VB Book Club

In our conversation with pediatric psychologist and parent coach, Dr. Ann-Louise T. Lockhart, on how to speak to your children about racism—an all-important conversation to have, now more than ever—she explains that it goes beyond mere words. "It’s so important to have toys and dolls that look different," she says. "It’s having artwork and books and movies that have people or are made by people that look different. It’s having friends that are different from you." Here, a place to begin—a list of children's books for you and your young ones to read, together.

Ages 3-5

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
Another by Christian Robinson
Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park
Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Thank You, Omu by Oge Mora

Ages 6-8

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel
Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story by Reem Faruqi
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
The Year of the Fortune Cookie by Andrea Cheng
The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson

Ages 9+

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan Tudor and Kelly Tudor