Books Are Helping Hands
Reading as a way for children to make sense of their world
Making Sense
Given the climate of the country, your children may be asking questions about difficult topics. Sometimes lending a helping hand can come in the form of a book. Reading can be a mirror that reflects back on the reader, or a window in which to show the reader new understandings.
As one way to offer support and teaching tools to you as parents, we suggest the following resources and books that address different needs.
- Time for Kids writes about recent events in a child-friendly way.
- A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice from Teaching Tolerance.
- PBS presents an article about how to spark conversation with children through art.
- School Library Journal shares an article about how libraries support healthy conversations about race; at the bottom is a resource list for parents.
Exploring History
Refugee by Alan Gratz
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren
Celebrating Differences
Chocolate Milk, For Favor: Celebrating Diversity with Empathy by Maria Dismondy
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramandan Story by Reem Faruqi
Social Justice Issues
Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Generation Fix: Young Ideas for a Better World by Elizabeth Rusch
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan Tudor
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Pre-K Titles
Elmer's Special Day by David McKee
Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr