I’ve written on a variety of topics that I’ve hoped would be interesting or helpful to others, but hands down, my most popular post is the one I wrote on Why Living Books Are Not Enough for Black Children. I’ve received more emails and messages about that post than all the others combined (with I Actually Like My Kids coming in at a close second).

Hearing from others who share my struggle with providing quality, yet affirming, literature for black children has been uplifting. It confirms that I’m not crazy or alone – both good things. But the overwhelmingly positive response to that post has also caused me some anxiety.

I so desperately want to provide my like-minded sisters with a carefully curated list of life-giving books for their children. I want to gift them with the thing I’m always wishing for, and I thought that I would. But it ain’t happening. At least not now.

As the weeks roll into months, and the elusive “free time” I’m continually and naively expecting to receive has yet to appear, I must admit (temporary) defeat.

For those of you who have been waiting for my awesome list, I can only promise that one day I will complete it, and you’ll be able to rely on it. It will contain all of the book titles from our home library and others that I’ve personally pre-read or read along with my children. But in the meantime, here is a list of lists, and it’s pretty fabulous. Am I allowed to say that? I hope so!

[Update: Things have changed quite a bit since this post was first written. My children are a little older, and I’ve had time to share MANY book recommendations as well as capture the books I’ve used with my children over the years. I’ve also written up my lesson plans and provided them as Heritage Packs covering various aspects of African and African-American culture.]

These are THE resources I use to choose my kids’ books – the sites I peruse late at night when the house is quiet, and I should be sleeping. Grab a cup of tea, your library website login, and your debit card…

28 Black Picture Books That Aren’t About Boycotts, Buses, or Basketball (2016): “We’ve picked up a few other hobbies since the 1960s, and there are hundreds of books to show for it…most of them featuring Black children doing what all children do: play, make up stories, learn life lessons, and dream. I also tried to spread out the gender of the protagonists, as well as put some light on some typically ignored aspects of Black life in books (loving and present fathers, non-urban life, and so on).” Imagine me running around my bedroom screaming “hallelujah” when I first found this list. Seriously. 

28 More Black Picture Books That Aren’t About Boycotts, Buses, or Basketball (2018): “Nothing against history, but we aren’t exactly hurting for books on slavery. We could do with some more books about fishing, owning pets, and generally any other hobby children have.” AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! 

Black Children’s Books and Authors: “…find fiction and nonfiction books based on specific genres, themes, people, animals, and various other topics of interest.” The homepage of this site also has some amazing lists, but this topical database is unbelievably helpful. I love it.

1000 Black Girl Books Database: “We have reviewed the titles and descriptions of books to ensure that they fit the criterion of having a black girl as the main characters. We have also catalogued the books by reading level.”  This is an invaluable resource. I can’t even describe how I felt the day I found it. However, please keep in mind that just because a book has a black girl main character doesn’t necessarily make it a suitable fit for the shelves of a Christian home. I always recommend pre-reading or finding reliable book reviews. And be sure to check out the book written by Marley Dias, the girl behind this amazing list.

Diverse Picture Books to Celebrate the Everyday: “Books about ordinary childhood problems- not rooted in historical events or racial tensions– where the characters in the story aren’t white.” Yes! All of these are not about black characters, but many are and the others featuring brown people from all over are just as awesome.

The Brown Bookshelf (28 Days Later): “During the twenty-eight days of Black History Month, we profile a different children’s or young adult author and children’s illustrator, looking for the best new and unnoticed works by African-Americans. From picture books to novels, books fresh off the presses to those that have lurked in the background unsung for months or years.” (Scroll down for 11 years of spotlights – a goldmine!)

Black Boy Joy: 30 Picture Books Featuring Black Male Protagonists: “As a parent, my goal is to present my children with a full spectrum of Brown and Black characters in a variety of books. I want their experiences of story and representations of the world to include people of color, people they can imagine being like…or fictional characters with whom they can identify.” Because my oldest two are girls, I’ve had to really focus on pumping up our home library with titles for my little boys. 

55 Picture Books Starring Black Mighty Girls: “… only 3.3% of children’s and young adult books starred black characters. Greater diversity in books not only gives children of color an opportunity to see themselves in stories but also helps broaden the perspective of all children by fostering children’s sense of empathy and connection with characters who might look different from themselves.”  And while you’re on this site, you may want to consider signing up for their newsletter. I find all kinds of great resources and ideas for my girls there, beyond just books.

24 Multicultural Children’s Books About Christmas: Ahhhh! This is so right on time. I only recently ran across this one, and we don’t own any of the titles but I’m eager to grab them.

HONORABLE MENTIONS. These lists have a lot of books about “the struggle,” and I don’t include those in my definition of life-giving books. But these books also play a big role in my homeschool, so I want to share them:

• 11 Living Books for Black History (We own 7 of these so far): I especially recommend the first two for your younger students who can’t yet read more difficult texts but still yearn for quality historical literature. OK, yearn may be a strong word. My kids don’t yearn for quality historical literature, but I do on their behalf. #truth
• Knowing Our History to Build a Brighter Future: Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality: “Here are some resources to help us move beyond tokens and icons to a deeper understanding of our history and its legacy, toward our own marches for liberty and justice for all.” 
• 50+ Multicultural STEAM Books for Children: “This list of multicultural STEAM books for children should have something for everyone: Girls, Boys, Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School – I even found a science board book series for babies!” 
• 100 Best Children’s Books for African American History Month: “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
• 15 Children’s Books About the Harlem Renaissance: We’ll be studying this time period next school year, so I’m in the process of collecting these for our home library. We have five of them, and I’m working through the rest of the list.

Though none of these lists are revolutionary, I know that you’ll find them useful. I obviously haven’t read every book from every list, but I’d sure love to. And the ones I have read have indeed been life-giving for my kids – and if I’m being honest – for me, too.

ALERT: Occasionally, I am disappointed by things in some of these books*. I try to pre-read everything, but it’s getting harder as my kids become true readers, and I consider that a good problem to have. When I just can’t stay ahead of my oldest, I rely on what I call a “heavy skim” – I quickly glance at nearly every page trying to pick up on key red flag words, and I read excerpts from the beginning, middle, and end of the book. I do consider the online reviews, but I don’t rely on them alone because I’ve been burned many, many times. Some reviewers slam books I love, and others sing praises of books I’ve had to throw away because they’re so worthless that I don’t even feel comfortable donating them somewhere where they may end up in the hands of another child – even if it’s not my own.

*Example: I’m pre-reading Drita, My Homegirl now as I intend to have my daughters lead a discussion on it for our homeschool group’s book club in a few months. On page 10, a father in the book says, “She needs to think of something besides herself once in a while – and I don’t mean that damn hamster!”

I wish the word “damn” wasn’t used, and I will mark through it with a black permanent marker before passing it to my kids. I think it was unnecessary and undesirable, however, the pickings are slim for my children and I’m not throwing the baby out with the bath water. In addition, I appreciate that the next line says “…you’re not supposed to use curses in my house, even little ones.” I’m still not introducing my kids to inappropriate language they’ve never heard, but at least it’s nice that the dad is rebuked for his choice of words, and the desired behavior is immediately reinforced.

I guess what I’m saying is that these life-giving books weren’t written in 1860. They’re modern. [GASP! Fellow CMers, please breathe in deeply and exhale before fainting] And sometimes they go further than I’m willing to go. So, join me in getting annoyed about it, and then get a good Sharpie®. It’s so worth it.