Anti-Racism Resources: Lower School

Thunder Boy Jr. wants a normal name -- one that's all his own. Dad is known as Big Thunder, but Little Thunder doesn't want to share a name. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder. But just when Little Thunder thinks all hope is lost, Dad picks the best name...

This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber's chair -- a tradition that places on their heads a figurative crown, beaming with jewels, that confirms their brilliance and worth and helps them not only love and accept themselves but also take a giant step toward caring how they present themselves to the world.

Starting kindergarten is a big milestone -- and the hero of this story is ready to make his mark! He's dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can't wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. The day will be jam-packed, but he's up to the challenge, taking new experiences in stride with his infectious enthusiasm!

Presented as a thoughtful, poetic exchange between two characters -- who don't realize they are thinking and asking the very same questions -- this beautiful celebration of our humanity and diversity invites readers of all ages to imagine a world where there is no you or me, only we. If the first step toward healing the world is to build bridges of empathy and celebrate rather than discriminate, Why Am I Me? helps foster a much-needed sense of connection, compassion, and love.

An ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another. We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it.

It's up to Daddy to give his daughter, Zuri, an extra-special hair style in this ode to self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters.

This jewel-like vignette from Sandra Cisneros's best-selling The House on Mango Street shows, through simple, intimate portraits, the diversity among us. In English and Spanish.

Captures a young girl's experience of having her hair braided and the bond it creates with her mother. Come join Nikki on an adventure as she is transformed into an Egyptian queen, a Nigerian goddess, a Zulu warrior, and a Maasai girl. While young girls throughout the African Diaspora can relate to getting their hair braided in intricate styles, it is also an ancient ritual that is a large part of their history. Readers will enjoy learning about the origins of popular braided hairstyles worn today.

Celebrating all that makes us unique and different, this book offers new ways to talk about race and identity. Looking beyond skin, going straight to the heart, we find in each other the treasures stored down deep. Learning to cherish those treasures, to be all we imagine ourselves to be, makes us free. With its myriad of faces, this book introduces a strong message of loving yourself and others that will appeal to parents of our youngest readers.

Grandma's hijab clasps under her chin. Auntie pins hers up with a whimsical brooch. Jenna puts a sun hat over hers when she hikes. Iman wears a sports hijab for tae kwon do. As a young girl observes the women in her life and how each covers her hair a different way, she dreams of the possibilities in her own future and how she might express her personality through her hijab.

Alan looks forward to the annual family reunion at the farm where Daddy grew up, but everyone is supposed to share something special and Alan worries about arriving with empty hands. In this rich and moving celebration of history, culture, and ritual, Kelly Starling Lyons' eloquent text explores the power of family traditions.

Fry bread is food. It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate. Fry bread is time. It brings families together for meals and new memories. Fry bread is nation. It might look or taste different, but it is still shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond. Fry bread is us. It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.

What's in a name? For one little girl, her very long name tells the vibrant story of where she came from -- and who she may one day be. A Spanish-language edition, Alma y como obtuvo su nombre, is also available.

When a girl is asked where she's from -- where she's "really" from -- none of her answers seems to be the right one. Unsure about how to reply, she turns to her loving abuelo for help. He doesn't give her the response she expects; she gets an even better one. With themes of self-acceptance, identity, and home, this powerful, lyrical picture book will resonate with readers young and old, from all backgrounds and of all colors--especially anyone who ever felt that they don't belong. A Spanish-language edition, ¿De dónde eres?, is also available.

When you look in a mirror, who do you see? A boy? A girl? A son? A daughter? A runner? A dancer? Whoever and whatever you see, just put out your fist and give yourself an "I am" BAM! This jumping, jazzy, joyful picture book by father-and-son team Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers celebrates every child, and everything that a child can be.

In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the artistry of Georgia O'Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington, President Obama sees the traits of these heroes within his own children, and within all of America's children.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms, and where students grow and learn from each other's traditions. All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

With the ease and simplicity of a nursery rhyme, this lively story delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers. Themes associated with child development and social harmony, such as friendship, acceptance, self-esteem, and diversity are promoted in simple and straightforward prose. Vivid illustrations of children's activities for all cultures, such as swimming in the ocean, hugging, catching butterflies, and eating birthday cake are also provided.

A poignant yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael López's dazzling art remind us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes -- and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway. (This book is also available in Spanish, as El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres!)

