The Eleven Best Back-to-School Racially Diverse Children's Picture Books

It's back-to-school time, and no matter how you're choosing to educate your children this year, I want you to know I'm cheering for you! Maybe your kiddo needs a lunch box and backpack, or maybe school is wearing pajamas and hovering over a laptop at the kitchen table. 2020 has been a real doozy so far, and we just have to keep rolling with it.

Just because the coronavirus has taken over our newsfeeds (and is causing us to have some serious anxiety) doesn't mean we have to ignore making back-to-school special for our kids. I'm a big-believer in helping our children LOVE learning. One way to instill this desire to get educated is to positively enforce to our kids that craving knowledge, asking questions, and succeeding is important. 

Parents, we set the tone for our children. This year, it's going to be extra challenging to be positive about back-to-school, but we can do it. I've put together this book listing to help you. These racially diverse books are an awesome way to encourage your child to get excited about a fresh school year and new possibilities. I hope you'll check them out, choose a few, and read to your children! 

Click on the book image to learn more, including reviews, get a sneak peek inside, read a summary, and purchase if you wish.

Happy learning, happy reading, friends! And as always, please come hang out with me on Facebook and Instagram, where I'm posting all of our family adventures, favorite books, videos, answers to your questions, articles, and memes.

5 Awkward Things White People Have Said to My Black Children

Our big, multiracial crew attracts attention.   Two white parents and four Black children.  It's obvious our family was built by adoption which intrigues many.   The kids, stair-stepped in age, also garner attention for their looks and personalities. 

Stepping out in public means knowing that we will probably be approached by a stranger for some reason. 

This isn't automatically a bad thing.  Sometimes a stranger might see us and simply say, "You have a beautiful family."  We always appreciate this.  Sometimes people will tell us their connection to adoption; some of those who approach us are adoptees (which is always a great interaction). 

But sometimes, we are thrown into some very awkward conversations.   And I'm guessing you've been there, done that.  Here are our top five most awkward things white people have said to my Black children: 

1:  I don't see color.

Um, you approached us because you noticed our multiracial family status.

To be perfectly clear, my children's race should be acknowledged and celebrated, not ignored.  Colorblindness, as I've said many times.  Is.  Not.  Real.   

Another awkward situation is when someone sees my kids, notes they are Black, but whispers "Black" or "African American" like it's a curse word or a secret.  

Oh, and my kids know they're Black. 

2:  How long did it take to get your hair done?!?

This is usually both a statement and a question.  Sometimes the person will say, "Hours?"  And, "How in the world can you sit still for so long?"  

Sometimes this is followed by an attempt to touch my kids' hair.

Don't even think about it. 

These hair conversations makes one of my kids really uncomfortable, because she's an introvert who hates attention outside of her basketball skills.   

3:  You are so lucky to have good and loving parents.

Adoptees tell me they are tired of being told they are "lucky."  They shouldn't be forced to feel grateful for being adopted.  Being adopted wasn't a choice the adoptee made.

We are good and loving parents, yes, but my kids also have other "good and loving" parents who gave birth to them and with whom we still have relationships with.   

Furthermore, my kids aren't charity cases, and we aren't saviors.  

4:  Girlfriend, you are just so cute!  YASSSSS!  

It's super awkward for the person we're talking to to all the sudden try to talk in the way they think Black people talk (usually based on movies or TV shows, not actual Black people...because they really don't know any).   Like somehow, the person can relate to my children by talking in a way that is supposed to be familiar to my children?  I don't know.  It's so weird. 

5:  What country are you from?

Newsflash:  not all adoptees of color were adopted internationally.  Shockingly (sarcasm), there are Black people right here in America!   

Also, many, many adoptees are white.  And the number of kids in foster care?  The majority are white.  (See, there's so many things people don't know!)   Oh wait, but you don't see color...

What's the most awkward thing someone has said to your kids?

Dear Sugar: Five Easy Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month With Children

Hey, Sugar!

April is National Poetry Month!   I feel like every special month or holiday is a great opportunity to teach our children about Black history.  Too often, Black history is reserved for February (Black History Month).   Take advantage of the special months and holidays, opening the doors for your children to learn.

Here are five easy ways to celebrate National Poetry Month with your children:

1:  Buy poetry books featuring children of color to have on-hand year-round.

Here are our favorites!  Click on the photo, and you'll be taken to Amazon to read reviews, peak inside the books, and purchase.

2:  Create posters/art featuring African American poets or their poems.  

This is a great activity for a child of any age.  Older children can do online research on poets, while younger children can listen to you read a book and illustrate either the poet or one of the poems.   If the poet is living, see if you can e-mail or mail the child's art, along with a letter.  You never know! You may get a response.  And don't forget to use your multicultural markers!  

3:  Use words to create poems.

Either buy magnetic poetry sets, or simply go DIY by writing words on index cards, spreading them out on a big, flat surface, and start creating your own poems.  Easy!  Fun!  

4:  Write a haiku.

Writing a haiku seems simple, but it's really quite challenging! Tackle subjects that are silly or serious.   Have children generate their own topics, or throw topics into a container and let kids draw a topic to write about.    Haiku poetry is also great for artwork.   Have children illustrate their own haiku, or shuffle and distribute the poetry, allowing children to illustrate someone else's poem.   This is a great way to talk about interpretation!   You can even distribute the same haiku to all kids, allow them to illustrate, and then talk about the differences in their artwork.  

5:  Play the Rhyming Game.

My children love, love, love doing this.   I say a word, and they take turns coming up with as many words that rhyme with it as possible.   This is a great bedtime or car game for young-ish kiddos.  My kids even like playing the Rhyming Game during bathtime.    

How do you plan to celebrate National Poetry Month?

-This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.