The Boy Who Grew a Forest, by Sophia Gholz and illustrated by Kayla Harren

 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman

Sometimes I shy away from checking out classics from the library, they frequently tend to be dated or dull.  That was not the case with Amazing Grace.  When Grace's class decides to put on the play Peter Pan she announces that she'll play the lead, but is told by her classmates that she can't because she is neither white nor a boy.  Grace's mom and grandmother discuss with her, and when Grace auditions the class unanimously agrees that she's the perfect Peter!

It's a straightforward, realistic story is easily applicable to the current political climate - just look at what happened when Disney announced Halle Bailey (a Black woman) would play Ariel.  The story is easy to follow and doesn't condescend to children. 

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

Sergio Sees the Good, by Linda Ryden

I don't know how it's possible we hadn't come across this book previously - I love it, my son loves it, and it teaches an amazing lesson - it really should be a classic.  Sergio comes home fuming about his awful day at school, but his mom proposes a test of sorts - why don't they take a scale and put marbles on the 'good' and 'bad' sides representing everything that happened to him during his day.  The details are ones that will engage kids, such as mean kids stealing a basketball at the playground.  Sergio takes his mom through his day and realizes that maaaybe things weren't so bad after all.  There's a bit of an over-explanation of the concept of 'negativity bias' at the end of the book that I rush through as my son's eyes glaze over, but maybe an older child would be more into the concept - which is nicely illustrated through the story.

A couple times when we've read this book my son has enthusiastically tested out his own day - stacking magnatiles to represent 'good' and 'bad' things that happened to him and marveling at how much taller the good pile is!  This would be an especially good book if you happen to have a 'glass half full' type of kid.  

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

The Great Cake Mystery, by Alexander McCall Smith

Precious Ramotswe, an observant young girl in Botswana, is positive she would make a fine detective.  Luckily for her, a mystery quickly presents itself - a piece of cake goes missing at school.  Precious avoids jumping to conclusions about the culprit (unlike some of her classmates, to her dismay), and slowly pieces together that in fact the monkeys are the guilty ones!

We were thrilled to discover this easy to read chapter book set in Botswana - we always keep our eyes out for books set in any African country and our son (5 years old) was instantly engaged.  He guessed early on that the monkeys had stolen the cake - but this only made him want to keep reading (to confirm his hunch) and we finished the book quickly over the course of two days.  This is a great book for kids just getting into chapter books and for parents who are sick of poorly written easy reader books with annoying characters and dull plots (or is that just me?).

BUY HERE (or even better, request at your local library!)

Edited to add that we've since read The Mystery of Meerkat Hill and The Mystery of the Missing Lion and that my son was equally thrilled by these mysteries, while I was thrilled by how the author thoughtfully wove in lessons about kindness and poverty.

Not Norman, by Kelly Bennett

I've been so focused on writing about newer library books that we're into that I neglected a long-time favorite we just came across again!

Not Norman follows the story of a young black boy who desperately wants a pet, but is not so thrilled to receive a goldfish for his birthday.  He has various plans to get rid of Norman, but in the process finds himself enjoying Norman's company.  It's a straightforward well told story that we both enjoyed reading over and over, and one that I would highly recommend to all families.  Absolutely no downsides to this wonderful book!

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Twindergarten, by Nikki Ehrlich

Dax and Zoey are biracial twins (with a white mom and black dad) are are starting kindergarten, but in different classes.  Dax is initially quite afraid of being separated from his sister, but it turns out that Zoey is the one who has a lot of difficulty being away from Dax on the first day of school.  In the end, Dax makes Zoey a card and Zoey starts to relax into school, and all is well!

This is a simple story with delightful details and presents school in a positive light.  My son is a couple years away from kindergarten (and is frightened at the prospect of being in a big kid school every single day), but seems to find this book soothing.  Dax, Zoey, and their classmates are presented as thoughtful, fun, and kind (a contrast to books which seem to highlight the worst aspects of kids... ahem llama llama).

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Shawn Loves Sharks, by Curtis Manley

Shawn, a boy of color, is obsessed with sharks.  He reads about sharks, eats like a shark, and chases other kids like a shark - especially Stacy, an Asian girl.  However, when doing a class project on predators, Shawn is dismayed when Stacy is assigned the shark and he is assigned the leopard seal.  The tables are turned, as Stacy the shark chases her prey, Shawn the leopard seal.  However, Shawn slowly learns to appreciate the leopard seal and befriends Stacy in the process.

Aside from the fact that it's a really enjoyable book (that, despite regular readings over the last 3 months, we still haven't tired of), this story really has everything.  It's about a child obsessed (what child doesn't have a passion that everyone else is a bit tired of?) but also begrudgingly expanding and eventually embracing new interests, the complexities of friendship. the fun of pretending to be an animal (lots of shark-chomping), a multicultural classroom, and simple, arresting illustrations.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Hello Goodbye Dog, by Maria Gianferrari

Zara, a biracial girl with a black mom and white dad, has a dog named Moose that won't stop following her to school!  As a solution, Moose attends therapy dog school and becomes the class reading dog.  Zara uses a wheelchair, a fact that is not referenced aside from once during Moose's therapy dog test - he's good at sitting, being with children, and (of course) being around wheelchairs.

This is perhaps the first book we've stumbled upon that features a child of color who has a disability (though hopefully there are many more we've yet to find), and I love that neither of those facts are central to this delightful story of a dog that misses his child and loves to be read to.  In addition, the book is pleasingly repetitive in a way that appeals to children.

  BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)