Children’s Books That Represent Black Boys & Girls

Children's Books That Represent Black Boys & Girls

It's Black History Month and as we know, reading is very important for children. There is a significant lack of representation for black boys and girls when it comes to children's books.

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When I first had my son, one thing I wanted to do was make sure he saw himself represented in the world. Too many times people of color grow up without seeing themselves in certain positions. This leads to those kids growing up only believing they can be certain things. I've seen it happen to my friends, and family members growing up and I don't want it happening to my son.

Representation is such an important thing to young black boys and girls. It's crazy that it's not normal to see even in children's books. According to Newsday, in 2018 out of 3,134 books published, African American children were the main characters in 10% or 301 of these books. Animals were featured as characters more often than children of color with 864 books.

Thanks to giving friends, family members and hard work from my son's mother, we've built quite a collection of books with black representation. I thought it would be a good idea to share these books with other parents in West Alabama who may be interested in buying them for their children.

The cool thing is, these books range from self-love to fantasy, to even being a DJ. You know I had to have a book about being a DJ for my son right? Lol!