Create a Diverse Book Collection for Kids of All Ages

Our children are sponges, soaking up all the conversations, news, and social media around them.  With recent protests going on all over the world,  in response to the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, children have been raising questions.  Parents and educators are figuring out the best ways to respond.

It is our job as parents and educators to help prevent another generation living through the effects of racism.  Teaching children about love, kindness, and cultures through books, is a great way to help them understand.

Read aloud to your children, early and often.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recently began urging parents to make reading a family activity starting in infancy.  Significant brain development occurs in the first three years of life and the earlier you begin this activity, the more your baby will benefit. The earlier, the better, on reading your baby a diverse book collection. 

We created a list below of a diverse selection of books about kindness, cultures, and racism.  The books are for children of all ages, including infants.  

Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are all alike. 

Learn all about Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors, in this lush picture book from bestselling mother/son duo Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal.

Spring is here, and it’s almost time for Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors. Siblings Mintoo and Chintoo are busy gathering flowers to make into colorful powders to toss during the festival. And when at last the big day comes, they gather with their friends, family, and neighbors for a vibrant celebration of fresh starts, friendship, forgiveness, and, of course, fun!

 Listening with my heart reminds us of the importance of being friends to ourselves. It also touches on the universal themes of friendship, empathy and kindness. Includes mindfulness and self-compassion activities.

Just how many things can “one” be? One box of crayons. One batch of cookies. One world. One family.

From veteran picture book author George Shannon and up-and-coming artist Blanca Gomez comes a playful, interactive book that shows how a family can be big or small and comprised of people of a range of genders and races.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other’s traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

High on energy and imagination, this ode to self-esteem encourages kids to appreciate everything about themselves—inside and out. Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what! Here’s a little girl who knows what really matters. 

Hair Like Mine is a fun and easy read following a little girl who doesn’t like that her naturally curly hair looks different from the other kids around her. On her quest to find someone with hair like hers, she soon realizes we are all unique and special in our own way.

This gorgeous, lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another comes from Empire actor and activist Grace Byers and talented newcomer artist Keturah A. Bobo.

We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it.

A hopeful meditation on all the great (and challenging) parts of being human, I Am Human shows that it’s okay to make mistakes while also emphasizing the power of good choices by offering a kind word or smile or by saying “I’m sorry.” At its heart, this picture book is a celebration of empathy and compassion that lifts up the flawed fullness of humanity and encourages children to see themselves as part of one big imperfect family—millions strong.

In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges–and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we’re not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.

A perfect book for tomorrow’s leaders, Little Heroes of Color educates and inspires by showing readers 50 trailblazers from a range of races and ethnicities. Bold colors and simple captions bring the youngest readers face-to-face with those who’ve shaped history and broken boundaries in science, the arts, government, and more.

What we tell ourselves matters! This is just as true for kids as it is for adults.

Help your child tap into their inner strength and find the encouragement they need to navigate their daily environments.

Mindful affirmations can help your child tune out the streams of messages they get about how they should be in the world.

I can choose kindness.

I can practice peace.

I can share my gifts with the world.

Positive Ninja wasn’t always so happy and optimistic. She used to struggle with negativity until she learned a strategy that would change her forever.