50 Children’s Books About Racism and Diversity

Local Anchor support Black Lives Matter and we’ve asked our Facebook group to share resources on how we can support our community members about issues related to racism. Many suggested we start teaching children when they are young about racism.

We compiled a list of 50 children’s books that cover the topics of racism, diversity, and inclusion. Not all these books discuss the issues that Black Lives Matter movement tackles, but rather to promote how diverse our world really is by exposing children to different cultures, backgrounds, and religions. Note that the age range given for these books is a recommendation, so use it as a reference point as you know your children the best.

Children’s Books Ages 0 -3

A Color of His Own – Leo Lionni
Shades of People – Shelly Rotner and Sheila Kelly
Families – Shelly Rotner and Sheila Kelly
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes – Mem Fox
Baby Goes to Market – Atinuke
Counting on Community – Innosanto Nagara
Future Engineer (Future Baby) – Lori Alexander
Hats of Faith – Medeia Cohan

Children’s Books Ages 3-7

All the Colors We Are – Katie Kissinger (ages 3+)
What’s the Difference? Being Different is Amazing – Doyin Richards (ages 3-5)
It’s Okay to Be Different – Todd Parr (ages 3-6)
Sesame Street: We’re Different, We’re the Same – Bobbi Kates (ages 3- 7)
It’s Okay to Be Different – Sharon Purill (ages 3-7)
Be Kind – Pat Zietlow Miller (ages 3-6)
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice – Marianne Celano (ages 4-8)
Happy in Our Skin – Fran Manushkin (ages 4-6)
Let’s Talk About Race – Julius Lester (ages 4-8)
All Are Welcome: Alexandra Penfold (ages 4-8)
The Skin You Live In – Michael Tyler (ages 4-8)
Lovely – Jess Hong (ages 4-8)
Strictly No Elephants – Lisa Mantchev (ages 4-8)
I Am Human – Susan Verde (ages 4-8)
Hair Love – Matthew A. Cherry (ages 4-8)
The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family – Ibtihaj Muhammad (ages 4-8)
Sulwe – Lupita Nyongo (ages 4-8)
Hands Up! – Breanna J. McDaniel (ages 4-8)
Same, Same But Different – Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (ages 4-7)
Black, White, Just Right! – Marguerite W. Davol (ages 4-8)
Black is Brown is Tan – Arnold Adoff (ages 4-8)
The Colors of Us – Karen Katz (ages 4-8)
Together We Can! – Caryl Hart (ages 4-7)
The Story of Ruby Bridges – Robert Coles (ages 4-8)
All The Colors of the Earth – Sheila Hamanaka (ages 4-8)
Child of the Civil Rights Movement – Paula Young Shelton (ages 4-8)
The Day You Begin – Jacqueline Woodson (ages 5-8)
The Stone Thrower – Jael Ealey Richardson (ages 5+)
A Kid’s Book About Racism – Jelani Memory (ages 5+)
Different Differenter: An Activity Book About Skin Color – Jyoti Gupta (ages 5-8)
The Other Side – Jacqueline Woodson (ages 5-8)
I am Jackie Robinson – Brad Meltzer (ages 5-8)
A Different Pond – Bao Phi (ages 6-8)
Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration – Samara Cole Doyon (ages 6-8)
Daddy, There’s a Noise Outside – Kenneth Braswell (ages 6+)

Children’s Books Ages 8+

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness (Ordinary Terrible Things) – Anastasia Higginbotham (ages 8-12)
A Good Kind of Trouble – Lisa Moore Ramée (ages 8-12)
Blended – Sharon M. Draper (ages 8-12)
Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z – Irene Latham (ages 8-12)
Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson (ages 10+)
New Kid – Jerry Craft (ages 8-12)
Piecing Me Together – Renée Watson (ages 12+)
One Crazy Summer – Rita Williams-Garcia (ages 8-12)

If you are interested in finding more books, you can check out the resources we used to compile our list. There are more books than the 50 that we’ve listed in this blog post.

Sweet P and Sky | Race, Diversity and Inclusivity Conversations with Your Children

Black Moms Connection | Teaching Resources

Literacious.com | 36 Titles for Babies & Toddlers: Social Justice, Equality and Diversity

Liiteracious.com | 18 More Books for Babies & Toddlers: Social Justice, Equality and Diversity

Rebekah Gienapp | 15 books to help kids understand that Black Lives Matter

If you are looking for more children books that are diverse and talk about race:

@Books for Diversity on Instagram

EmbraceRace.Org – Where To Find Diverse Children’s Books

Twitter Thread – Children’s Books that Discuss Race and Racism