Alvin Blount, Diocesan Archivist and Becoming Beloved Communities Coordinator, has a roundup of his favorite children’s resources focusing on racial equality and social justice.
Antiracism and Social Justice Sources for Children
Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee
Ruth and the Green Book
-Calvin Alexander Ramsey
-Gwen Strauss
-Floyd Cooper, illustrator
-hardcover, $18.99
-paperback, $18.64
-32 pages
-Carolrhoda
-2010
-ages 6-11
-ALA Association Notable Children’s Book
-Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book
-picture book inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film The Green Book
-description: Set in the early 1950s when many African Americans could not afford automobiles, a young girl by the name of Ruth is very happy about riding in her family’s new car. Due to Jim Crow laws of that time, Black travelers were refused services at many hotels and gas stations. The little girl’s family was eventually presented with a guidebook called The Green Book that listed all the places that would welcome African Americans as patrons, hence, helping these families avoid mistreatment on long road trips. Ruth’s fictional story presents the reader with the family’s safe trip from Chicago to grandma’s home in Alabama.
Ramsey, C. A. & Strauss, G. (2010). Ruth and the Green Book. Carolrhoda Books.
We Are a Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America
-Lisa Westberg Peters
-Victoria Tentler-Krylov, illustrator
-hardcover, $11.93
-40 pages
-Schwartz & Wade
-2021
-ages 4-8
-description: This is a picture book that shows how generations of different migrants from all over the world have made their homes in North America. These migrants come from tribes, families fleeing from hunger, and the enslaved who took root here and make up a colorful “garden” of families and friends who consider themselves Americans.
Peters, L. (2021). We Are a Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America. Schwartz & Wade.
Just Help!: How to Build a Better World
-Sonia Sotomayor
-Angela Dominguez, illustrator
-hardcover, $12.58
-Philomel Books
-32 pages
-2022
-ages 4-10
-description: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and New York Times bestselling author inspires the reader through this journey from her own childhood of being inspired by her mother to always help others and their respective communities to be better one bit at a time.
Sotomayor, S. (2022). Just Help!: How to Build a Better World. Philomel Books.
Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem
-Amanda Gorman
-Loren Long, illustrator
-hardcover, $9.31
-32 pages
-Viking Books for Young Readers
-2021
-ages 3-8
-description: New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman with New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long have collaborated on this picture book and musical journey for children to teach that anything is possible when we join our voices together for positive change in our communities, big or small.
Gorman, A. (2021). Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem. Viking Books for Young Readers.
Courageous History Makers: 11 Women from Latin America Who Changed the World
-Naibe Reynoso
-Jone Leal, illustrator
-Gabriella Adleman, translator
-paperback, $12.99
-Con Todo Press; Bilingual edition
-2021
-33 pages
-ages 4-8
-description: This source highlights eleven women from Latin America who have achieved accolades for their excellence in science, arts, journalism, and politics. These biographical entries are presented in rhyming verses, in addition to educational resources listed at the end of the book.
Reynoso, N. (2021). Courageous History Makers: 11 Women from Latin America Who Changed the World. Con Todo Press.
I Am Enough
-Grace Byers
-Keturah A. Bobo, illustrator
-hardcover, $9.88
-Balzer + Bray
-2018
-32 pages
-ages 3-7
-description: This New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards picture book is a lyrical ode to loving who you are while also respecting others by being kind to others.
Byers, G. (2018). I am Enough. Balzer + Bray.
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
-Angela Johnson
-E. B. Lewis, illustrator
-hardcover, $12.53
-Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
-2014
-40 pages
-ages 5-9
-description: One little girl tells the story of the day of freedom that finally came to those enslaved in the South. This picture book tells how June 19 as an African American Emancipation Day has become popular in the US, and contains an important timeline of dates, online sources, and a glossary. A great history teaching tool!
Johnson, A. (2014). All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Rosa
-Nikki Giovanni
-Bryan Collier, illustrator
-hardcover, $10.00
-Square Fish
-2007
-40 pages
-ages 4-8
-description: Mrs. Rosa Parks is still an icon of the American civil rights movement years and years after refusing to relinquish her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Award-winning poet, writer, and civil rights activist Nikki Giovanni and illustrator Bryan Collier collaborate to retell this momentous event in American history. This source is recommended by Kirkus Reviews as “an essential volume for classrooms and libraries.”
Giovanni, N. (2007). Rosa. Square Fish.
We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-gah)
-Traci Sorell
-Frané Lessac, illustrator
-hardcover, $13.29
-Charlesbridge
-2018
-32 pages
-ages 3-7
-description: This elegant source teaches the young reader how members of the Cherokee community are grateful for the blessings and challenges of every season.
Sorell, T. (2018). We Are Grateful. Charlesbridge.
Justice Is…: A Guide for Young Truth Seekers
-Preet Bharara
-Sue Cornelison, illustrator
-hardcover, $13.39
-40 pages
-Crown Books for Young Readers
-2022
-ages 4-8
-description: New York Times bestselling author Preet Bharara and former U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York explains to young readers what justice is and the work that it entails to achieve it. He draws on the examples of iconic or historic justice seekers such as Frederick Douglass, President Abraham Lincoln, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Ida B. Wells, and many more.
Bharara, P. (2022). Justice Is…: A Guide for Young Truth Seekers. Crown Books for Young Readers.
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
-Carole Boston Weatherford
-Floyd Cooper, illustrator
-hardcover, $15.79
-32 pages
-CarolrhodaBooks
-2021
-ages 4-11
-description: This Booklist “a must-have” and starred source by Kirkus Reviews was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper provide a lens into the Tulsa Race Massacre in the city’s Greenwood district, a horrible incident of racial violence in US history in the early twentieth century. The truth of what happened was not only suppressed, but also no official investigation took place for seventy-five years. Sensitively illustrated, young readers are charged with a vision for a better future.
Weatherford, C. B. (2021). Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. Carolrhoda Books.
The Undefeated
-Kwame Alexander
-Kadir Nelson
-hardcover, $9.74
-40 pages
-Versify
-2019
-ages 5-12
-description: This source highlights the sin slavery, work of the civil rights movement and some of our greatest heroes. This poem ends with a list of many historical figures and events in the back of the book which can serve as a great history teaching tool as the information can provide ideas and links and further sources.
Alexander, K. (2019). The Undefeated. Versify.
New Directions for Holy Questions: Progressive Christian Theology for Families
-Claire Brown
-Anita Peebles
-Perry Hodgkins Jones, illustrator
-paperback, $14.54
-128 pages
-Morehouse Publishing
-2022
-ages 6-12
-description: This source regarding Biblical stories with accessible language is oriented towards anti-racism, gender equality, affirmation of LGBTQ+ people, and social and economic justice for all with questions for reflection in each chapter. The Rev. Claire Brown is one of the authors of this must-have book, and she serves as Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Athens, TN, in the Diocese of East Tennessee.
Brown, C. & Peebles, A. (2022) New Directions for Holy Questions: Progressive Christian Theology for Families. Morehouse Publishing.