Beyond a Black Square
A Diverse & Inclusive Reading List for Kids
“Like a steamer used to strip walls bare of the layers of paper used to cover them, empathy helps strip away differences and works to remind us that at the end of the day, we are all of us at our core, simply human” Onjali Q. Rauf
I am sure, like many people, the feeling that posting a black square, and then going about ‘business as usual’ feels completely wrong. In terms of our pledges to Listen, Learn and Educate our littlest minds to grow up in a new paradigm, we need some action to come from our sadness and empathy. We’ve taken the opportunity to go away, do some digging and have come up with a list of wonderful kid’s books championing diversity and inclusivity. Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive, and reading a more varied mix of books is just the very tip of the iceberg, there is so much more we can, should and must do to ensure our children embrace and support our beautifully multicultural world but this is a place to start as we mean to go on.
Pre-Schoolers:
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi
Don't Touch my Hair by Sharee Miller
Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin
Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohen
It’s Ok to Be Different by Sharon Purtill
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Little Feminist Board Book Set by Emily Kleinman
Mixed by Arree Chung
My Hair by Hannah Lee
Saturday by Oge Mora
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
The Family Book by Todd Parr
The Same But Different Too by Karl Newson
Woke Baby by Mahogany L. Browne
Key Stage One
A Scarf for Keiko by Ann Malaspina
An ABC of Equality by Chana Ginelle Ewing
Don’t Call Me Special: A First Look at Disability by Pat Thomas
If You’re Going to a March by Martha Freeman
Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
Little Leaders Bold Men / Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
Lulu The One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney
My Two Grannies by Floella Benjamin
Philly & Friends: Who Do I See in the Mirror? by Vese Aghoghovbia Aladewolu
Race Cars by Jenny Devenny
Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis
Teach Your Dragon about Diversity by Steve Herman
The Girl With The Two Dads by Mel Elliott
The Girls by Lauren Ace
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
There’s Room for Everyone by Anahita Teymourian
This Is Ella by Krista Ewert
What’s Wrong With Timmy? by Maria Shriver
Key Stage Two
Black Brother, Black Brother by Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Planet Omar by Zanib Mian
Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf.
The Boy In The Dress by David Walliams
The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert
This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
We Rise We Resist We Raise our Voices by Wade Hudson
The Little People, Big Dreams series also features lots of stories about inspirational black people throughout history from Rosa Parks and Ella Fitzgerald to Martin Luther King Jr, Muhammad Ali and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Do check out the multicultural book carnival, This is Book Love; educational consultant and literary specialist Biracial Bookworms; indie publisher of diverse picture books Tiny Owl Publishing; and the inspirational, Empathy Lab, who have also compiled a list of 33 books for children, which illuminate the experience of people from a range of cultures or life circumstances, helping children to explore emotions, so they can understand how other people feel and reflect stories of our time, such as the refugee experience, or coping with anxiety.