Lila is excited for her cousins Takeo and Rosie to visit. They're going to ride bikes, paint, and camp together! But when the cousins arrive, everything's wrong: Rosie and Takeo are better painters than Lila, have skateboards instead of bikes, and don't want to camp outside. A multicultural family story that celebrates kindness and differences.

An ode to black American triumph and tribulation. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present. Robust back matter at the end provides valuable historical context and additional detail for those wishing to learn more.

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn't he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty -- and fun -- in their routine and the world around them.

Although a classmate says that she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to do.

It seems that wherever Aria goes, someone wants to touch her hair. In the street, strangers reach for her fluffy curls; and even under the sea, in the jungle, and in space, she's chased by a mermaid, monkeys, and poked by aliens...until, finally, Aria has had enough! Author-illustrator Sharee Miller takes the tradition of appreciation of black hair to a new, fresh, level.

Offers an emotional inlet to the crisis white children experience when they know people are being harmed and they are actively discouraged from feeling anything about it. Inspired by her own children’s curiosity, Higginbotham sets the story in present-day America, where a white child sees news coverage of a police shooting. The book empowers kids to seek an education in both white supremacy and those who have always fought against it—including some white people.

For most children these days it would come as a great shock to know that before 1967, they could not marry a person of a race different from their own. That was the year that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia. This is the story of Mildred Loving and Richard Perry Loving, who were arrested for violating that state's laws against interracial marriage and who took their case all the way to the Supreme Court -- and won!

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.

Introduces young readers to America's most influential protesters, from Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. to contemporary groundbreakers like transgender teen Jazz Jennings. With a foreword from a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, this succinct text paired with striking illustrations is a compelling read-together story for little activists who are just starting to find their voice.

A picture book of Martin Luther King's iconic speech, with an audio CD included. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 50 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation's past.

Author Julius Lester shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. "I write because our lives are stories," Lester writes. "If enough of these stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details." I am a story. So are you. So is everyone.

Meet the youngest known child to be arrested for a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963. Nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks intended to go places and do things like anybody else. So when she heard grown-ups talk about wiping out Birmingham's segregation laws, she spoke up. And when she heard the plan -- picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails! -- she stepped right up and said, I'll do it! The remarkable and inspiring story of one child's role in the Civil Rights Movement.

A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in of February 1, 1960, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Every activist started out as a kid -- and in some cases they were kids when their activism began! But even the world's greatest champions of civil liberties had relatable interests and problems, often in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. This book tells these childhood stories through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page.

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a "Whites only" school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

The niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. reveals six timeless and universal principles that encompass the civil rights leader's greatest legacy: Love will see you through. Including "have courage" and "love your enemies," these six hallmarks of virtue and nonviolence reinforce the truth that "the universe honors love" and will inspire readers of all ages.

In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.

Illustrations and brief text portray the events of the march in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

Two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street, and across town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice. A stirring yet jubilant glimpse of the youth involvement that played an invaluable role in the Civil Rights movement.

This triumphant picture book recasts a charged phrase as part of a black girl's everyday life: hands up for a hug, hands up in class, hands up for a high five -- before culminating in a moment of resistance at a protest march.

A book for families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for. A call to action for children and parents alike.

Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side, where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.

The story of two icons for social justice -- how they formed a remarkable friendship and turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a message of love and equality for all.

A fictionalized account of the true story of renowned African American author Richard Wright and his determination to borrow books from the public library that turned him away because of the color of his skin.

Ikarus Jackson, the new boy in school, is outcast because he has wings, but his resilient spirit inspires one girl to speak up for him.

The world needs your voice. If you have a brilliant idea... say something! If you see an injustice... say something! There are so many ways to tell the world who you are... what you are thinking... and what you believe. And how you'll make it better. The time is now: SAY SOMETHING!

Imagines what it was like when Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass (who were friends in real life) got together for a cup of tea and discussed their struggles to win rights for women and African Americans, respectively.

A collection of poems by women of color that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out. With Theodore Taylor's bright, emotional art and writting from Mahogany Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood, kids will be inspired to create their own art and poems to express how they see justice and injustice.

What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from such authors as Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Andrea Pippins, Sharon Draper, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Ellen Oh, and such artists as Ekua Holmes, Rafael Lopez, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, and more, this anthology empowers the nation's youth to listen, learn, and build a better tomorrow.

Acclaimed photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. interprets poet Langston Hughes's beloved tribute to his people in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today.

How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth grade poetry project? They don't know each other...and they're not sure they want to. Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners.