Home Girl Blog

20 Children's Books Featuring Black Characters Every Child Should Read

Black History Month is over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop reading about the contributions of African Americans to our country. It does mean we should keep the conversation going. 

Last month, we probably had lots of conversations and classes about African Americans in historical contexts, but it's important to remember that we all have shared experiences everyday as Americans. Our children are so lucky--they are not privy to news headlines and media messages that don't always protray African Americans in the best light. All that stuff awaits them years down the road; for now, we get to head off all those messages with more realistic ones. All kids love puppies, are anxious about some aspect of school life, meet new babies for the first time and have best friends. Thousands of kids books confirm that. My son's growing library consists of lots of classics. He was an early reader and I was so busy buying the books on every must-read kids list that I failed to notice how absent his growing book collection was of reflections of himself. 

Following are just a few of the books I found, many of which I have read, others I can't wait to read and all of which I am thrilled to be sharing with you all today.  They are picture books, history books and chapter book series that will expertly diversify every child's book collection. 

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please CLICK HERE to read my Full Disclosure statement.  

Feeling Cute. Might Delete Later.

I miss it over here. I've been on hiatus since 2016. Since then, I have written a book (google Kelis Rowe for the tea) and successfully transitioned from being a homeschooler to being a PTA mom. I'm thinking about coming back over here, so check back from time to time. In the meantime, please check out my book reviews and book posts.

xo Kel

A Fun List Of Black History Biographies For Kids Including The One American History Book Every Household Should Own.

The best part about this list is that, in many cases, you and your child will get to experience learning about these interesting stories for the first time together! My son finds it funny and fascinating each time I tell him we are learning together. The little ones in your life will too. Hopefully it will spark their interest in reading biographies for life and they will be the foundation of a more informed, more tolerant future.

After I finished this list, I realized it features a lot of males. I review books based heavily on the reading life of the kid in my life. I'm a boy mom, so pretty-please forgive the slant. This list contains 17 biographies, 5 books that are biography-ish and 1 book that everyone should have. 

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please CLICK HERE to read my Full Disclosure statement.

Now to it...

About that time I didn't have my iPhone

I ran across this Washington Post article yesterday on Facebook: Parents, can we put down our cameras?  In it, a parent writes about watching her child's big moment though a camera preview screen. Saturday, my iPhone conspired with the universe to force me to be present and experience a pretty epic day with my son in person, with no digital proof of the experience on social media. Just memories and stories to share with others. And we survived. 

We won tickets to a SuperLeague Minecraft event from LiveMom. Understatement: My son loves Minecraft. He only gets to play during his Saturday screen time, and when his behavior at school goes left, he loses the privilege and has to earn it back. Last week, he needed a stellar weekly progress report in order to play Minecraft and he got one. When I revealed to him on Saturday morning that I was taking him someplace to play Minecraft (he screamed)...with about fifty other kids (he ran and screamed)...on his laptop inside a movie theater on the movie screen, his gleeful screaming and running in circles came to a abrupt stop right in front of where I was sitting. He looked at me stone-faced and said, "Catch me." Then he turned around and pretended to faint on me. I was so happy for him. The night before, I made sure to charge my iPhone, because I was going to get some great pictures for Facebook and Instagram. 

After I saw the email that we had won the tickets, I checked my calendar and realized that Zack's first piano recital was scheduled at the same time as the Minecraft event. Fortunately, the piano teacher was cool with penciling Zack in on the already printed program for a later afternoon spot. It was going to make us late for one of his favorite friends' birthday party. Worth it. 

Enter The Universe and her conspiracy with my iPhone to force me backwards twenty technology years.

DIY Thriller Werewolf Costume

Call this one a Thriller Werewolf or Pretween Wolf costume. Either way, isn't it terrifyingly adorable? I did it with duct tape and under $20! 

Here are a few tips to help anyone who might want to flex their crafty bones and give this costume a try. I freehand everything, so no stencils or measuring! I like to live my craft life on the edge! Keep reading for tips...

