These wonderful books are all about celebrating our differences. Many of the characters in these books struggle with feeling good about themselves when they don’t look like their friends or sometimes even their family.
But they learn to love and appreciate who they are and that it’s not important to look like everyone else. It’s more important to be oneself!
Title: Boonoonoonous Hair!
Author: Olive Senior
Illustrator: Laura James
In this vibrant and exquisitely illustrated picture book, written by Commonwealth Prize -winning Jamaican- Canadian Olive Senior.
A young girl learns to love her difficult-to manage, voluminous and boonoonoonous hair.
Title: Princess Hair
Author: Sharee Miller (Illustrator)
Little girls pretending to be princesses celebrate the different shapes, textures, and styles of their black hair.
Title: Bedtime Bonnet
Author: Nancy Amanda Redd
Illustrator: Nneka Myers
As family members braid, brush, twirl, roll, and tighten their hair before bedtime, putting on kerchiefs, wave caps, and other protective items, the little sister cannot find her bonnet.
Title: Cool Cuts
Author: Mechal Renee Roe, author, illustrator.
“An illustrated, joyful celebration of African-American boys’ hairstyles” –Provided by publisher.
Title: Chocolate Me!
Author: Taye Diggs
Illustrator: Shane W. Evans
Relates the experiences of a dark-skinned, curly-haired child who wishes he could look more like lighter-skinned children in his community until his mother helps him realize realize how wonderful he is inside and out.
Title: Brown Sugar Babe
Author: Charlotte Watson Sherman
Illustrator: Akem
“When a little girl has doubts about the color of her skin, her mother shows her all the wonderful beautiful things brown can be! This message of self-love and acceptance uses rich, dreamy illustrations to celebrate the color using all the senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing”
Title: Sulwe
Author: Lupita Nyong’o
Illustrator: Vashti Harrison
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.
Title: Hey Black Child
Author: Useni Eugene Perkins
Illustrated: Bryan Collier
“A lyrical, empowering poem that celebrates black children seeks to inspire all young ones to dream big and achieve their goals” Provided by publisher.
Title: Welcome, Precious
Author: Nikki Grime
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Illustrations and text welcome a new baby to some of life’s delights, from “the glistering mystery of soap bubbles” to “the swish of leaves in the breeze.”
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