Picture Books for Black History Month

I truly love our diverse family. Raising children who look differently than we do can be a challenge though.

I wish I could say I had the perfect recipe for raising black children in a white home who will never experience racism or never be on the receiving end of a negative stereotype assumption. That’s impossible.

Black History Study

I know what I CAN do is to try and teach ALL my children about the history of black people in the United States. We are often afraid of what we don’t know or don’t understand. While many of these topics are not pleasant to discuss, I would be doing my children a terrible disservice to pretend it didn’t happen!

I’m a big fan of good picture books, even as my children get older. I believe they are an excellent way to teach complicated topics and can open up the door for much discussion.

Martin Luther King Jr. day is approaching as well as February is Black History Month. These are books that we read throughout the year, but in particular we will focus on more in depth study next month.

These are all books we have read over and over. Books that my kids ask for without prompting from me.

Picture Books About Civil Rights

Sister Anne’s Hands – I have posted about this awesome book before and the activity we did along with it. A beautiful book!

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins – you and your children will learn about the grass roots effort of the Civil Rights movement.

Freedom Summer – The story of two friends, one white and one black. They discover that they aren’t always allowed to do the same things.

 

White Socks Only – The story of a young girl breaking the rules without really knowing what she is doing, yet she sparks the actions of the rest of the town.

 

Ruth and the Green Book – How the “Green Book” helped black travelers in the 1950’s. Most of us have never heard about the Green Book!

 

The Other Side – Sometimes as adults, we are the ones that make life more complicated than it needs to be.

 

More Than Anything Else – I love this story for the simple fact that it is an excellent reminder to never take for granted something as fundamental as learning to read.

 

Follow the Drinking Gourd – We have read this book many, many times and I have posted activities that we have done in the past. A great book to share with your children!

 

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom – The story of how she was inspired to help those around her.

 

The Story of Ruby Bridges – A retelling of the true story of Ruby Bridges and the struggle to integrate schools in the 60’s. The movie is also excellent.

 

Dear Benjamin Banneker – Benjamin Banneker grew up a free man in the 1700’s. He was a self-taught astronomer and mathematician and published the first almanac written by a black man.

 

Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.? – We love the Who Was series and this book is no exception.

I’m always looking for great books to add to our collection, what are some of your favorites?

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