Decorate a Pumpkin Like A Storybook Character

One awesome thing that has occurred to me about being an ex homeschooler/current afterschooler, during this Halloween season, is all the crafting. So far this fall, thanks to my son's school, I have had not one, but two opportunities to make costumes for him to wear-- one for Superhero Day honoring neighborhood heroes, and one for an annual Halloween event. I shared the DIY Ben 10 Superhero costume I made with mostly duct tape already and will be sharing  my DIY Thriller Werewolf or Pre-tween Wolf costume tutorial(ish) and pics tomorrow. Anyway, I thought all the fun making was over, then Zack brought home an assignment to decorate a pumpkin as a character from a book he has read and bring the pumpkin and book to school to display all week long. I become drunk with crafty power whenever I have a reason to create things that my son will explode with excitement over, and that my friends and internet peeps will be at least marginally impressed by. 

Zack chose to decorate his pumpkin like one of the pandas from the cutest book we've run across in a while, Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet The Pandas, by Fran Lebowitz. I decided I would not take over his project, much as I wanted to, but that I would be a proper parent and simply exist to be his gentle guide. Happy to say, I succeeded in that. His pumpkin was perfect panda imperfection. And I wanted to do one SO bad! Then I remembered the book a friend of mine wrote, Curilocks and the Three Pink Pandas, which features a panda family...that is pink...and the little panda's name IS PUMPKIN! This project was clearly meant to be. I planned to make it just to share on the blog, but then I asked Zack's teacher if I could send in my own creation to display alongside the kids' (and promote my friend's awesome book). I wasn't surprised when she was happy to let me play.  

I like making things, but they never turn out perfect. I'm not Martha Stewart, nowhere close, but I am an artsy mom and I freehand most things because I'm too impatient for stencils, and measuring tapes and things of that nature. I like the handmade look and feel of handmade things, so I become one with the paint strokes and asymmetry. 

Following are a bunch of pictures of my pumpkin creation coming together. Super easy and super cute! 

Listen: Raury's All Of The Things

Last week, while my husband was out of town for work, I FINALLY got to watch what I wanted to on TV, which meant catch-up time on DVR, which meant alternating between Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I started with the Donald Trump episode of Colbert's show first, because Donald Trump is a train wreck of an entertainer, and I must not miss a random thing that comes out of his mouth. I'm fascinated that he is a major player in the current political arena of the United States and shuddered a bit when Colbert japed that he would fondly look back on the evening as that time he got to interview the last POTUS. It's kinda funny right now, a year out from actual elections, but it's scary to think how quickly him being elected into office would send our nation tailspinning into political chaos. I digress.

Raury was the musical guest on that show and my first introduction was him belting, "You better run from the devil!" At first, I was sure I was watching a skinny black kid sing epic country music, but the longer I watched, I was sure I was watching the debut (network debut at least) of a strange, beautiful new talent. His music in Devil's Whisper alone is indie rock, country, tribal, hip-hop...so many things, all culminating in a lyrically and musically powerful song and a visually mesmerizing performance.

DIY Ben 10 Halloween Costume

My son needed a costume for superhero day at his school. I required it to be something he could wear all day and not melt at recess, and he required a cool accessory excluding a mask. I suspect he chose Ben 10 because he has been asking me to buy the Omnitrix (alien transforming wrist gadget) forever, and thought this was a good opportunity to ask again. What he didn't know was that he was getting a homemade knock-off. And he loves it! I was so happy when he kept saying how cool it was after my dramatic reveal. 

Making the shirt was so easy. I had to cut the collar after lining it with squares of duct tape and cutting the bottom edge, so my son's head could fit through the opening. I cut the number ten out freehand from white duct tape. 

For the Omnitrix, I just cut the tube part off a basketball sock, cut two slits to thread black duct tape to to secure the pumpkin light to the band. I taped triangles on top of the light for effect. The pumpkin light flashes different colors, which is perfect for trick or treating. 

