Black History Month is here, when we highlight the history of black Americans and celebrate their many contributions to society. What’s the best way to do this with our youngest children? In this post I’ve gathered some of my favorite board books in honor of black history month.
I can’t offer up the intricacies of American history to my two-year-old granddaughter, or more than an overview to my six-year-old grandson, but I have my simple strategy to prepare the ground for future learning; to show them many kinds of people in the world, how they are alike and how they are different, and how they all belong, in our country and around the world.
Make the Story Relevant to Their World
Very young children begin learning about their own small world first, with the simplest concepts; how their bodies work and who the people are in their world. Babies love books with pictures of other babies, their fingers and toes, their daily activities, their families and pets and all the things about daily life they experience. As they grow a little older, stories begin to include more complexity, like the wider world of preschool, the playground, their neighborhood, and community.
Show the World in All Its Diversity
Read stories with illustrations that depict all kinds of children. The more children see a variety of children from a variety of races, the more that diversity seems normal rather than unusual.
People of color are only just becoming more widely represented in children’s literature. It’s easy to find beautiful picture books with babies celebrating all skin colors, but I have to look harder for stories including (much less featuring) people of color.
I found a treasure trove of books and information at Lee and Low Books, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the US. Another good resource is Jambo Book Club, which finds quality books that feature children of color.
Board Books for Black History Month
Bright illustrations light up this game of peekaboo for a toddler, who plays the age-old game with the family.
I love these illustrations, which jump off the page and make you joyful to have some tiny toes to squeeze!
A sweet counting book is reminiscent of Goodnight Moon in its depiction of house, pets, toys and toes – the familiar world of the small child.
Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author and illustrator John Steptoe describes the fun interaction between the baby in the crib and his brother playing in the room.
This charming book tells the story of a little girl who sees what her family and friends do, and brimming with confidence, says “I can do it too!”
Vashti Harrison created a board book from Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, with simple text and illustrations.
Ann Taylor was a nineteenth century British poet who wrote The Star (known to many as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Her poem Baby Dance celebrates the ways we rock and roll, swing and sway with our babies.
Lola visits the library with her mum every Tuesday. This is the first of the Lola Reads series by Irish author Anna McQuinn, whose many books show all kinds of children enjoying all kinds of activities.
Storytelling is one of the many ways we introduce children to their world. Read to them the world! We want to show the world in all its infinite diversity – the parts that are familiar to us as well as the parts that are new and different. Let’s not limit our exploration of different races and cultures to February!
Thank you, Mom, for sharing this wonderful article about introducing young children to diversity! I will definitely be checking out these board books for black history month! If you are interested in more from A Grandmother’s Library Shelf, check out Childhood Books to Read and Reread, and Wordless Books for Toddlers.