We Are Family, by Patricia Hegarty

I typically don't like books without a plot, but this one is an exception.  It follows ten different types of families - two moms, two dads, parents with four children, a single mother and child, a child raised by his grandparents, and so on.  In addition, these families are made up of various races.  Our son was beyond delighted to find a family exactly the same as ours (a transracial adoption) and follow it through various activities and note the similarities - we also eat croissants! we all ride bikes! we like to cuddle on the sofa too, how did they know?!  If by chance your family is one of those pictured, I highly recommend this book.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

White Easter Bunnies

The Easter Bunny is frequently portrayed as white in children's books.  I get it, though if I personally was illustrating a children's book I'd probably make a different choice.  What's particularly irritating though, is when the Easter Bunny is white and all of his "friends" helping out are brown, as in this illustration from The Story of the Easter Bunny, by Katherine Tegen and illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert.  When my son and I got to this page I internally groaned, and when we finished the story I immediately tossed it into the return to library pile.  

Would love recommendations for any Easter books featuring kids of color!

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!)

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, by Vashti Harrison

I'm always super ambitious about Black History Month, but never feel like I'm doing a good enough job.  This year, thanks to Little Leaders, our son is obsessed with reading about "amazing black people."  We stumbled onto a really fun and easy approach about a week ago when we bought this book, each day (or, more honestly, most days) we let our son page through the book and pick one person he wants to learn more about.  Then we read that page to him, along with a lot of discussion, and then supplement!  For example, when we read the Nina Simone entry we listened to her music during dinner.  The day we read about Dominque Dawes we watched her gymnastics routines on YouTube.  Some are more difficult to add to, but that hasn't decreased our son's interest so far.  His favorite entry was that of Mary Bowser (pictured below), in part because we have recently started to discuss slavery with him (and read him Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad for the first time), but more importantly because she was a SPY, which is like one step away from being a superhero.  

BUY HERE

(And if you're looking for other books about black history, 

our favorite remains Ron's Big Mission, which I wrote 

about previously here.

Alfie, by Thyra Heder

Nia is a black girl who receives Alfie, a pet turtle, for her sixth birthday.  On the morning of her seventh birthday, he disappears in search of a present for Nia.  Alfie reappears the day of Nia's eighth birthday with a turtle keychain he discovered during his quest.  The story is told alternately from Nia's, and then Alfie's points of view, and is a quick and enjoyable read.  Not a story we'd buy, but one we enjoyed reading several times when we checked it out of our local library.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

The Airport Book, by Lisa Brown

I love this book because it features a loving (and frazzled) family with a white mom, black dad, and two mixed kids.  My son loves this book because OH MY GOSH IT ILLUSTRATES EVERY SINGLE PART OF TRAVELING BY PLANE AND CAN WE READ IT AGAIN FOR THE SEVENTH TIME IN A ROW?  Seriously, there was a period when he was particularly obsessed with air travel when this was the only book he wanted to read, and it is a testament to the readability of this book that I do not hate it with every fiber of my being.  We have brought this book on every single plane trip our son has taken since this book was purchased and acted out the nuances of air travel portrayed in the book approximately 47 times (that is my realistic estimate).  The illustrations are incredibly detailed and allow you to follow the trip not only of the family at the center of the book, but many of the other passengers as well.

BUY HERE

(For awhile, this book was our go-to birthday gift for 3 year olds!)