Let’s Talk About Race: A Picture Book List for Young Children

Something Happened In Our Town : A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano Ages 4-8

After discussing the police shooting of a local Black man with their families, Emma and Josh know how to treat a new student who looks and speaks differently than his classmates. Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers that provides general guidance about addressing racism with children, child-friendly vocabulary definitions, conversation guides, and a link to additional online resources for parents and teachers.

A Ride to Remember : A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan Ages 5-8

When Sharon Langley was born, amusement parks were segregated, and African American families were not allowed in. This picture book tells how a community came together–both black and white–to make a change. In the summer of 1963, because of demonstrations and public protests the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Maryland became desegregated and opened to all for the first time. Sharon and her parents were the first African American family to walk into the park, and Sharon was the first African American child to ride the merry-go-round. This was on the same day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Sharon’s ride to remember demonstrated the possibilities of King’s dream. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3888147

Read Instantly on Hoopla https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12462920

Separate is Never Equal : the story of Sylvia Mendez and her Family by Duncan Tonatiuh Ages 6-10

Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California.  -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3154669

Request from Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/1762792

Read Instantly on Hoopla https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12466111

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o Ages 4-8

When five-year-old Sulwe’s classmates make fun of her dark skin, she tries lightening herself to no avail, but her encounter with a shooting star helps her understand there is beauty in every shade. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3860785

Request from Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/4593049

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad Ages 5-10

Faizah relates how she feels on the first day her sister, sixth-grader Asiya, wears a hijab to school. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3855876Request from

Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/4560113

Island Born by Junot Diaz Ages 5-8

Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland … and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3682417

Don’t Touch My Hair! by Sharee Miller Ages 4-8

Aria loves her soft and bouncy hair, but must go to extremes to avoid people who touch it without permission until, finally, she speaks up.  -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3789245

Request from Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/3877527

Parker Looks Up by Parker & Jessica Curry Ages 4-8

This book is based on the viral photograph of African American toddler Parker Curry, who, during a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, became mesmerized by Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama, who she thought was a queen. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3859106

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson Ages 5-8

Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3767571

Request on Overdrive/Libby https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/3682380

I am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer Ages 5-8

A biography of Martin Luther King Jr. that tells the story of how he used nonviolence to lead the civil rights movement. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3453667

Request on Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/2462005

I am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer Ages 5-8

Recounts Rosa Parks’ daring effort to stand up for herself and other African Americans by helping to end segregation on public transportation. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3146579

Request on Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/1576530

The Other Side by Jacquline Woodson Ages 5-8

Two girls, one white and one black, gradually get to know each other as they sit on the fence that divides their town.

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1984284

Request from Libby/Overdrive (Video Format Only) https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/2482381

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles Ages 5-9

For months six-year-old Ruby Bridges must confront the hostility of white parents when she becomes the first African American girl to integrate Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1530412

Request from Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/2187898

For young children who may not be able to follow the issues tackled in the books above we recommend focusing on reading books featuring diverse characters rather than books on particular issues.  Here are a just few we love- ask your librarian for more recommendations!

All Are Welcome Here by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman Preschool

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text introduce a school where diversity is celebrated and songs, stories, and talents are shared. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3756686

Saturday by Oge Mora Preschool

When all of their special Saturday plans go awry, Ava and her mother still find a way to appreciate one another and their time together. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3857628

Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn Preschool

Every Tuesday Lola and her mother visit their local library to return and check out books, attend story readings, and share a special treat. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2422039

Hair Love by Matthew Cherry Preschool

A little girl’s daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self. -MLN Catalog

Request from Minuteman Library Network https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3832550

Request on Libby/Overdrive https://minuteman.overdrive.com/minuteman-millis/content/media/4229964

Listen Instantly on Hoopla (Audio Format Only) https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12750022

This list was written on 6/2/2020 in memory of George Floyd, with love and hope for future generations. -RS