Hellobee

One of the most amazing benefits I get from my job is getting to work with people who know children’s literature in and out. I grew up in a different country, so my knowledge of books for the under 12 age group was pretty much zero before I started my job. But when Baby Carrot appeared, my fellow book nerd coworkers gifted us a huge starter library, and on a daily basis, I have the privilege to learn about classic kids’ books and what’s coming out that’s good to read. Although she’s still a wee toddler, Baby Carrot already has a big library, and I have started keeping an ever-growing list of books I plan to add to her library as she gets older.

One of my recent work projects has been to help build a collection of books for kids that focus on cultural diversity, multicultural experiences, and social issues, such as different family structures, bullying, identity development and beyond. This has been an amazing and transformative experience in many ways. I fully believe that early exposure to cultures and experiences are the best way to ingrain sensitivity, understanding and curiosity, so on the list I started for Baby C are a lot of books about travel and lots of variety that will get her exposed to different cultures, countries and beyond. The books I got to read for work went beyond this, tackling what seem like incredibly heavy topics, but I’ve found in these recent works I’ve sampled that they are handled beautifully and appropriately, so I wanted to share some of the favorites that made my list for Baby C’s future reading.

History and Multicultural Themes

1) Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and 5) Whoever You Are – Mem Fox, the author of these two classic board books, is a queen of rhyme and themes that celebrate diversity and similarities across the globe. Both books are fantastic reads with little ones, and grow well with kids as they begin to understand the idea of being different yet the same with kids across the world.

2) Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns –  Another gem for exposing little kids to Islamic culture. This book has beautiful illustrations, and depicts terms common to Islam through colors. There is more religious terminology in this book, as to be expected in a book about a faith, but it doesn’t approach religion in any way except to illustrate its terminology. Its simplicity makes it ideal for the slightly older toddler and through kindergarten and early school-age.

3) Gazpacho for Nacho – This is one of my most favorite books, and would be fun for kids from toddlers to kindergartners and beyond. Nacho is a little boy who will only eat gazpacho, a soup that originates in Spain and is common across Spanish and Latin cuisine. It’s a very fun rhyme, peppered with Spanish terms, as Nacho’s mom teaches him how to make his favorite dish, and it touches on a number of great topics – picky eaters, shopping and cooking, especially for boys, and a way to learn new English and Spanish words. It also includes a recipe for gazpacho that would be fun to try with older kids.

4) Deep In the Sahara – This is a beautifully illustrated book about a young girl’s interest in wearing a malafa, a long cloth that Muslim women in Mauritania (West Africa) wear as a combination dress and veil. The book is beautifully written, very lyrical, and is a rare find in that it talks about Muslim culture in Africa, a region not commonly associated with the Muslim faith nor written about in general, especially in kids’ literature. In spite of its appearance, the book is not religious in nature, with the exception of one mention of faith at the end, when the main character discovers that the veiled dress she so longs to wear is an expression of faith in her culture. I particularly love this book and want to read it to Baby C when she gets closer to pre-school/kindergarten because we live in a community that’s heavily populated by Muslim immigrants from Africa. By the time she grows up, a malafa will be an every day sight for her, and it’ll be great to have a story to go with her daily experience.

6) Mama’s Saris – Also an older book, and similar to Deep in the Sahara, Mama’s Saris explores a young girl’s curiosity about the beautiful saris she sees her grandmother and mother wear, and the history and rituals behind them. This one would be especially interesting to read to Baby C because she’s half Indian, on her dad’s side, and although she probably won’t get to see me wear a sari very often (I can’t seem to get my balance right in one, no matter how hard I try!), she’ll have plenty of exposure to the gorgeous fabrics and their meaning for her grandmother and great-aunties.

7) I Have a Dream – There are a ton of books for kids of all ages about Martin Luther King Jr. This one is one of my favorites because it introduces his famous speech to kids who may not yet be familiar with the history behind it. It’s beautifully, simply illustrated, and ties excerpts of the speech to the illustrations, allowing for a discussion of the speech’s ideas without needing a lot of historical knowledge in advance.

Social Issues and Themes

1) Jacob’s New Dress and 2) I Am Jazz – These books tackle topics of gender identity in kids. Jacob’s New Dress, a story of a little boy who likes wearing dresses and even makes one to wear to school, is a more general approach to the subject of identity, and can be used as a great example of showcasing different tastes and preferences among kids, as well as a lesson on acceptance and anti-bullying. I Am Jazz is a story of a boy who prefers to be a girl. It’s beautifully illustrated and is an easy, clear way to introduce kids to the idea of transgender.

3) Each Kindness and 4) The Other Side – I have a bit of a crush on Jacqueline Woodson, the author of both of these books. There is not a single book of hers that I have picked up that I haven’t adored, and these two are no exception. They tackle heavy topics – bullying in Each Kindness and racial lines and acceptance in The Other Side. Both are more appropriate for first graders and older, and are absolute must reads for kids of all colors, economic levels and backgrounds.

5) And Tango Makes Three – Tango is an older book, and one of the first to introduce the idea of same sex parents. It’s great to read to toddlers and younger kids, since it illustrates same sex families through a story about penguins, and even without the social message, it’s a fun, heartwarming story. Some other greats in this category are Leslea Newman’s series, 6) Mommy, Mama and Me, 7) Daddy, Papa and Me, and 8) Heather Has Two Mommies, which is coming out with new artwork in early 2015 – a significant improvement over the original art.

Do you have any favorite kid books that focus on cultural and social issues? I’m always looking for more ideas!