Anti-Racist Books For Kids And Teens | HuffPost Parents

Anti-racist book recommendations have made the social media rounds all summer following anti-Black police brutality in the U.S. and Canada. For many who share these lists, theyre done in the hopes that widespread re-education on race will lead to social change, long after current conversations about inequality and reforming existing systems of oppression fade from the news cycle. With many kids and teens heading back-to-school in September, reading lists have once again popped up as possible learning tools.

While books like So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo are geared towards adults, there are plenty of anti-racist books for kids and teens that families can read together. After all, theres no such thing as being too young to be anti-racist: Babies as young as three months learn that race exists , and young children pick up on patterns affecting different racialized people in their lives.

Books are just the start

As The Atlantics Saida Grundy noted , using reading as a replacement for policy-making can be harmful when whats learned is never applied in real life. In the form of hollow public statements and company-sponsored conversations, consciousness-raising is often toothless, Grundy wrote.

Kids lit is no exception in this regard. Parents should consider using books as stepping stones for talking to their children about race. Children can also be encouraged to apply what theyve learned to their own circumstances and households; whether that be frank explanations between family members on what phrases arent OK to say or using books to talk about issues they may see in the news.

Children will likely feel moved by the words they read to help make the world a better place, which shouldnt be stifled. If adults in the home are engaged with anti-racist causes, such as attending protests or contacting lawmakers, books can also help get kids involved in family-friendly ways .

Canadian bookstore owners and authors have seen massive spikes in race-related book sales this summer, leading many activists to encourage shoppers to buy from Black-owned businesses and support Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) in the publishing industry, as their stories come from lived experience.

If kids would grow up to be #antiracist, their first step on the journey is to be able to identify & acknowledge that individual & systemic racism exist. These books at @ADFRNTBooklist speak to the reality of racism & the possibility & power of resistance. #ReadDifferently pic.twitter.com/XLRHgcC0Zd

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If kids would grow up to be #antiracist , their first step on the journey is to be able to identify & acknowledge that individual & systemic racism exist. These books at @ADFRNTBooklist speak to the reality of racism & the possibility & power of resistance. #ReadDifferently pic.twitter.com/XLRHgcC0Zd
A Different Booklist (@ADFRNTBooklist) June 9, 2020

Here are our top picks for anti-racist books, broken down by age groups. For ease-of-access, weve include links to buy books and read their further details from national sellers like Indigo; the website IndieBound can help parents find their closest independent bookstore.

Before filling your homes bookshelves, its worth gauging their reading and comfort levels; some kids may be better suited to books that are either more basic or advanced.

Little readers (ages eight and under)

Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

Antiracist Baby is bred, not born, begins Antiracist Baby by author Ibram X. Kendi and illustrator Ashley Lukashevsky. The baby book has been hugely popular among families since its release earlier this year, for presenting big concepts in playful, loving ways.

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