to help white families talk about race and racism. They recently closed the organization, but have made their (really excellent) curriculum available at the website above.
Love everything about this, Sarah! Thank you. Here in Indianapolis, we have black and woman-owned Beyond Barcodes Books and are eagerly awaiting the grand opening of Loudmouth Books--owned by author Leah Johnson.
Unrelated: My kids are getting older and I am struggling to maintain their interest in picture books. 😭😭😭 My oldest is 10 and reading at a high level, tearing through big chapter books faster than I can provide them. And the younger two (7 and 6) just want to read what big brother is reading. Any advice on maintaining interest in picture books as they grow? (I did just buy a front-facing bookshelf so that was step 1!)
We are only 1 yr old so we’re mostly still riding on the books we were given. I’m slowly starting to cull, curate and rebuild our board books selection and supplement it from the library. Thanks for these resources! Native stories are less visible here in Baltimore so this is great.
I recently became a subscriber and have been going through past issues, and putting some of the books in your lists on our hold lists. It’s been loads of fun. Last week we checked out Bathe the Cat. The kids have been laughing a lot when we read it.
Today our childcare provider (who is a loving, engaged POC and makes my life so much easier) let me know she thought Bathe the Cat was too much for a 5 and a 3 year old. Two dads? Why introduce that? Why so many books about being brown? Why do I keep checking out books about differences? It made me profoundly mad and sad to even have to explain representation. It’s been a few hours and I’m still upset about it. Sigh. 😔 Thanks for reading
Great article, Sarah!
I would add one more resource for folks who are interested: http://www.westories.org
WeStories was an organization founded in St Louis after Mike Brown’s murder, focused on using children’s literature to help white families talk about race and racism. They recently closed the organization, but have made their (really excellent) curriculum available at the website above.
Love everything about this, Sarah! Thank you. Here in Indianapolis, we have black and woman-owned Beyond Barcodes Books and are eagerly awaiting the grand opening of Loudmouth Books--owned by author Leah Johnson.
Unrelated: My kids are getting older and I am struggling to maintain their interest in picture books. 😭😭😭 My oldest is 10 and reading at a high level, tearing through big chapter books faster than I can provide them. And the younger two (7 and 6) just want to read what big brother is reading. Any advice on maintaining interest in picture books as they grow? (I did just buy a front-facing bookshelf so that was step 1!)
We are only 1 yr old so we’re mostly still riding on the books we were given. I’m slowly starting to cull, curate and rebuild our board books selection and supplement it from the library. Thanks for these resources! Native stories are less visible here in Baltimore so this is great.
I recently became a subscriber and have been going through past issues, and putting some of the books in your lists on our hold lists. It’s been loads of fun. Last week we checked out Bathe the Cat. The kids have been laughing a lot when we read it.
Today our childcare provider (who is a loving, engaged POC and makes my life so much easier) let me know she thought Bathe the Cat was too much for a 5 and a 3 year old. Two dads? Why introduce that? Why so many books about being brown? Why do I keep checking out books about differences? It made me profoundly mad and sad to even have to explain representation. It’s been a few hours and I’m still upset about it. Sigh. 😔 Thanks for reading