Deborah Hopkinson makes history accessible to young readers through remarkably engaging and accessible children’s picture books. Her recent publication, Carter Reads the Newspaper, is no exception. Although I was planning on sticking to #ownvoices books throughout Black History Month, Hopkinson’s book is a wonderful description of Carter G. Woodson’s life […]
Carefree, Like Me!: Chapter 2: Sacra the Joyous, by Rashad Malik Davis, introduces young readers to fantasy, friendship, and cultural diversity. Envisioned as a series of seven picture books, the second chapter will be released in late-February 2019. The story stars two friends, the skinny brown-skinned Amir and his best […]
A Tale of Two Mommies (2011), written by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Mike Blanc, is an affirming story about a little boy and his two moms. Three small, racially diverse children enjoy a day at the beach. One of the children, a little boy, has tawny beige skin, another […]
Going Home with Daddy, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Daniel Minter, is gorgeous. The story unfolds from the point-of-view of a young African American boy heading to his great-grandma Granny’s for an annual family reunion. The text is heavy with emotion, but none shine as boldly as […]
Written by debut author Laura Roettiger and illustrated by Ariel Boroff, Aliana Reaches for the Moon, will be released February 19, 2019 to coincide with the full moon. The story is about Aliana, a creative and curious little girl, who learns to harness the beauty of moonlight to make her […]
Uncle Aiden (2005), written and illustrated by Laurel Dykstra, might just be my favorite gay uncle book. And, there are probably as many gay uncle books as there are boys who wear dresses books, which is to say competition is fierce.
Bonjour, Mr. Satie (1991) by Tomie dePaola is the story of two children, Rosalie and Conrad, their uncle, Mr. Satie, and his “companion,” Ffortusque Ffollet, Esq. When the two world travelers visit their family, they bring Paris to America through French cuisine, a smattering of French words, and enchanting stories […]
Be Who You Are (2010), written by Jennifer Carr and illustrated by Ben Rumback, explores a young transgender girl’s transition. Although Hope’s sex assignment was male, she always felt like a girl. She tells her very accepting parents while she is quite young, and they support her. However, Hope isn’t […]
A Card for my Father, written by Samantha Thornhill and illustrated by Morgan Clement, is brilliantly and beautifully told from the point-of-view of Flora Gardner, a little girl who has never met her father. Flora has light brown skin and big expressive eyes underlined by a dash of freckles. Readers […]
In 2017, writer/illustrator Rashad Malik Davis published Chapter 1: Root the Brave, the first installment in his fun and suspenseful book series Carefree, Like Me!. Davis envisions creating a total of seven “chapters” released at the pace of about one a year. Two are currently available. Davis describes the series […]
Raise Them Righteous 