14 Black Lives Matter Books For Children

Inspired by the accomplishments of four strong, smart black women, Margaret Shetterly brings a book about their role in one of the most successful NASA space missions ever. She writes about Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Christine Darde and Katherine Johnson who loved math and dedicated their lives to developing important calculations that helped send Americans to space. This book contains lots of unique illustrations and interesting stories which makes it ideal for kids between the age of 4 and 6.

Set to be released in October, this book has been announced as a heart-warming ode to Black and Brown children. It’s rhythmic, and poetic text provides reassurance, warmth, and love to its young readers. It’s suitable for children 4-8 years old, although younger kids can already enjoy this lullaby book.

Written around each letter of the alphabet, M Is for Melanin is full of Black-positive messages. It starts with A is for Afro, and continues to give value and pride to the Black experience. It also celebrates Black skin color and encourages kids to take pride in it and to love who they are. The book should be on the shelves of every white parent, too, because the fight for a better world is their legacy, and diversifying kids’ reading list is an excellent step toward that goal. The age range is 3-6, or the time around the age when kids are learning the alphabet.

Antiracist Baby Board Book is the latest work of the National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi. With bold proclamations against racism, it empowers the readers to fight racism, both internally, and in society. Beautiful illustrations will engage the youngest readers and be the food for thought for older kids and adults.

From the moment they were toddlers, I’ve exposed my two sons to books that talk about race, gender etc. Julius Lester’s Let’s Talk About Race was a favorite of theirs growing up. However, I consider Something Happened in Our Town as the best BLM children’s book we’ve ever read because it specifically talks about racial injustice. Written by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard, the story revolves around a white family and a black family discussing a police shooting of a black man in their town. The book aims to answer children’s questions about these kinds of events and inspires kids to not only recognize racial injustice, but to challenge it as well.

This is a simple story about the pride and joy a young black girl feels for her hair and her background. It encourages children to be proud of themselves, their hair, and their heritage. It’s now available as a board book too.

Dreamy poetry and stunning photographs combine into a beautiful book celebrating African-American children. Children will love seeing the beautiful diversity of African-Americans. Also available as a board book.

This coloring book celebrates the beauty and diversity of African-American children, and offers inspiring, educational concepts from A-Z.

Of the many books I have introduced and read to my daughter, one will always shine the brightest – Sulwe, by the beautiful Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. I would describe this children’s book as a powerful, moving picture book about colorism, self-esteem, and learning that true beauty comes from within. Sulwe is a little African girl who has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything. What I like about how this story is presented is the fact that it can help children to learn that the truly important and beautiful things are inside our souls, and not a trait of our skin.

Lilbeebye appears to be a regular girl but has a secret power to sting honey love into the hearts of those who bullied and picked on others too afraid to defend themselves. Children who have been victims to bullying will be inspired by Lilbeebye’s bravery and those who have been bullies themselves will learn how to treat everyone with love and respect through the examples provided by Lilbeebye. The book also teaches readers that if they care for one another they can help make the world a better place, to treat people how they want to be treated and to always be kind and love one another. Lilbeebye presents an underrepresented character in children’s literature as a black female superhero and action star. Author Theresa Shields, a woman of color herself, wrote the book to help with the bullying issue and wanted to develop a character anyone could relate to and learn from.

This is a very relevant book to kids due to recent episodes of police brutality on black lives and the demonstrations happening all over the world regarding the race. I bought this book and gave it to my 7 year old kid to put his mind at ease as we are non-white. It’s also essential that kids understand to trust Police and not fall into the hate narrative going on. It’s only a few bad apples who are ruining the essential work performed by the majority of people in uniform. This book has a great visual and has several rhymes to teach youngsters to remember how to interact with officers. The Key component of teaching is condensed into ALIVE that stands for ALWAYS use your manners, LISTEN and comply, IN-Control your emotion, VISIBLE hand always and EXPLAIN any movement. It’s a great book for kids of color for age from 5 to 10 years and has nice illustrations about talking to kids about race and law enforcement interaction.

A pair of brave and bold sisters, London and Laiyah, will take your child’s hand and guide them through a night of exploration and wonder. Theirs is a journey that connects the vibrant world with the limitless potential for imagination. This story reminds children (and their parents) of the wonderful adventures that await us all in life. Those who are brave and bold will reach beyond their potential and use their imagination to explore, and shape, the world around them. With beautiful illustrations and flowing, rhythmic text, parents will love reading this book to their children time and time again. This book screams Black Girl Magic and encourages children not to let their reality limit their imagination.

This book highlights the beautiful relationship between a black father and daughter. In this book, a father tackles her daughter’s beautiful curly hair while teaching her an important lesson that one should embrace their unique traits and feel proud of them. It also shows how parents can build self-confidence in their children with small acts of love.

This text is about a boy who has an elephant as a pet. He wants to do normal pet things with his pet elephant. Until one day for the Pet Club, there is a sign on the door saying Strictly No Elephants! What will they do now? It is a gem of a picture book for the K-Grade 2 group! In this day and age of divisiveness, this book brings the message of friendship, inclusion, and acceptance, no matter the person or the pet. When an elephant and later a skunk are excluded from a club, two kids are smart enough to start a new club. I loved it and would like to see it in every library.