I'm a brand new fan of duct tape. It's seriously the best thing ever. 

Buy The Book 001: A Hat, NYC Pandas, And A Descent Into Madness

Libraries are hands down, collectively, the best places on earth. You walk in and books and videos featuring all things entertainment to education are at your fingertips for free. Going in to find a new bestseller or your fave's latest release and finding it on the shelf or getting that email notification that the book you placed on hold is available is like winning the geek lottery. Don't deny yourself and/or your kids those precious moments--borrow books from your local libraries. 

If you're a reader and/or you are raising kids who read, maybe you appreciate the comfort of a well-stocked book nook. Maybe you like to take your time to read a book without late fines peeking over your shoulder. Maybe you'd like to see your big kid introduce their favorite books to their friends or younger siblings. Maybe you like to highlight passages and make notes in the margins and dog-ear pages. Maybe you want interesting books for your houseguests to browse and perhaps borrow. Sometimes, you just gotta buy the book. I highly recommend finding your local used, independent or franchise bookstore. I frequent all of the above as well as Barnes & Noble (because books). If you prefer to shop on Amazon, every book title and image on my site is linked to Amazon.com. See the Disclosure statement near the bottom of the sidebar on this page. 

For this series, Buy The Book, each week in each new post you will find book recommendations from three categories of books--picture books for early readers (Kids), biographies and chapter books for elementary aged readers (Pre-Tweens), and books suitable for adults (Adults)--one of each per week. The books will be from my and Zack's (he's 7 but reads like a big kid) personal libraries or from our library wish list. Add them to yours or buy them for your bookie friends. There will occasionally be themed BTB posts focused on one author, topic, genre, reading level, etc. Why buy kids books when they're only kids for a minute? Buy them because they will enjoy them and pass them on to spread the joy of reading to other kids and families when they outgrow them. Books for teens have been purposefully omitted here since I don't live with one and lack experience in the reading lives of teenagers. Soon come. Each week you will also find a fun library and independent bookstore challenge to explore the ones in your town (Lit Homework ). 

Continue reading to see this week's recommendations to build your family's home library. 

My First Day As An Ex Homeschooler in GIFs

Zack is seven. We pulled him out of Montessori preschool when he was three and a half years old to homeschool part time, which turned into homeschool full time. He is brilliant and came here with a few bells and whistles. Our homeschool years were fun and stressful and our school search was intense. He is the most social person I know and I am the most anti-social pro-solitude person I know, so we are all happy that he will get to go to an amazing school with amazing teachers and peers every day. His new daily social life as a second grader marks the beginning of my new daily early-morning life as an ex-homeschooler. I will now have to get up in the morning and function during a time when I am usually just getting into my REM sleep. I will have to change some of my nocturnal ways. In the meantime I will become one with my coffee beans. The first day of school is behind us and I must say, we kilt it. I was going to write all about it, but why write mere words when GIFs can say so much? 

Listen: Tish Hyman

Tish Hyman opened for Jill Scott in Austin last week. Let me just take a moment to acknowledge how much of an unfair measure of beauty and talent has been bestowed upon Jill Scott. All the stuff that came together to create her was just on 100 that day. I wanted to light a cigarette during her performance of "You Don't Know" and I don't even smoke. And when she performed "Crown Royal" I'm positive somebody on the stage was impregnated. A few of my friends got to meet her--I'm jealous. Jill Scott is amazing. I digress.

Tish Hyman is basically like...imagine if Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone and Queen Latifah had a baby that grew up in The Bronx, that's Tish Hyman. Listen to "Subway Art"...

Her debut album, Dedicated To, is supposed to come out this fall. In the meantime, join me in googling all her freestyle videos on Youtube, including this one on Sway In The Morning... (skip it if you're sensitive about the N word or profanity and just hit play again on "Subway Art")...